Australia Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek Thursday announced that the federal government will legislate new protections for Aboriginal cultural heritage sites following a report that mining giant Rio Tinto destroyed a sacred 46,000-year-old site at Juukan Gorge. However, the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura (PKKP) Aboriginal Cooperation released a statement saying they were “angry and disappointed” [...]

International human rights charities Redress and Free Nazanin Wednesday released a report describing Iranian authorities’ actions, especially in the midst of the nationwide Mahsa Amini protests, as “state hostage-taking.” The nearly 50-page report argues Iran has institutionalized state hostage-taking through the practice of arbitrary detention, torture and ill-treatment of foreign and dual nationals to obtain diplomatic [...]

A group of Tanzanian villagers Wednesday filed legal action with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice against the mining company Barrick Gold for a number of human rights violations at its North Mara Gold Mine. It is the first time that the mining company has faced legal action in Canada for human rights violations abroad. [...]

The Supreme Court of Georgia Wednesday reinstated the state’s six-week abortion ban after a lower court found the 2019 act unconstitutional on November 15. In a one-page order, the court granted the state’s request to stay the lower court decision. As a result, the Living Infants Fairness and Equality (LIFE) Act is reinstated, and Georgia’s [...]

David Eby, premier of the Canadian province of British Columbia, announced an amendment to the 2013 Community Safety Act Tuesday to expand the province’s authority to seize assets amassed by suspected criminals. Under the amendment, unexplained wealth orders (UWO) would target property, vehicles and other luxury goods. The expanded authority would no longer require a [...]

New York federal judge John Sinatra Tuesday issued a preliminary injunction in Christian v. Nigrellixi  blocking New York’s enforcement of the “private property exclusion” within NY penal law section 265.01-d. Judge Sinatra found the ban unconstitutional because it violates the US Constitution’s Fourteenth Amendment regarding citizens’ right to “keep and bear arms,” as guaranteed in the [...]

Irish Minister for Justice Helen McEntee Tuesday announced the government agreed to publish a new policing bill. The bill, called the Policing, Security and Community Safety Bill, aims to strengthen accountability and independent oversight of the An Garda Síochána. The bill seeks to address the needs of Irish communities by encouraging cooperation between the Garda [...]

The Supreme Court of Georgia denied Republicans’ attempt to prevent advance voting in the Georgia Senate run-off election. The decision comes after the Georgia Republican Party, the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) and the Republican National Committee (RNC) filed an emergency petition and motion to stay with the state’s highest court. The Georgia Republican Party, [...]

The US Supreme Court Tuesday denied former President Donald Trump’s request to block the US House Ways and Means Committee from obtaining his tax records. Chief Justice John Roberts previously stayed a lower court order granting the committee access on November 1. Tuesday’s order ends a legal battle between the committee and Trump which started [...]

The US Department of Labor (DOL) Tuesday announced a final rule that allows Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) plan fiduciaries to consider climate change and other social and governance factors when they select retirement investments and exercise shareholder rights. The final rule is “Prudence and Loyalty in Selecting Plan Investments and Exercising Shareholder Rights.” In response [...]