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The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced fraud charges Wednesday against a New York-based jewelry wholesaler who allegedly operated a “fraudulent Ponzi-like scheme in which he raised at least $69 million from at least 80 investors, including a number of current and retired police officers and firefighters.” According to the SEC’s complaint, Gregory Altieri, [...]

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The United Kingdom formally exited the European Union on the stroke of the New Year with parliament ratifying a new law to govern ties with the continental body. The EU (Future Relationship) Act of 2020 received the Queen’s Royal Assent after getting approval from both houses of parliament late Wednesday. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson recalled [...]

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Argentina’s Senate on Wednesday passed a law legalizing abortion after a marathon 12-hour session, a victory for the country’s women’s movement that has been fighting for the right for decades. In addition to allowing abortion within the first 14 weeks of pregnancy, the legislation establishes that even after that period, a pregnancy can be legally [...]

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President Donald Trump asked the US Supreme Court Tuesday to overturn the Wisconsin election results in a second attempt to involve the Supreme Court in altering election results in his favor. In their petition, lawyers acting for Trump argue that antifraud mandates were disregarded by Wisconsin election officials during the Wisconsin recount. More specifically, they [...]

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Kremlin.ru, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed multiple laws Wednesday to restrict the influence of US social media companies like YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. The first law passed by the president allows Russia to block internet sites that allegedly discriminate against Russian media, while the second imposes a substantial fine on social media companies that fail to [...]

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The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC), the top legislature in China, approved the Yangtze River Protection Law (current text) on Saturday in order to protect the ecological environment of the river. The law is set to take effect March 1. The Yangtze River is the longest river in China, contributing to 40 [...]

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The US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on Tuesday that it would not file federal criminal charges against two Cleveland police officers involved in the 2014 shooting of 12 year old Tamir Rice. The lengthy statement began with an overview of the relevant law, which requires the government to “prove beyond a reasonable doubt that [...]

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Evgeny Feldman, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation announced on Tuesday that it had initiated a criminal investigation against Alexei Navalny, a prominent leader of the Russian opposition to Vladimir Putin’s leadership. According to the investigation, Navalny, as head of various non-profit organizations such as the Fund for Organization and Coordination of the Protection of Citizens’ [...]

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The West Kowloon Court in Hong Kong on Tuesday sentenced former pro-independence group leader Tony Chung to four months of imprisonment for insulting the Chinese flag during a protest in May 2019. Chung, a former member of the now-defunct pro-independence group Studentlocalism, was arrested outside the US consulate for his alleged involvement and activities with [...]

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On Wednesday human rights activist and civil rights lawyer Nicholas Opiyo was freed on bail. Justice Jane Okuo Kajuga of the High Court ruled that Opiyo may be released from prison after making a cash deposit and surrendering his passport. Opiyo’s arrest on December 22 for allegedly violating the Anti-Money Laundering Act sparked worldwide criticism [...]

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