A local court in India approved Monday the bail for Sukhpal Singh Khaira, a prominent figure in the Indian National Congress, which is India’s largest opposition party. Khaira is an accused in a criminal intimidation case related to narcotic substances smuggling from 2015. Khaira, a Congress MLA from the Bhulath constituency in Punjab state, was [...]

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un announced Monday that North Korea will no longer pursue reconciliation with South Korea and called for a constitutional change to identify South Korea as the “number one hostile state,” according to the state-controlled Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). Kim claimed that reconciliation between the two states is not possible [...]

The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said that the transfer of asylum seekers under the UK’s new Rwanda arrangement violates international law in a legal analysis published on Monday. The assessment provides an update to a previous UNHCR analysis of the “Legality and Appropriateness of the Transfer of Asylum-Seekers under the UK-Rwanda arrangement” conducted in [...]

India’s economic investigation agency, the Enforcement Directorate (ED), informed the Kerala state High Court Monday that the scam at Karuvannur Service Cooperative Bank was orchestrated by leaders of the state’s ruling party, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)). The affidavit filed by the ED asserts that CPI(M) party committees were involved in maintaining accounts [...]

A court in Iran has handed an additional 15-month prison term to the convicted Nobel laureate and human rights activist Narges Mohammadi, according to a Monday Instagram post from the activist’s family. The additional jail term was given to Mohammadi for allegedly “spreading propaganda” against the Islamic Republic. The court reportedly based its decision on [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) called Tuesday on Indonesia to safeguard the well-being of Rohingya refugees who have recently arrived in the country. This appeal follows several reported incidents of Indonesia pushing back boats carrying Rohingya refugees. HRW called on Indonesian authorities to cease all pushbacks of boats carrying Rohingya refugees and to investigate and end [...]

The Editors Guild of India (EGI) on Monday issued a statement on X (formerly Twitter) expressing concerns over the draft Broadcasting Services Regulation Bill, stating that the provisions of the bill would lead to an overarching censorship framework for broadcasting services, including news broadcasting. The statements were issued by the EGI after the Ministry of Information [...]

The Hong Kong Fanling Magistrates’ Courts imposed on Monday a suspended sentence for Man Wing Fung. Fung pleaded guilty to engaging in illegal conduct to incite another person not to vote by activity in public during the election period, contrary to section 27 of the Elections (Corrupt and Illegal Conduct) Ordinance, and a two-month imprisonment [...]

A court in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on Monday convicted four land rights activists on charges of provoking a “peasant revolution.” The activists are part of the Coalition of Cambodian Farmer Community (CCFC). The Cambodian government charged the activists with plotting against the state for discussing the history of wealth distribution and land rights in Cambodia. [...]

The Mizan News Agency reported Monday that the Iranian judiciary had launched a new case against journalists Niloofar Hamedi and Elaheh Mohammadi following their release on bail. The two had appeared in front of a crowd outside the prison without wearing the hijab, prompting these new charges. Iranian authorities arrested Hamedi and Mohammadi in September [...]