The US Supreme Court announced Monday it will take up the trademark case Vidal v. Elster, to determine whether the application of Section 2(c) of the Lanham Act to political figures violates the First Amendment.  The case surrounds the trademark application by Steve Elster for the phrase “Trump Too Small,” which Elster attempted to trademark for [...]

The Court of Justice of the European Union (EU) ruled Monday that Poland’s 2019 court reforms violated EU laws on effective judicial protection, judicial independence and the rule of law. The court sided with the EU Commission, which launched infringement proceedings against Poland over the reforms in 2019. The Court of Justice found that several parts [...]

Rodolfe Jaar was sentenced to life in prison Friday by Judge Jose Martinez of the Southern District of Florida for his role in the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise. In Jaar’s March plea agreement, he admitted to “knowingly and willfully” providing weapons and personnel in furtherance of the plot. Jaar’s original indictment alleges that a [...]

President Faustin Archange Touadéra of the Central African Republic called for a constitutional referendum Tuesday that would allow him to seek a third term in office. This call was quickly followed by the Central African Republic’s Electoral Body decreeing that a vote on the proposed changes to the constitution would occur on July 30. The current [...]

South African opposition party the Democratic Alliance (DA) called Tuesday for the arrest of Russian President Vladimir Putin should he enter the country for the upcoming BRICS Conference. Since March, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has had an outstanding warrant for Putin’s arrest, which the DA now seeks to enforce. The DA filed an application [...]

President of Uganda Yoweri Museveni signed the controversial Anti-Homosexuality Act 2023 into law Monday. The law authorizes the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality,”  which includes same-sex relations with a vulnerable person, a person under 18, or when the actor is HIV positive. The bill also sets a term of life in prison for anyone convicted [...]

Saudi Arabian officials announced Monday the execution of two Shi’a Muslim men from Bahrain despite criticism of the men’s trial from Amnesty International. Jaafar Mohammad Sultan and Sadeq Majeed Thamer were accused of allegedly supporting terrorist acts, protesting the government in Bahrain and smuggling explosives over the Saudi-Bahrain border. In a statement to the Saudi [...]

Somali officials announced Sunday that the country would institute a direct one-person-one-vote democracy by 2024. This comes after years of attempts to implement direct universal suffrage, first mandated by the Somali legislature in 2019, failed due to political divisions and internal conflict.  The announcement came along with several other reforms to the current Somali electoral structure, including the [...]

The Texas House of Representatives voted Saturday to impeach Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton by a vote of 121 to 23. Paxton will now face a trial in the Texas Senate, where Paxton’s wife is a member, and has been suspended from office pending the upcoming trial, pursuant to Texas law. Paxton responded to the [...]

Multiple global and local aid agencies called for $7 billion full funding for the UN response to food emergencies in the Horn of Africa Tuesday, ahead of Wednesday’s Horn of Africa High Level Pledging Conference. The conference is being hosted by the UN Secretary-General António Guterres and the governments of Italy, Qatar, the UK and [...]