The US Department of Justice (DOJ) Thursday filed suit against former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort for around $3 million for failing to timely report his financial interest in foreign accounts.  In 2018, Manafort pleaded guilty to counts of conspiracy against the US, conspiracy to commit money laundering, tax fraud, failing to file Foreign Bank Account Reports and [...]

The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) Monday released its 2022 annual report, which noted “significant regress” in countries such as Afghanistan and the Central African Republic. As part of its report, USCIRF recommended that the US Department of State designate 15 countries as “countries of particular concern” (CPCs), as their governments are involved [...]

The US Supreme Court Thursday ruled in favor of Holocaust survivor heirs who sought to repossess a Pissarro painting that was stolen by Nazis during World War II. In Cassirer v. Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection Foundation, the Cassirer family sought to repossess a Camille Pissarro painting that was stolen by Nazis in 1939. The Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection Foundation, [...]

Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Mélanie Joly Tuesday announced that Canada was imposing sanctions on 14 “close associates” of the Russian regime, including President Vladimir Putin’s two daughters.  Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, Canada has imposed sanctions on over 750 individuals and entities. These sanctions have been imposed on individuals and entities [...]

Australia Thursday imposed financial sanctions on 14 Russian state-owned enterprises. These targeted sanctions are aimed at entities of “strategic and economic importance” to Russia.  The sanctions have been imposed on electronic company Ruselectronics, transportation company Russian Railways, transportation company Kamaz, shipping company SEVMASH, and shipping company United Shipbuilding Corporation. Australia imposed the sanctions on these state-owned [...]

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis Thursday signed into law a bill that bans abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, providing no exemptions for rape, incest, or human trafficking. The bill, CS/HB 5, bans abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy and allows only minimal exceptions, such as if the abortion would save the life of a pregnant [...]

The Biden administration Friday announced that the US would continue to “spare no effort” to provide the Ukrainian military with weapons to protect its country. Biden noted that Ukrainian forces have used military weapons sent by the US to “repel the Russian attack on Kyiv, keep the skies of Ukraine contested, and deliver severe blows [...]

US District Judge Leonie Brinkema of the Eastern District of Virginia Wednesday ordered the US military to stop restricting HIV-positive service members from advancing in their careers.  Under the current military policy, individuals with HIV are prohibited from enlisting or being deployed overseas. This policy has faced criticism from a variety of sources. In 2018, [...]

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) Wednesday announced that Russian oligarch Konstantin Malofeyev was charged with violating US sanctions that were imposed in 2014 for his role in undermining democratic processes and institutions in Ukraine.  Malofeyev was sanctioned under Executive Order 13660. Under the order, individuals responsible for or complicit in the undermining of the peace, [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit Tuesday rejected Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska’s appeal to lift sanctions imposed on him by the US in 2018. The court found that officials had sufficient evidence to support their decision to impose sanctions. In 2018, the US sanctioned both Deripaska and another billionaire, Viktor [...]