Australia’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong announced Thursday that the government was imposing additional sanctions on five entities with direct links to the Myanmar military. Targets of the sanctions include the Myanmar Foreign Trade Bank and the Myanmar Investment and Commercial Bank, two major banks that support the regime’s activities. The sanctions “are a [...]

News agency CNA revealed Wednesday that the top pardons board in Malaysia halved former Prime Minister Najib Razak’s 12-year sentence for corruption, embezzlement and money laundering through Malaysia’s state-owned 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB). The board has also reduced the imposed fine to 50 million ringgit ($10.6 million) from 210 million ringgit. Provided Razak pays this, [...]

The UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) announced Thursday further sanctions on Myanmar over ongoing human rights violations. This round of sanctions targeted military-linked entities “involved in the repression of the civilian population and serious human rights violations” in the Southeast Asian country. The British government previously imposed sanctions on 25 individuals and 33 [...]

Farmers protested outside the European Parliament in Brussels on Thursday, demanding relief from taxes and rising costs, as European leaders met during a summit. They were met by police action with water hoses and tear gas. The protests are a part of a growing farmers movement across Europe to demand action on rising costs.  The [...]

Mike Freer, a Conservative MP for Finchley and Golders Green of almost 15 years, publicly announced Wednesday that he will not seek reelection as an MP and Parliamentary Under-Secretary for the Ministry of Justice. The announcement followed an alleged arson attack, an alleged murder attempt and multiple death threats against Freer, along with other incidents. [...]

The District Court of Hong Kong convicted Hong Kong activists Gregory Wong, Ng Chi-yung, Ho Chun-yin and Lam Kan-kwan on Thursday over rioting at Hong Kong’s Legislative Council Complex on July 1, 2019. The riot occurred on the anniversary of Hong Kong’s handover to China and occurred in the broader context of the 2019 Hong [...]

Canadian Minister of Health Mark Holland stated Thursday that the planned restrictions for transgender youth in the Alberta province are “extremely dangerous” and place children “at risk.” Holland’s statement came one day after Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announced plans to implement new policies regarding transgender minors’ access to medical treatment, pronoun use in school and participation [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit blocked on Thursday prison inmates’ lawsuit against Oregon Governor Kate Brown and others for putting the inmates on the lowest tier of priority for access to the COVID-19 vaccine. The court found that the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness (PREP) Act immunized state officials and the vaccine [...]

Iowa lawmakers declined to advance a piece of legislation on Wednesday that would have removed gender identity as a protected class under the state’s civil rights law. In a 3-0 tally, a subcommittee of the Iowa legislature’s Judiciary Committee voted against moving the bill forward. Although the bill sought to add a new category to [...]

The Pakistan court that sentenced former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan for leaking state secrets released its full opinion on Thursday. The court, which sentenced Khan to ten years imprisonment, found that as a result of the actions of Khan and Vice President of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Shah Mahmood Qureshi, “Pakistan has faced serious economic, [...]