Speaker of the Republic of Georgia’s parliament Shalva Papuashvili announced on Thursday that he signed into law a bill defining marriage as between a man and a woman and prohibiting the promotion of same-sex relationships in schools, according to local media. The legislation states that Georgia recognizes family values of the union of a man and a woman, [...]

Russia’s Prosecutor General’s Office announced on Thursday that the Prosecutor’s Office in the Volgograd region approved an indictment against Nikita Zhuravel, who was charged with treason under Article 275 of the Russian Criminal Code. The maximum penalty for treason under the Russian Criminal Code is life imprisonment. According to the Prosecutor’s Office investigation, Zhuravel offered [...]

The Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) voted on Wednesday to formally recognize WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange as a political prisoner based on his time spent in UK custody while fighting extradition to the US on espionage charges. Assange has been free since June, when he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy for releasing troves of US classified documents [...]

The UK announced on Thursday that it will transfer sovereignty over the Chagos Islands, now ruled as the British Indian Ocean Territory, to Mauritius after more than two centuries of control. A joint statement issued by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his Mauritian counterpart Pravind Jugnauth hails the accord as a “historic political agreement [...]

Amnesty International urged the self-proclaimed Libyan Arab Armed Forces (LAAF) on Thursday to reveal the whereabouts of former defense minister Al-Mahdi al-Barghathi and 18 of his relatives and supporters who were abducted in Benghazi a year ago. Al-Mahdi al-Barghathi, who became minister of defense in 2016, served in the post until 2018, and strongly condemned [...]

US federal prosecutors on Wednesday released a redacted motion arguing that former president Donald Trump does not have immunity from prosecution for crimes related to the 2020 election because they were committed outside of official presidential conduct. This case is a remand of the US Supreme Court’s decision in Trump v. United States on July [...]

Canada’s Federal Court on Tuesday initiated the Study Permit Pilot Project in an attempt to streamline the judicial review process for rejected student visa applications. The initiative aims to expedite the handling of cases in response to an unprecedented surge in application rejections within Canada’s immigration system in previous years. The Study Permit Pilot Project, [...]

Amnesty International on Wednesday urged Kyrgyzstan to drop unsubstantiated, politically motivated charges against independent journalists. Journalists from several independent local media outlets, including YouTube-based Temirov LIVE and Ayt Ayt Dese, face up to six years in prison, with a final verdict of the Lenin District Court of Bishkek expected to be delivered on October 3. [...]

The European Commission sent a request on Wednesday for information to TikTok, YouTube and Snapchat under the Digital Services Act (DSA). The three platforms must provide information regarding their recommender system’s design and functioning. Particularly, YouTube and Snapchat have to provide evidence of their parameters to recommend content and role in amplifying systemic risks such [...]

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed laws on Wednesday that provide exemptions from criminal liability for individuals in the Russian Federation who have contracted for military service or have been mobilized. The State Duma, Russia’s lower house of parliament, approved the bills in September. With the implementation of two new amendments, defendants who enter into military [...]