The Election Commission of India (ECI) received on Thursday eleven applications to verify the memory of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) units. Eight applications contested the recent 2024 Lok Sabha elections. These include three applications from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), three applications from the Indian National Congress (INC) [...]

Armenia’s foreign ministry announced on Friday that the country has recognized the State of Palestine. In their statement, the Armenian Foreign Ministry expressed its concern over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, disapproving of the targeting and violence towards civilians and civilian infrastructure, as well as hostage-taking, calling for the unconditional release of the hostages taken [...]

The right to abortion has remained under threat in the US over the past two years, according to a statement released Thursday by Amnesty International. The rights group noted that millions of Americans have been deprived of the human right to an abortion in the two years since the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. [...]

Slovakia’s parliament approved a contentious law to restructure the public broadcaster RTVS on Thursday, sparking concerns about the independence of public media in the country. Opposition MPs boycotted the vote, exiting the chamber in protest against the new legislation. The law in question targets Radio and Television of Slovakia (RTVS), which has served as Slovakia’s [...]

The US Supreme Court held Thursday in Gonzalez v. Trevino that the existence of probable cause does not necessarily defeat retaliatory arrest claims. The case concerns a Texas councilwoman who argues that she was arrested in retaliation for her speech critical of a city government official. Retaliation-arrest claims generally must prove the absence of probable [...]

South Australia’s Supreme Court of Appeal rejected Australian Taxation Office (ATO) whistleblower Richard Boyle’s appeal to secure immunity from prosecution under section 10(1)(a) of Australia’s Federal Public Interest Disclosure (PID) Act on Wednesday. Boyle was prosecuted upon blowing the whistle on alleged unethical debt recovery practices at the ATO. He disclosed these debt recovery practices [...]

The UK Supreme Court held Thursday that Surrey’s planning authorities acted unlawfully when granting planning permission for an oil well development in 2019. The court ruled that the authorities should have considered certain environmental impacts when making the decision. The three-to-two decision of the five justices allowed the appeal of a previous resident of Surrey, [...]

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled on Thursday that the Czech Republic discriminated against a juvenile defendant when it did not afford him the three-month pretrial detention review period granted to adults. The case of Spišák v. the Czech Republic highlights differential treatment between juveniles and adults during pre-trial detention. The applicant was [...]

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) warned on Wednesday about the possibility of Nigerien authorities using the country’s revised cybercrime law to censor and imprison journalists. New amendments to the law reintroduced prison sentences for defamation, insults, and dissemination of data that could disrupt public order via the Internet. On June 7, 2024, the head of Niger’s [...]

The Norwegian Ministry of Children and Families announced on Wednesday that it would not stop international adoptions amid an investigation into out-of-country adoption practices but would instead implement risk-reducing measures to ensure that adoptions to Norway are safe and secure. In 2023, the Norwegian government established a committee to investigate illegal or unethical practices in [...]