Pakistan rejected Monday its designation as a “Country of Particular Concern” (CPC) by the United States State Department over religious freedom concerns in the South Asian country. The US State Department designated Pakistan as a CPC on January 4 following a recommendation from the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). The Pakistan Ministry of [...]

Federal legislation criminalising the public display or sale of Nazi and terrorist group symbols came into effect in Australia on Monday. The legislation criminalises the Nazi salute and public display of Nazi symbols, including the Nazi double sig rune “Schutzstaggel” and the Nazi Hakenkreuz. These offences are punishable by up to 12 months in prison. [...]

US District Chief Judge Peter D. Welte ordered a new joint North Dakota legislative district for two Native American tribes on Monday. The Tribes successfully argued that a map created through redistricting in 2021 violated the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965. The latest ruling confirmed that the 2021 state redistricting legislation diluted their voting [...]

Ecuador’s president on Monday declared a state of emergency in the country for sixty days after the escape of Adolfo Macías, known as “Fito,” the leader of the Los Choneros, one of the most powerful gangs in the country, vanished from prison on January 7 which triggered riots at six correctional facilities across the country. [...]

Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu suspended on Monday the country’s Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr. Betta Edu, with immediate effect over allegations of transferring funds related to the government’s social welfare program into a private bank account. The suspension order issued by the Special Advisor to the President on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, [...]

China’s Ministry of State Security Sunday issued a message on its WeChat official account, a Chinese instant messaging app, claiming that it had detained the head of an overseas consultancy for spying for the British Secret Intelligence Service, also known as MI6, to collect Chinese secrets and information. The accused, identified as Huang Moumou of [...]

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk on Monday urged the newly-elected government of Bangladesh to redirect its course towards democracy and expressed concern over the violence-marred atmosphere during Sunday’s poll. Bangladesh’s 12th parliamentary election was conducted on January 7. The country’s army was deployed days earlier to keep peace ahead of the polls. [...]

The Indian Supreme Court (SC) on Monday stayed the Bombay High Court’s (BHC) order directing the Election Commission of India (ECI) to conduct by-polls for the Pune constituency of India’s lower house of Parliament, Lok Sabha. Girish Bapat, a Member of Parliament from Pune, passed away in early 2022, creating a vacancy. The present Lok [...]

The Indian state of West Bengal’s Police registered three criminal complaints Sunday against unidentified individuals regarding an assault on Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials in the Sandeshkhali region of North 24 Parganas district. Furthermore, the ED officials have themselves been charged in one criminal complaint for alleged offences of criminal trespass and intending to outrage a [...]

United Nations experts called Monday for thorough accountability in the aftermath of the attacks that occurred in Israel on October 7. The alleged crimes against civilians during the attacks involve severe violations of international law, such as killings, hostage-taking and instances of torture, including sexual torture. The experts emphasized that as armed Palestinian groups carried [...]