The human rights situation in Ukraine has worsened significantly as intensified hostilities and systematic Russian aerial strikes target critical infrastructure, according to a report by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) on Friday. The Sixth Interim Report on violations of international humanitarian and human rights law covered developments from June to November [...]
A Georgia state judge on Friday shut down an effort by former Trump lawyer Kenneth Chesebro to undo his guilty plea in the state’s election interference case involving President-elect Donald Trump and his allies. Judge Scott McAfee of the Fulton County Superior Court denied Chesebro’s motion on multiple grounds, calling it “rocedurally defective in more [...]
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk announced Friday that his office will resume operations in Venezuela. Türk’s office was forced to leave the country earlier this year following his statement on the enforced disappearance of human rights defender Rocío San Miguel. Speaking at a Human Rights Council meeting, Türk stated: “The Office can [...]
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) on Thursday announced a court-enforceable agreement with the city of Louisville, Kentucky, following a sweeping investigation into the Louisville Metro Government. The investigation was prompted by the 2020 police killing of Breonna Taylor and a 2023 DOJ report detailing a pattern of racial discrimination by the police force. The agreement, [...]
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit on Thursday against a New York doctor for allegedly providing abortion drugs to a Texas resident. The state filed the lawsuit at the District Court at Collin County, claiming that the defendant’s “knowing and continuing violations of Texas law places women and unborn children in Texas at [...]
The US Supreme Court agreed Friday to take up a challenge to California’s vehicle emissions standards as well as a Wisconsin case concerning tax exemptions for religious organizations. In Diamond Alternative Energy LLC v. Environmental Protection Agency, the court will consider a challenge from fuel producers against the Clean Air Act provision allowing California to [...]
Though the fall of Syria’s Assad would appear gainful for Israel prima facie, a potential nuclear threat from Iran not only remains, but is plausibly greater than before. One reason for such a counter-intuitive suggestion is that Tehran is now more likely to feel “cornered” in certain crisis circumstances (both foreseeable and unforeseeable) and to [...]
On December 1, President Joseph Biden announced a pardon for his son, Hunter Biden, on charges of gun and tax violations, reversing his pledge not to pardon him if convicted. In his statement, the president wrote: Today, I signed a pardon for my son Hunter … The charges in his cases came about only after [...]
The Ontario government on Thursday introduced new legislation empowering municipalities to remove politicians from office for serious misconduct. Under the proposed Municipal Accountability Act (Bill 241), municipal officials found guilty of such conduct could face dismissal and be disqualified from seeking re-election. The legislation, introduced by Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Paul Calandra, aims [...]
The Hong Kong District Court on Thursday found seven protesters guilty of rioting in relation to a violent incident at the Yuen Long subway station during the city’s anti-extradition movement in 2019. The seven defendants, including former pro-democratic lawmaker Lam Cheuk-ting, were convicted of “rioting” for provoking a “white-clad gang” by throwing objects and spraying [...]
