The UN General Assembly Wednesday adopted a landmark resolution, led by the Pacific Island nation of Vanuatu, which calls on the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to provide an advisory opinion on states’ obligations to address climate change. The resolution also requests the Court’s opinion on the legal consequences for states whose “acts and omissions” [...]

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Monday announced that he will delay proposed reforms of Israel’s judicial system. The postponement comes in the face of mass protests, diplomatic resignations, job walkouts and increasing opposition from members of Netanyahu’s party, foreign governments and NGOs. “When there’s an opportunity to avoid civil war through dialogue, I, as prime [...]

Scattered protests in France continued Friday, following Thursday’s mass demonstrations over nationwide opposition to President Emmanuel Macron’s controversial pension reform bill. UK King Charles III also cancelled his scheduled visit to France on March 26 early Friday morning. Macron stated in a news conference that the visit “would have prompted incidents” he characterized as “detestable.”  [...]

US President Joe Biden Monday issued the first veto of his presidency, rejecting legislation seeking to overturn a Department of Labor (DOL) rule which allows retirement fund managers to consider environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors when selecting investments. Biden argued that the rule should remain, and with his veto it effectively does–unless the legislature [...]

Mexico Wednesday filed an appeal in its civil lawsuit against US-based firearms manufacturers and distributors in an attempt to crack down on the trafficking of American weapons to drug cartels within Mexico. In its statement announcing the appeal, Mexican authorities argued, “there is a correlation between the negligent practices of companies and the arms trafficking that [...]

The Biden administration Monday officially approved the Willow Project, an $8 billon oil development project proposed by ConocoPhillips in the Alaskan arctic. While proponents of the project lauded the decision as a crucial source of job creation and revenue, some environmental groups and lawmakers derided the project as a “carbon bomb,” which severely undercuts President [...]

Human Rights Watch Thursday released a report arguing that Lebanese authorities have “failed to uphold the right to electricity by mismanaging the sector for decades”. The 127-page report, titled “‘Cut Off from Life Itself’: Lebanon’s Failure on the Right to Electricity,” asserts that the internationally-protected right to an adequate standard of living includes “the right [...]

A panel of senior civil servants Tuesday released their report on the Critical Election Incident Public Protocol, created to address threats to Canada’s elections, and determined that foreign attempts to influence the 2021 federal election did not affect the results. “In 2019 and 2021, the panel, as part of the Protocol, determined that the Government [...]

UN Secretary General António Guterres Monday took aim at “climate-wrecking corporations” during his remarks to the 52nd session of the Human Rights Council. He stated: Legal challenges against climate-wrecking corporations are an important step forward. Fossil fuel producers and their financiers must understand one simple truth: pursuing mega-profits when so many people are losing their [...]

Facebook parent company Meta Thursday announced that it took down three state-linked “domestic influence operations” in the past quarter. Each operation used fake account networks to influence domestic politics and target opposition parties. Operations linked to ruling parties and governments in Cuba, Serbia and Bolivia were found by Meta investigators to be engaging in a [...]