The South Korean National Assembly on Thursday approved impeachment motions against the justice minister and police chief for their involvement in the planning and execution of President Yoon Suk Yeol’s short-lived martial law decree. Additionally, the parliament approved new laws to appoint two special prosecutors to thoroughly investigate Yoon’s martial law declaration, as well a [...]
Transparency International, a global coalition focused on combating corruption, issued a statement on Thursday strongly urging the Conference of States Parties to the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) to take action on establishing global standards for overseeing political finance. The organization asserted that greater transparency in political funding is necessary to address ongoing corruption [...]
US Capitol Police Chief J. Thomas Manger testified on Wednesday before the Senate Rules and Administration Committee that over 50 Members of Congress have been victims of swatting attacks over the past month. The Capitol’s police chief also reported that 700 members have faced threats in the same time frame. The incidents highlight growing security [...]
Austria’s lower house of parliament, the National Council, voted Wednesday to lift the parliamentary immunity of Herbert Kickl, leader of the far-right Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) and chairman of its parliamentary group. This decision clears the way for investigations into allegations of perjury against him. A majority in the National Council voted in favor [...]
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) strongly condemned Israel’s extensive military operations in Syria in a press conference on Wednesday, emphasizing that these actions following Bashar al-Assad’s downfall constitute serious violations of international law. United Nations experts, including the Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights and [...]
Human Rights Watch (HRW) released a report on Thursday detailing serious human rights abuses committed by Mali’s armed forces in collaboration with Russian mercenaries of the Africa Corps (formerly Wagner Group) following the withdrawal of a United Nations peacekeeping mission late last year. The report indicates that since May 2024, these forces have intentionally or [...]
US President Joe Biden granted clemency Thursday to nearly 1,500 Americans in the largest single-day use of presidential clemency powers in modern US history. The action includes sentence commutations for approximately 1,500 people who were moved to home confinement during the COVID-19 pandemic, along with pardons for 39 individuals convicted of non-violent crimes. The bulk [...]
Canadian bicycling advocacy group Cycle Toronto along with two individual cyclists, Eva Stranger-Ross and Narada Kiondo, have filed a court challenge on Wednesday against new legislation granting the Ontario government authority over the installation and removal of municipal bike lanes. The group argues that the law, Ontario Bill 212, infringes on cyclists’ rights to life [...]
Tens of thousands of civilians in northeast Syria are facing a worsening displacement crisis, according to a report that Human Rights Watch released on Wednesday. According to the report, the humanitarian situation has deteriorated as armed conflicts have intensified, leading to significant population movements and severe shortages of essential resources such as food, water, and [...]
Human Rights Watch (HRW) urged Vietnam on Tuesday to repeal its new cybersecurity law, saying that it violates the rights to free speech and freedom of expression. Vietnam’s new law, set to come into effect on December 25, builds on existing legislation to impose stricter rules surrounding internet use and freedom of speech. Vietnam’s current [...]
