PHOTO COLLECTION: Russia daily life

A Japanese high court has ruled that Japan’s refusal to legally recognize same-sex marriages is unconstitutional, a latest victory for the same sex couples and supporters seeking equal rights. Friday’s decision by the Nagoya High Court in central Japan marks the ninth victory out of 10 rulings since the first group of plaintiffs filed lawsuits in 2019. The decision was also the fourth high court ruling in a row that found the current government policy unconstitutional after similar decisions in Tokyo, Fukuoka and Sapporo. After another high court ruling in Osaka, the Supreme Court is expected to make a decision.

South Africa says Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will visit in April for talks on finding “a path to peace” with Russia. A spokesperson for South African President Cyril Ramaphosa says Zelenskyy's visit on April 10 was a continuation of Ramaphosa’s ongoing engagements with both Ukraine and Russia for “an inclusive peace process." South Africa has adopted a neutral position in the war and has attempted to act as a mediator between the sides, although with limited success. South Africa says Ukraine must be included in any peace talks, echoing a call by European leaders after senior U.S. diplomats held bilateral talks with Russia last month.

Switzerland has not shown it is meeting the requirements of a landmark climate change decision from Europe’s highest human rights court. The European Court of Human Rights sided with a group of older Swiss women against their government and ruled in April 2024 that countries must better protect their people from the consequences of climate change. The court  found that Switzerland “had failed to comply with its duties” to combat climate change and meet emissions targets.

Some 90,000 Palestinians prayed at the al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem’s Old City under tight security by Israeli forces in the first Friday prayers of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Thousands made their way from the West Bank into Jerusalem for the prayers after Israel allowed men over 55 and women over 50 to enter from the occupied territory for the prayers. Tensions have risen in the West Bank the past weeks amid Israeli raids on militants. But there was no immediate sign of frictions on Friday. This Ramadan takes place as a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas is in place in Gaza since mid-January – though its future is uncertain.

Panama’s Security Minister Frank Ábrego says Panama will begin the process of issuing humanitarian passes to 112 migrants deported from the United States who have been held in a remote camp in the Darien region since last month. The passes would allow the migrants from a number of mostly Asian nations to move freely about Panama while they determine their next moves. Ábrego said on Friday that the migrants would find their own places to stay while they decide where they are going next. Rights groups have pressured Panama for holding the migrants without their passports or cell phones in harsh conditions. Lawyers had petitioned the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights on their behalf.

Beneath Brazil’s Amazon rainforest, one of the planet’s largest potassium reserves is fueling tensions between industrial ambitions and Indigenous rights. The $2.5 billion project led by Toronto-based Brazil Potash seeks to mine for potash, a mineral that is used to make fertilizer that is essential to Brazil's agribusiness sector. While it promises to meet 17% of national potash demand and reduce dependency on imports, it also raises concerns about environmental risks and the disruption of the Mura people’s ancestral lands. The tribe is divided over the project. Some warn of threats to culture, land and water, while others see an opportunity to lift their people out of poverty.

Nearly 100 people have died of cholera in two weeks since the waterborne disease outbreak began in Sudan’s White Nile State. That is according to Doctors Without Borders. The outbreak in White Nile State was triggered by a mass outage at a power plant. People in the area had to rely mainly on water obtained from donkey carts because water pumps were no longer operational. More than 2,000 people have been infected with cholera since Feb. 20, including 92 people who died. Sudan plunged into war nearly two years ago when tensions simmered between the Sudanese army and its rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) with battles in Khartoum and across the country.