Kerala-based journalist Siddique Kappan Thursday walked out of jail after having spent over two years in incarceration. A Lucknow Sessions Court signed the bail order after accepting his bail bonds. In October 2020, he along with three others was arrested on charges of conspiracy to create disturbance during the critical time of the Hathras gang-rape [...]

The Office of the Arizona Attorney General (AG) Kris Mayes filed a motion with Arizona Supreme Court to withdraw the requested execution warrant for Aaron Brian Gunches. In December the AG requested the warrant after Gunches expressed his wish to be executed. However, Gunches later filed for withdrawal of the request. The motion cited three [...]

Religious leaders from diverse faith backgrounds Thursday filed a lawsuit challenging Missouri’s abortion ban in the Circuit Court of St. Louis City. The challengers argue that the Missouri abortion law violates the Missouri Constitution. They seek a permanent injunction on enforcement of the provisions of the law based on the belief that the ban is [...]

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres Wednesday accused Big Oil of peddling a “big lie” about their contribution in global warming. Speaking at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, Guterres said, “We learned last week that certain fossil fuel producers were fully aware in the 1970s that their core product was baking our [...]

The Philippine Court of Tax Appeals Wednesday acquitted Nobel-winning journalist Maria Ressa and her news website Rappler of tax evasion charges. According to the International Centre for Journalists (ICFJ), the maximum sentence for the four tax charges amounted to 34 years in prison. Hold The Line Coalition (HTL), a group of Ressa supporters, welcomed the [...]

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) Tuesday ordered Russia to recognize same-sex unions. The ruling came in response to an appeal by three gay couples who were denied the ability to marry by Russian authorities. It remains to be seen whether Russia will implement the court’s ruling. A bench of 17 judges presided over [...]

The Special Advisory Council for Myanmar (SAC-M) Monday released a report identifying international companies which are helping the Myanmar military junta (Tatmadaw) to commit atrocities by supplying them weapons it has used to repress the country’s population. Titled “Fatal Business: Supplying the Myanmar Military’s Weapon Production,” the report argues that the junta’s gross violation of [...]

The South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs Thursday unveiled a plan to create a domestic fund for compensating WWII forced labor victims while victim advocates maintain that the compensation should come from Japan. The Supreme Court of South Korea ordered two Japanese steel companies to compensate forced labor victims in 2018. The steel companies, Nippon [...]

The US and India Thursday announced a new Trade Policy Forum (TPF) working group on resilient trade, which will aim to develop and strengthen a sustainable trade relationship between the two countries. US Trade Representative Katherine Tai co-chaired the meeting along with Indian Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal. The group will also work [...]

The UN Security Council (UNSC) Thursday discussed the importance of the “rule of law” in international dispute resolution. The Council opined that an increased consensus among member states to yield to the compulsory jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) would be key to maintaining global peace. This would have to be supplemented by [...]