New Japanese budget advances equal opportunities for all students by making high school education free for all.

Thailand becomes the first country in South-East Asia to legalise same-sex marriage.

Human rights are much better protected in all world regions than a century ago.

New laws will give UK workers improved work flexibility, better carer’s leave and more protection from redundancy due to pregnancy.

Court finds Peruvian government responsible for violating the rights of residents of the town of La Oroya to a healthy environment.

Massachusetts becomes the first US state to outlaw people under 21 being sentenced to life without parole.

Queensland's arts and music scene is becoming more accessible for people with disabilities.

Ghana has become the 29th country in Africa to abolish the death penalty.

Panama recognises the legal right of sea turtles to exist and to flourish, and allow lawsuits should those rights be violated.

Hyper-realistic sign language avatars from a NZ start-up open pathways to learning in the deaf community and can also help in an emergency.

A new Reality TV series for Britain’s Channel 4, Scared of the Dark, aims to help audiences understand sight loss.

Metal band TarantisT courageously goes above the radar to call out injustices in Iran.

Von November 8, voters in the US states of Maryland and Missouri passed referendums to legalise recreational marijuana.

It’s crunch time for many of Britain’s post-war housing estates. Could co-design provide a model for delivering regeneration at scale?

Volunteers run a mini-van to transport residents to keep them living longer in the bush.

On Dutch ‘care farms’ people with dementia can tend to livestock, harvest vegetables and make their own decisions.

For 12 hours a day, prisoners can let themselves out to work or visit family. In virtually every case, they come back.

A new art exhibition in London explores the humanity, hypocrisy and — sometimes — humour of the much-maligned sex work industry.

New Zealand has moved to ban conversion therapy, which attempts to forcibly change a person's sexual orientation or gender identity.

The Mexican state of Sinaloa has unanimously voted to ban bullfighting in the state, classifying it as animal cruelty.