The Nara district court on Wednesday sentenced Tetsuya Yamagami to life in prison for his assassination of Japan’s former prime minister, Shinzo Abe. He pleaded guilty to murder, having shot the retired prime minister in 2022 with a homemade gun, according to local media. Yamagami’s defence team focused on the homemade gun, arguing that the [...]

French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez announced on Wednesday that the country has banned 10 British activists who attempted to stop UK-bound migrants from leaving French beaches by destroying small boats.  The Interior Ministry clarified in a press release that the ban applies to 10 far-right activists from the Raise the Colours movement, which calls for an [...]

The Munich II Public Prosecutor’s Office on Tuesday dropped a money laundering and sanction breach investigation into the Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov, after agreeing upon a €10 million settlement. The settlement will be split between the state treasury (€8.5 million) and German charities (€1.5 million.) Usmanov was under investigation for failing to declare his assets [...]

UN Secretary-General António Guterres pushed for unity and respect for ceasefire agreements in a press conference at the Second World Summit for Social Development in Qatar on Tuesday.  Guterres responded to journalists’ questions on the ceasefire by calling on all involved countries to cooperate, while confirming the UN’s engagement. He stated: We have been very [...]

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) on Tuesday called for the reversal of a Kyrgyzstan court ruling issued the previous day. The Oktyabrsky District Court ruled that publications by the investigative outlets Temirov Live and Kloop are extremist and should be banned.  This marks the first time Kyrgyzstan has declared news outlets to be extremists, with [...]

The UN International Organization for Migration (IOM) renewed its calls for enhanced coordination and safety along migration pathways on Thursday following a shipwreck off the coast of Tunisia that killed 40 migrants. The organization stated: “IOM reiterates its support for countries along key migration routes through protection-sensitive search and rescue operations, and through efforts to [...]

The Federal Administrative Court of Switzerland ruled on Tuesday that writing off 16.5 billion Swiss francs ($20.53 billion USD) in Credit Suisse bonds was unlawful, calling into question the government’s approach to handling banking crises.  Credit Suisse, a global Swiss bank, collapsed in March 2023, triggering a response from the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority [...]

Costa Rica’s Supreme Electoral Tribunal urged the country’s National Assembly on Tuesday to strip President Rodrigo Chaves of his immunity, allowing him to face accusations of political interference. The step comes two weeks after Chaves dodged a similar push from the Supreme Court to strip immunity for corruption.  The Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE), the country’s [...]

Amnesty International on Tuesday called on armed Palestinian groups to immediately release all civilians still held hostage in the occupied Gaza Strip, nearly two years after the October 7 attacks, while also urging Israel to halt what it described as an ongoing genocide against Palestinians. In its latest report, the rights group stressed that achieving [...]

Over 20 rights groups welcomed Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Sisi’s refusal to sign a highly criticized draft Criminal Code on Tuesday, calling it a step in the right direction. Sisi’s move sends the code back to parliament for revision. President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi refused to sign primarily due to Article 242 of the draft Code, [...]