United Nations Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Wednesday condemned Kyrgyzstan’s dissolution of its National Center for the Prevention of Torture (NCPT), warning that the country’s new legislation constitutes a breach of its international legal commitments under the UN Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture (OPCAT).  In Wednesday’s statement, Türk explained his concerns: The decision [...]

The United Nations (UN), African Union (AU), and European Union (EU) issued a joint statement on Sunday reaffirming their commitment to international legal standards amid growing global “disregard” for established legal frameworks. Meeting at UN Headquarters during the General Assembly’s 80th session, the three organizations explicitly condemned the “rising number of instances of lack of [...]

The East Timor Parliament on Wednesday said it would rescind legislation granting former members of parliament lifetime pensions, according to local media. The announcement followed several days of student‑led demonstrations in the capital city of Dili. Under a law that went into effect in 2007, former members of parliament are entitled to lifetime pensions equivalent [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Monday spurred global leaders to reinforce the global ban on cluster munitions, and urged states still using or producing these weapons to promptly join the treaty. The statement came following the Cluster Munition Coalition (CMC) release of its annual report. Mark Hiznay, associate crisis, conflict and arms director at HRW, [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on Tuesday largely upheld a California law aimed at protecting minors online. The case, NetChoice, LLC v. Bonta, saw a three-judge panel affirm most of the district court’s denial of a preliminary injunction against a California law that limits the ways that social media companies can [...]

The US Supreme Court on Monday stayed a district court order that would have reinstated Federal Trade Commission (FTC) commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter to her former position. The stay order halts enforcement of the district court’s July 17 ruling. Former FTC commissioners Slaughter and Alvaro Bedoya were dismissed from their roles by President Donald Trump [...]

Thailand’s Constitutional Court dismissed Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra on Friday in a 6-3 ruling, finding that she had acted in violation of constitutional ethics provisions. The court’s final ruling, which is not subject to appeal under Thai law, immediately terminated Shinawatra’s position under Section 170 of the Constitution. The ruling results in the immediate dissolution [...]

X Corp. and X.AI LLC filed a federal lawsuit on Monday alleging that Apple and OpenAI’s exclusive ChatGPT integration violates federal competition law. Plaintiffs accused the two companies of violating antitrust laws by establishing effective monopolies in their respective markets. The lawsuit stated that Apple currently owns a 65 percent US market share for smartphones, [...]

Manhattan District Attorney (DA) Alvin Bragg on Thursday announced a series of conspiracy and bribery charges against Ingrid Lewis-Martin, the former chief advisor to New York City Mayor Eric Adams. The charges allege systematic corruption spanning a period of nearly three years. Four separate indictments charge Lewis-Martin with conspiracy in the fourth degree and bribery [...]

US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard announced Monday on X (formerly Twitter) that the UK has agreed to drop its mandate that Apple provide a “back door” to access encrypted data from American users.  The controversial Technical Capability Notice (TCN) was issued to Apple in January under Section 253 of the UK’s 2016 Investigatory [...]