Vietnamese authorities should immediately release prominent human rights activist Trịnh Bá Phương and drop all charges against him, Human Rights Watch (HRW) urged on Thursday. Phương was arrested in June 2020 and convicted in December 2021 under Article 117 of Vietnam’s Penal Code, receiving a 10-year sentence followed by five years of probation. Article 117 [...]

Former FBI director James Comey was indicted on Thursday for allegedly lying to Congress following pressure from US President Donald Trump, who considers Comey one of his political rivals. An indictment is a formal charge brought by prosecutors and approved by a grand jury, which allows a case to proceed within the court system. A [...]

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk on Thursday urged Guinean authorities to ensure that all parties can effectively participate in the upcoming December elections. Türk urged Guinean authorities to comply with their obligations under international law: Going forward, it is critical for the transitional authorities to ensure that processes towards restoring constitutional rule [...]

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced on Thursday a $2.5 billion settlement with Amazon to resolve a lawsuit over alleged deceptive practices tied to Amazon Prime. Under the court order issued by Judge John H. Chun of the Western District of Washington, $1.5 billion will go to eligible consumers affected by the practices, while $1 [...]

UN experts welcomed on Thursday the ratification of the Agreement on Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement), first adopted in June 2023. This ratification is a significant advance for the conservation of marine biological diversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction. The special rapporteur on the human right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment and [...]

A federal judge in New York stated Wednesday that no less than two senior US Department of Justice (DOJ) officials “appear to be in direct violation” of a local court rule when they issued out-of-court statements suggesting Luigi Mangione, the suspect in the shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, was guilty before trial. Judge Margaret [...]

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on Thursday that it is suing six states for failing to produce their statewide voter registration lists after they were requested. California, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania were among the states targeted by the DOJ in identical lawsuits after they did not produce details pertaining [...]

In an executive order issued on Thursday, US President Donald Trump formalized a deal with Chinese President Xi Jinping to operate TikTok as a “newly established joint venture” in the United States.  ByteDance Ltd., TikTok’s parent company, and its affiliates will own less than 20 percent of the US-based entity. The joint venture will have [...]

Human Rights Watch on Thursday called for Algerian authorities to put a halt to excessive control over civil society groups, and urged them to enact new laws based on accepted international standards for freedom of association. According to the group, a current proposed bill that seeks to update Law 12-06, enacted in 2012, fails to [...]

The British government on Thursday filed to block a legal challenge to UK-based activist group Palestine Action’s designation as a terrorist organization. The UK Home Office submitted the request to divert a High Court decision from July that approved group leader Huda Ammori’s request for judicial review before the court. If the block succeeds, judicial review [...]