Foreign adversaries, such as Russia and Iran, attempted to interfere in the 2020 US election, according to a declassified report released Tuesday by the US Office of the Director of National Intelligence. Executive Order 13848(1)(a) required the Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA) to address key foreign actors’ intentions and efforts to influence or interfere with the [...]

Newly elected Kyrgyz president Sadyr Japarov on Monday defended new constitutional reforms passed on March 11 that would grant broad powers to the executive branch. The amendments would also allow the president to hold office for multiple terms instead of the current one-year term provided by the constitution. In a recent statement to RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz [...]

German authorities on Tuesday arrested a former member of the Gambian armed forces in Hanover for his alleged crimes against humanity in the Gambia. An arrest warrant was filed for him on March 3. The federal prosecutor’s office alleges that the accused, referred to only as Bai L., committed “crimes against humanity, murder and attempted [...]

Virginia Governor Ralph Northam announced on Tuesday that going forward any Virginian convicted of a felony will automatically have their civil rights restored upon release from incarceration. Northam’s announcement restored the right to vote, serve on a jury, run for office, and become a notary public. Effective immediately, these rights will be restored upon completion [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on Monday dismissed an appeal from a Department of Justice (DOJ) employee seeking a defamation suit against the New York Times (NYT). Writing for the majority, Judge José Cabranes found that the district court properly dismissed the defamation suit as barred under New York state’s fair [...]

US Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ) introduced legislation Monday to prevent the transfer of sacred Apache land to a copper mining company, offering permanent reassurance in a scenario that has posed a looming threat to the area since 2014. Oak Flat, located in Arizona’s Tonto National Forest, is holy ground for the San Carlos Apaches, who come [...]

In a notice submitted to the US Supreme Court on Monday, acting Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar stated that the US Department of Justice (DOJ) has reconsidered its position with regard to whether possession of a small amount of cocaine base with intent to distribute constitutes a “covered offense” under Section 404 of the First Step [...]

The government of Kenya revealed Sunday that it had pulled out of the maritime border case with Somalia just a few hours before the scheduled virtual hearing before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, Netherlands. In a letter to the ICJ, Kenya’s Attorney General argued that the COVID-19 pandemic struck right after [...]

A mass trial against 22 Thai pro-democracy activists charged under the sedition act and other provisions, including the country’s lèse-majesté (royal insult) laws, began Monday. The demonstrators have been charged for their speeches and actions at one of the youth movement’s many mass pro-democracy protests against the country’s monarchy and military establishment. The kingdom’s lèse-majesté [...]

A court in Mali’s capital Bamako ended the trial of former coup leader Amadou Sanogo Monday. Sanogo was accused of involvement in the killings of 21 soldiers during a 2012 coup led by him. The court also ended proceedings against 15 other defendants, citing a 2019 reconciliation law offering amnesty for specific crimes committed during the coup. Sanogo’s [...]