Taiwan lawmakers fight during second reading of parliamentary reform
Physical conflict broke out among lawmakers in the Taiwan Legislative Yuan, the island’s parliament, on Friday. At the time, the legislature was deliberating the controversial parliamentary reform proposed by the opposing parties, who were also the legislative majority. Five lawmakers were sent to hospital and the second reading will continue on Tuesday, May 21. To [...]
President of Georgia Salome Zourabichvili on Friday vetoed a controversial “foreign agents” law that has been decried as “Russian-style” legislation and has sparked massive protests in the country. Zourabichvili took to her Twitter account to announce the veto, saying, “Today, I vetoed the Russian law. This law, in its essence and spirit, is fundamentally Russian, [...]
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 [...]
UN rights chief: Georgia 'foreign agents' law undermines freedom of expression
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk stated on Wednesday that Georgia’s newly passed foreign agents bill “undermines the freedoms of expression and association.” Türk mentioned his concern regarding the possible effects of this bill being signed by the President of Georgia: “The ability of associations to seek, secure and use resources is essential to their [...]
India granted citizenship to its first batch of 14 refugees under the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) on Wednesday. The refugees are from the neighboring countries of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. The law was originally proposed and passed in 2019 by the Indian Cabinet. CAA amended the Citizenship Act of 1955, specifically Section 2. The [...]
South Africa’s main opposition party announced it would go all the way to the Constitutional Court to fight the National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill, aimed at providing universal health coverage, on Tuesday. Just two weeks out from the general election on May, 29 2024, the Bill would see free healthcare provided at the point for care [...]
UK High Court rules parts of Police Act breach European Convention on Human Rights
The UK High Court ruled that provisions of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 (Police Act 2022) are incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) on Tuesday and that use of the powers was “capable of significant intrusion on the lives” of Gypsies and travellers. The judge stated that certain amendments [...]
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 [...]
Georgia’s parliament on Tuesday adopted a controversial law designating civil society organizations that receive funding from abroad as “foreign agents.” The law stipulates that civil society organizations receiving more than 20 percent of their funding from international donors must formally register as foreign agents — a term that evokes images of Cold War-era espionage. The legislative [...]
New Zealand appeals court overturns ruling blocking Waitangi Tribunal summons
The New Zealand Court of Appeal on Monday unanimously overturned a High Court ruling that blocked a summons order for Minister for Children Karen Chhour to provide evidence before the Waitangi Tribunal under section 6(1)(c) of the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975. The court found that the tribunal has a statutory duty to inquire into [...]
