Chinese officials announced Monday that Australian writer Yang Hengjun has been charged with espionage. Yang was detained by Chinese authorities in January 2019 and has not been released since. A former Chinese diplomat and spy novelist, Yang wrote on Chinese politics for several years. He became an Australian citizen in the early 2000s. Yang claims his spy [...]

US President Donald Trump issued a proclamation Saturday indicating plans to move forward with an extension of safeguard taxes to cover double-sided solar panels that were previously exempted, while also raising the future overall tariff rate from 15 percent to 18 percent. The proclamation comes more than two year years after Trump approved new tariffs [...]

The US Senate Judiciary Committee began the Supreme Court confirmation hearings for Judge Amy Coney Barrett on Monday. Republican Senators sought to make the hearing about Barrett’s Catholicism, while Democrats focused on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and Roe v Wade. In addition, Democrats focused on the COVID-19 pandemic. Criticism included the lack of contact [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issued a ruling on Friday that effectively limits ballot drop boxes to one box per county for the upcoming presidential election. This lawsuit was precipitated in mid-August, when Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose issued a directive that limits the number of drop boxes available for [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit concluded Friday that US President Donald Trump’s unilateral diversion of $3.6 billion from the Department of Defense budget to fund a border wall on the US-Mexico border was unlawful. The court concluded that 10 USC § 2808, which permits “military construction projects, not otherwise authorized by [...]

Amnesty International urged the UN Security Council Monday to take action against Myanmar for military abuses. Amnesty’s condemnation of Myanmar’s military action follows after reports of intensified violence between Myanmar’s military and Araken Army that led to civilian casualties. Ming Yu Hah, Amnesty’s Deputy Regional Director for Campaigns, called on the Security Council to refer [...]

A federal judge on Sunday upheld Minnesota’s extended absentee ballot deadline. The deadline allows election officials in Minnesota to count absentee ballots postmarked on election day that are received within a week of the election. In upholding the deadline, Judge Nancy Brasel found that the Republican Party of Minnesota Electors who brought the suit lacked [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued a temporary stay on Saturday allowing Governor Greg Abbott to limit each county to one drop-off site for absentee ballots for the upcoming election. On Friday, a federal judge had granted a preliminary injunction against the governor’s limit. The plaintiffs had noted that the governor’s [...]

The Israeli Cabinet unanimously approved a peace agreement with the United Arab Emirates on Monday—the first peace agreement that Israel has signed in more than 25 years. Israeli Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu explained that the agreement will open the door to trade between Israel and its neighbors, leading to a major geopolitical and economic turning [...]

The US District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania dismissed a lawsuit filed by Donald Trump’s re-election campaign challenging mail-in drop boxes in Pennsylvania on Saturday. The lawsuit challenged the statewide use of ballot drop boxes in at least 20 counties. The Trump campaign alleged that the unmonitored and unsecured ad hoc drop boxes [...]