EU lifts travel restrictions from 15 countries, bans US travelers
In a statement released on Tuesday, the EU announced they would lift travel restrictions from 15 nations but not the US. The nations approved include Algeria, Australia, Canada, Georgia, Japan, Montenegro, Morocco, New Zealand, Rwanda, Serbia, South Korea, Thailand, Tunisia, Uruguay and China. China’s inclusion on the list is subject to confirmation of reciprocity. The [...]
The UK Court of Appeal affirmed a lower court decision Tuesday rejecting gender neutral markers on passports. Christie Elan-Cane argued for a policy to allow gender neutrality on passports in 2018. Elan-Cane wanted passports to have an “X” category for people who do not identify fully with either male or female. Elan-Cane argued the current [...]
Argentina’s President Alberto Fernández announced in a speech to the National Congress on Sunday that he plans to present a bill to legalize abortion within the next 10 days. Currently in Argentina, abortion is only available in cases of rape or when the mother’s health is at risk, otherwise having an abortion can result in [...]
Rome court sentences 24 South Americans to life for involvement in Operation Condor
An appeals court in Rome sentenced 24 people to life in prison on Monday, including senior officials in Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay, Brazil, Bolivia and Argentina’s military dictatorships. The officials were found to have been involved in the US-backed Operation Condor, which took place in the 1970s and 80s. Operation Condor involved tracking down and removing [...]
Peru ex-president Garcia dies from self-inflicted wound during corruption arrest
Former president of Peru Alan Garcia died Wednesday during an arrest by Peruvian Police in connection with the Odebrecht corruption scandal. Garcia was president of Peru twice from 1985-1990 and 2006-2011. He was the leader of the American Popular Revolutionary Alliance, a center-left political party in Peru, and is the party’s only member to take [...]
Peru’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a statement on Sunday confirming that the former president Alan García requested political asylum in the Uruguayan embassy just hours after a judge prohibited him from leaving the country. Garcia allegedly accepted bribes from Odebrecht, a Brazilian construction company, in exchange for government contracts to build the Metro Line [...]
South Korea: nationals in Canada can be prosecuted for smoking marijuana
The South Korean Embassy in Canada tweeted Thursday to warn its nationals currently studying or visiting Canada that if they are caught smoking marijuana on Canadian soil, they can still be held criminally liable under South Korean law. Recently, Canada became the second nation in the world to legalize the recreational use of marijuana, following [...]
A Canadian law took effect on Wednesday legalizing the sale of marijuana for recreational consumption. The Cannabis Act will “provide legal access to cannabis” and “control and regulate its production, distribution and sale.” Anyone over the 18 is legally permitted to possess at most 30 grams of cannabis. People in Canada are also permitted to [...]
Canada Senate approves bill to legalize recreational marijuana
Canada’s Senate approved a bill on Tuesday legalizing recreational marijuana. The vote was 52 in favor of the bill, with 29 senators against and two abstaining. Under the act, the federal and provincial governments will regulate cannabis, with the federal government licensing dealers. It will still be illegal for anyone under the age of 18 [...]
Inter-American Court of Human Rights endorses same-sex marriage
The Inter-American Court of Human Rights on Wednesday issued a unanimous advisory opinion that member states "must recognize and guarantee all the rights that are derived from a family bond between people of...
