UN experts on Thursday condemned the conviction of journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio and human rights defender Marielle Domequil in the Philippines on charges of financing terrorism. Cumpio and Domequil were convicted on January 22, where the court sentenced them to prison terms ranging from 12 to 18 years. The experts stated, “Given the serious concerns [...]

The US Department of Justice announced on Thursday that it has filed lawsuits against Utah, Oklahoma, Kentucky, West Virginia and New Jersey for not providing voter registration records. The Department had previously sued 24 states and the District of Columbia for allegedly refusing to cooperate with such record production. US Attorney General Pamela Bondi stated: [...]

President Donald Trump announced a 10% global tariff after the US Supreme Court’s landmark decision Friday ruling against his tariff imposition under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) of 1977. Trump called the Supreme Court’s decision “deeply disappointing” and said he was “ashamed” of some Supreme Court justices. He said the 10% global tariff will [...]

Martin Chungong, head of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), warned delegates at a UN conference Thursday that growing public hostility toward lawmakers could have “major implications for democracies, parliaments and human rights worldwide.” In an UN News interview, Italian MP Valentina Grippo described the pressures lawmakers face when speaking publicly, saying that if an MP’s message [...]

The Supreme People’s Court of the People’s Republic of China announced a group execution Thursday that brought a landmark cross-border crime case to a close. The 11 ringleaders from the northern Myanmar Ming family criminal syndicate and its affiliated fraud groups have been executed. The 11 people executed had committed grave crimes against Chinese citizens, [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) warned Thursday that recent reductions in donor support for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria risk undermining the right to health for millions of people worldwide. HRW said donors have pledged US$11.85 billion toward the Global Fund’s US$18 billion target for the 2026–2028 replenishment cycle, leaving a US$6.15 [...]

The Supreme Court of Canada ruled on Friday that federal prisoners can use habeas corpus to challenge decisions denying them transfer to lower-security institutions, holding that such refusals can amount to a deprivation of liberty that courts must be able to review. In its decision in Dorsey v. Canada involving inmate Ghassan Salah, the Court [...]

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) on Thursday called on Chinese authorities to immediately release veteran journalist Dong Yuyu after the Beijing High Court upheld his seven-year prison sentence for espionage. The CPJ said the court affirmed the conviction without providing reasons, and that the appeal decision is final under China’s system. “Speaking with diplomats [...]

The Supreme Court of Canada ruled Friday that trial judges must consider all available evidence, not only a complainant’s testimony, when deciding whether a person had the capacity to consent to sexual activity. The decision in R. v. Rioux clarified how courts should assess capacity and consent in cases involving intoxication, memory loss, or fragmented [...]

The University of Pennsylvania announced this week that it will not sign the Trump administration’s “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education.” Interim university president J. Larry Jameson stated that Penn has provided “focused feedback” outlining areas of alignment and “substantive concerns.” The compact offers funding advantages in exchange for policy changes that align with [...]