An appeals court in Malaysia has set aside a lower court ruling that sentenced 27 Rohingya refugees to be caned, one of the group’s lawyers said on Wednesday. Judge Arik Sanusi said that the refugees were neither habitual offenders nor had they committed any acts of violence, so it was “inhumane” to inflict such punishment [...]

Southern Ohio US Attorney Dave DeVillers has announced the arrest of Republican Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder in connection with “what is likely the largest bribery-money laundering scheme ever perpetrated against the people of the state of Ohio.” Lobbyists Juan Cespedes and Neil Clark, along with former Ohio Republican Party Chair Matt Borges and Householder adviser [...]

US District Judge Raag Singhal of the Southern District of Florida has dismissed a lawsuit accusing the Burger King fast-food chain of failing to disclose that the plant-based “Impossible Whopper” patty and regular beef patties are cooked on the same grill, using the same oils, resulting in vegetarian and vegan customers inadvertently consuming animal fats. [...]

Harvard University dean Rakesh Khurana announced in an email to students on Wednesday that the University’s first-year international students will not be allowed to come to campus this year. The decision was made in consequence of a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) policy announced earlier this month restricting visas for international students pursuing online-only [...]

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has announced that the United States government will offer a reward of up to $5M for information leading to the arrest or conviction of the President of Venezuela’s Supreme Tribunal of Justice, Maikel José Moreno Pérez. Pompeo alleged Tuesday that: has personally received money or property bribes to influence [...]

A three-judge panel from the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit has dismissed a lawsuit by the Alabama NAACP that alleged that the state’s 2011 Photo Voter Identification Law was unconstitutional. The law requires voters to present a form of photo identification at the polls. The state chapter of the NAACP filed the [...]

A Canadian Federal Court judge ruled Wednesday that the Canada-US Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA) is unconstitutional under Canadian law, as certain provisions of the Act violate the “right to life, liberty, and security of the person” guaranteed under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The STCA governs Canada’s asylum relationship with the United States, and requires that [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled Tuesday that a challenge to Arizona’s Proposition 123 education funding should be dismissed. The plaintiff, Michael Pierce, brought suit against Arizona Governor Douglas Ducey, alleging a violation of the New Mexico-Arizona Enabling Act. To provide funding for public schools in Arizona when the state was [...]

The US Department of Commerce economically blacklisted 11 more Chinese companies on Monday due to involvement in human rights abuses perpetrated against Uighur Muslims. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross cited China’s “campaign of repression, mass arbitrary detention, forced labor, involuntary collection of biometric data, and genetic analyses targeted at Muslim minority groups from the Xinjiang [...]

Sudan’s ousted president, Omar al-Bashir, went on trial Tuesday in the capital city of Khartoum for spearheading the 1989 coup d’état that brought him to power. After the opening of the trial on Tuesday, proceedings were adjourned until August 11. The charges against al-Bashir include undermining the constitution, violating the Armed Forces Act and stirring up [...]