Sri Lanka to probe Russia's recruitment of nationals for Ukraine conflict
Sri Lanka is sending a high-level delegation to Russia to investigate the involvement of hundreds of Sri Lankan nationals reportedly recruited to fight in the Ukraine war, announced a top official on Thursday. Earlier this month, Sri Lankan authorities began investigating these reports, focusing on the trafficking of individuals with military training to fight in [...]
US Supreme Court upholds Consumer Financial Protection Bureau funding
The US Supreme Court held Thursday that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) funding does not violate the Appropriations Clause and is constitutionally valid, in a decision authored by Justice Clarence Thomas. The CFPB was established following the market crisis of 2008, and “ensures that markets for consumer financial products are fair, transparent, and competitive.” [...]
US DOJ says Nebraska's excessive institutionalization violates civil rights of mentally ill
The US Department of Justice determined that Nebraska is violating the civil rights of residents with serious mental illnesses by unnecessarily segregating them into institutional settings. The case emerged from complaints by Nebraskans that the state was improperly subjecting mental health patients to segregation from general society, in violation of Title II of the Americans [...]
The United Nationals Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) closed its East Jerusalem office on Friday amidst two arson attacks from Israeli extremists. The closure follows scrutiny of the UNRWA due to its investigations into Israeli allegations that UNRWA staff were involved in the October 7 Hamas attacks. In [...]
Updated: An Evolving Explainer of the Trump Hush Money Trial
The 2024 US presidential election will be historic on several fronts. It will be the first rematch between presidential candidates since Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower faced down Democrat Adlai Stevenson in 1956. At 81 and 77 respectively, incumbent candidate Joe Biden and his adversary Donald Trump are the oldest major party frontrunners in the history [...]
The Cost of Revenge: A Cantor's Critique of Israel's Response to Hamas
In the wake of the deadly Hamas terrorist attacks of Oct. 7, 2023, many of Israel’s supporters, myself included, have succumbed to the understandable impulse for violent retribution. Israel is a land that I love, both culturally as a Jew — and third-generation Holocaust survivor — and spiritually as an ordained cantor. It follows that [...]
UN official warns of escalating violence in Myanmar against civilians by junta
UN Special Rapporteur Tom Andrews warned on Wednesday that Myanmar’s ruling military junta escalated violence against civilians in response to resistance victories by pro-democracy and ethnic armed groups. He wrote last week that the junta escalated aerial attacks on villages, obstructed humanitarian aid and announced plans to conscript youths into the military. According to Andrews, [...]
Independent French reparations agency, Instance Nationale Indépendate de Reconnaissance et de Réparation (INIRR), reported that it has provided financial reparations to over 500 victims of sexual abuse perpetrated by clergy or leaders in the Catholic Church in 2023. INIRR’s 2023 report revealed that over 60 percent of victims are men, averaging an age of 61 years [...]
Bob Rae, Canada’s Ambassador to the United Nations, does not shy away from tough questions. Though many in a position such as his might shy away from argument, Rae seems to relish the opportunity to engage in some intellectual sparring. It was in this context that I requested an interview as Canada grapples with multiple [...]
Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) on Monday accused the US of orchestrating a covert campaign to interfere with the upcoming Russian presidential election, set to take place on Mar. 15-17. The spy agency claims the administration of US President Joe Biden has ordered a group of American NGOs to stifle voter turnout in a bid [...]
