Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) leaders on Saturday held a meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia, where they called for an “immediate cessation of violence in Myanmar.” While the meeting addressed several region-specific economic, sociocultural and COVID-19-related issues, the focal point was the situation in Myanmar. The meeting was chaired by Brunei’s head of state Hassanal [...]
The Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe, Germany, ruled Thursday that Berlin’s Rent Cap Act is unconstitutional as it has undermined Germany’s Basic Law. The Act came into force last year, and its provisions are now deemed void as of April 2021. The rent cap was enacted in February 2020 as an attempt by the local government [...]
The European Court of Human Rights issued judgment on Thursday that mandatory vaccinations of children under the Czech Republic’s health policy do not violate Article 8 of the European Convention of Human Rights. The policy, mandated by section 46 of the Public Health Protection Act, requires long-term residents to undergo routine vaccinations covered by public [...]
The US Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that Facebook’s notification pop-up messages did not violate the 1991 Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). The court unanimously upheld a narrow definition of an automated dialer, stating that Facebook’s software fell short of the definition. The Supreme Court opinion in Facebook, Inc. v. Duguid reads that Facebook’s security notification systems do not [...]
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp signed controverial voting restrictions into law Thursday following passage in the senate by a vote of 34-19. The bill enforces a rule for absentee voters to provide more documentation for verification, replacing the previous signature verification process. It also cuts down early voting from three weeks to one. The bill also [...]
Robert Aaron Long, the suspect in Tuesday’s massage parlor shootings in Atlanta, Georgia, was arrested and charged by the Atlanta Police Department on Wednesday. He is facing eight counts of murder and one count of aggravated assault with four counts and the count of aggravated assault for the first shooting in Cherokee County and the [...]
The Malaysian government enacted Thursday an anti-fake-news law that aims to counter Covid-19 misinformation. The Malaysian King (Yang di-Pertuan Agong) has declared a state of emergency for the country, lasting until August. The law was enacted through an executive authority by Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, which does not require any Parliamentary procedures. The law is [...]
The US House of Representatives passed two pieces of legislation Thursday to enforce higher standards for background checks on persons intending to purchase firearms from licensed arms dealers. HR 8, the Bipartisan Background Checks Act, requires licensed gun dealers, manufacturers or importers to act as a third-party background check on unlicensed private parties who intend [...]
Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Marc Garneau requested formal negotiations Thursday with the UN General Assembly to hold the Assad regime accountable for its atrocities in the 2011 Syrian civil war. The negotiations would be held on the grounds of the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNCAT). [...]
The US Supreme Court ruled 5-3 Thursday that undocumented immigrants bear the burden of showing that they have not been convicted of a crime involving “moral turpitude,” or they will face lawful removal. Clemente Pereida, is being deported under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) of 1952. He has lived in the US for more [...]
