Moldova’s Constitutional Court on Thursday officially recognized the results of a referendum held on October 20, which sought to amend the constitution to reflect the country’s aspiration to join the European Union (EU). The referendum coincided with the first round of presidential elections and resulted in a narrow majority, with approximately 50.38% of voters supporting [...]

The 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP16) on Saturday adopted several important agreements regarding the expanded role of indigenous peoples and local communities in biodiversity preservation efforts. A new agreement on Article 8J of the Convention aims to enhance indigenous knowledge and participation in crafting the [...]

Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s Executive Order No. GA-46 takes effect on Friday, requiring Texas public hospitals to collect information on and report healthcare costs of undocumented immigrants. Governor Abbott issued the executive order on August 8,  finding that the Biden-Harris administration is running an “open border policy” that is costing Texans by imposing higher taxes [...]

Ukraine’s National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP) unveiled a new guide for its corruption notification channel on Thursday, giving whistleblowers a clear path to report misconduct. This follows the recent completion of payments for Ukraine’s first two whistleblower award cases, which were finalized in 2023 but only recently saw payouts. Ukraine implemented the whistleblower award [...]

A Georgia judge dismissed a Republican-led lawsuit on Saturday aimed at stopping counties from opening election offices over the weekend and letting voters hand in their mail ballots in person. The lawsuit specifically targeted Fulton County — a Democratic hub covering most of Atlanta and representing 11% of the state’s electorate. However, other large counties [...]

Internet monitoring organization NetBlocks reported Thursday that Mozambique has implemented restrictions on social media and messaging platforms, including Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, amid escalating tensions following disputed presidential election results. The restrictions follow earlier mobile data disruptions that occurred on October 25, after election results were announced. The social media shutdown comes as human rights [...]

Pennsylvania District Judge David Ridge issued an order Friday affecting 17,000 voters who did not receive mail-in ballots, granting them early in-person voting and new absentee ballots to replace the missing ones. Erie County Clerk Karen Chilcott laid the blame on a ballot vendor Election IQ who was hired to send out the mail-in ballots [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) stated on Thursday that the Armenian government’s proposed surveillance bill raises significant concerns regarding privacy rights and civil liberties. HRW cautioned that the mere presence of surveillance systems in public areas can create a chilling effect on fundamental rights, including freedoms of assembly, association and expression. The rights group added that [...]

Mauritius’ Information and Communication Technologies Authority (ICTA) published a statement Friday implementing a comprehensive suspension of social media access across the island nation. The statement directed all internet service providers to “suspend access to all social media platforms,” citing “illegal postings” that could affect national security and public safety. This measure, confirmed by the Netblocks [...]

The Alberta government introduced three new bills on Thursday aimed at controlling minors’ ability to undergo certain gender-affirming healthcare procedures, choose their name and pronouns at school, and participate in sports. The first bill, Bill 26, aims to amend multiple pieces of health legislation, including the Alberta Health Act. The bill would prohibit sex reassignment surgery [...]