A chorus of US politicians including President Joe Biden has decried International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor Karim A. A. Khan’s decision to seek arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his defense minister, Yoav Gallant, alongside three senior Hamas leaders. US officials slammed the ICC’s perceived “equivalence” of Israel and Hamas, the latter [...]
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US State Department announces public designation of former Bangladesh Army Staff official
The US Department of State announced on Monday the public designation of former Chief of the Bangladesh Army Staff Aziz Ahmed for significantly engaging in corruption. Under section 7031(c) of the annual Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, a public designation imposes a travel ban against Aziz and his immediate family [...]
“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results,” so taught civil rights campaigner and feminist Rita Mae Brown. There is no more fitting maxim for the broken American system that in 2024 has allowed Donald Trump to return as a major political party’s presumptive nominee for its highest office. [...]
US Supreme Court rejects former Guantanamo detainee's request to appeal war crime convictions
The US Supreme Court on Monday rejected an appeal by a Canadian-born former Guantanamo Bay detainee who was seeking to wipe away his war crimes convictions, including one for the killing of a US soldier in Afghanistan. Khadr waived his right to appeal in 2010 when he pleaded guilty to murder charges. Despite a subsequent [...]
France president declares state of emergency in New Caledonia amid violent protests
French President Emmanuel Macron declared a state of emergency in New Caledonia Friday for the violent protests breakout. The protests have resulted in almost 200 arrests, dozens of injuries and at least four deaths since Wednesday. Protestors have been setting businesses and cars on fire, and shooting rifles to cause widespread panic. Reuters reports that [...]
US House passes bill forcing Biden to send weapons to Israel
The US House of Representatives passed a bill on Thursday that would restrict President Joe Biden’s ability to withhold weapons transfers to Israel, aiming to force the president to deliver certain weapons after he previously placed shipments on hold. The bill, known as the Israel Security Assistance Support Act, was crafted “o provide for the [...]
US Supreme Court upholds Consumer Financial Protection Bureau funding
The US Supreme Court held Thursday that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) funding does not violate the Appropriations Clause and is constitutionally valid, in a decision authored by Justice Clarence Thomas. The CFPB was established following the market crisis of 2008, and “ensures that markets for consumer financial products are fair, transparent, and competitive.” [...]
The Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory on Tuesday sentenced war crimes whistleblower David McBride to five years and eight months’ imprisonment for theft and sharing classified military documents with journalists after McBride exposed allegations of Australian war crimes in Afghanistan. Justice David Moss ordered McBride to serve 27 months in prison before he [...]
Federal judge sentences Florida man for conspiring to firebomb Planned Parenthood clinic
US District Judge Cormac J. Carney sentenced 21-year-old Xavier Batten of Florida to 42 months in prison for conspiring to firebomb a Planned Parenthood clinic, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced in a statement Monday. The events leading to Batten’s sentence transpired in February and March of 2022. According to the DOJ’s statement, Batten [...]
Hazaras and Shias: Violence, Discrimination, and Exclusion Under the Taliban
The resurgence of the Taliban poses renewed threats to the Hazaras, characterized by escalated violence, discrimination, and isolation. The Taliban’s early governance involved the abolition of the Shia Personal Status Law, the removal of Ja’fari jurisprudence from the education system, and the dismissal of Shia judges. Notably, the Taliban’s cabinet and supreme court lack Hazara [...]