Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan on Friday approved a landmark bill to strengthen protections for whistleblowers, according to local media. The bill represents a significant move in the country’s fight against corruption and illegal activities. The Public Welfare Whistleblower Protection Act establishes stringent penalties for civil servants who disclose the identities of whistleblowers, including up to five years of [...]
A violent prison riot in Mozambique on Thursday has resulted in the deaths of at least 33 inmates and the escape of at least 1,500 from a high-security facility in the capital, Maputo. The incident occurred amid widespread civil unrest following the controversial confirmation of the ruling Frelimo party’s victory in the October elections. Police [...]
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Italy disclosed on Friday that Tehran police authorities have detained Italian journalist Cecilia Sala since December 19. Under instructions from Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, Italian diplomatic officials have been monitoring Sala’s detention in Evin prison while working with Iranian authorities to clarify her legal situation. Italian Ambassador Paola Amadei [...]
New York Governor Kathy Hochul on Thursday signed a climate change bill into law, empowering the state government to levy heavy fines on fossil fuel companies. The fines will go to a “superfund” that pays for addressing environmental damages caused by human-driven climate change. The Climate Change Superfund Act creates a climate adaptation cost recovery [...]
The US Congress on Thursday failed to pass a bipartisan bill to reauthorize the North Korean Human Rights Act (NKHRA). The NKHRA reauthorization bill seeks to renew funding for humanitarian efforts in North Korea and reaffirms the key purposes of the law. Apart from renewing the funding, the reauthorization bill also criticizes the executive branch’s [...]
The European Commission and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs condemned the deliberate destruction of electricity and data cables in the Baltic Sea, in a joint statement issued on Friday. Kaja Kallas, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, described this incident as part of a disturbing trend of attacks on infrastructure linked to Russia’s [...]
Syria’s new revolutionary authorities on Thursday announced the arrest of Mohammed Kanjo Hassan, a high-ranking military official accused of ordering mass executions at the notorious Sednaya prison during the regime of ousted leader Bashar al-Assad. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), Kanjo was responsible for the executions of thousands of young Syrian [...]
UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Thursday condemned the recent escalation of violence between Yemen and Israel, which resulted in the deaths of at least three people and injured dozens. New Israeli airstrikes targeted critical civilian infrastructure, including Red Sea ports, power stations, and Sana’a International Airport. World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus was [...]
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) on Friday called on the Chinese government to immediately release Liu Hanbin, a blogger who has been detained for one month following his publication of information regarding a protest by farmers against forced land seizures. RSF’s Asia-Pacific bureau director Cédric Alviani stated: Chinese blogger Liu Hanbin was only serving the public [...]
China imposed sanctions on seven US military firms and their executives on Friday following a recent US arms sale to Taiwan. The Chinese Foreign Ministry stated that it froze the sanctioned firms’ and executives’ assets that were located within Chinese jurisdiction. The ministry also prohibited all Chinese organizations and individuals from engaging in any transactions [...]
