New China Coast Guard rules allowing Chinese guardsmen to arrest foreigners for trespassing in the disputed South China Sea took effect Saturday. The China Coast Guard issued Order No. 3 last month, stating, “It is of great significance to standardize and ensure that the Coast Guard performs its duties in accordance with the law and [...]

Thousands of women on Saturday took to the streets of the Brazilian city of São Paulo in sweeping opposition to a legislative bill currently under consideration in the country’s Congress intended to criminalize abortions further. Proposed by conservative lawmakers, the bill—if passed—would equate termination after the 22-week mark of pregnancy with homicide, and establish sentences [...]

The Finnish Border Guard stated on Friday that it suspects four Russian military planes violated Finland’s airspace on Monday. This comes after Finland’s Ministry of Defence suspected the airspace violation of one Russian military plane on Monday. The suspected violation violated Finland’s airspace by 2.5 km and involved a four-plane division. The Finnish Border Guard [...]

The US Department of Treasury announced on Friday that it coordinated with Türkiye’s government to sanction four people connected to an ISIS-linked human smuggling network. The Treasury’s press release stated that Olimkhon Makhmudjon Ugli Ismailov (Ismailov) participated in the network, and Muhammad Ibrohimjon Niyazov (Niyazov) was involved in the network by supporting ISIS members in [...]

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) urged Jordanian authorities to withdraw all charges and immediately release Palestinian-Jordanian journalist Hiba Abu Taha on Friday. According to the CPJ, Hiba Abu Taha was arrested on May 14 and sentenced to one-year imprisonment on June 11 for “inciting discord and strife among members of society”, and “targeting community [...]

The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) warned on Friday that global efforts to end female genital mutilation (FGM) are undermined by the cross-border movements of girls to undergo FGM. FGM is a practice that involves altering or injuring the female genitalia for non-medical reasons. It can lead to both immediate [...]

UN Special Adviser of the Secretary on the Prevention of Genocide Alice Nderitu warned on Friday that hate speech continues to significantly threaten global peace and security. It also frequently targets the most vulnerable in society. In a briefing to the UN Security Council, Nderitu said that as well as inciting violence, hate speech also [...]

Serbia’s Higher Court in Belgrade decided on Thursday to extradite Belarusian filmmaker Andrei Gnet to Belarus pursuant to the Law on International Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters and the interstate agreement Serbia and Belarus made on January 3, 2019. Gnet is accused by the Belarus government of tax evasion under Article 243(2) of the Criminal Code [...]

The Philippines Department of Foreign Affairs filed a claim with the UN on Friday to formally recognize the boundaries of its underwater continental shelf in the South China Sea, granting it exclusive rights to utilize the area’s resources. The Philippines filed the claim with the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf following [...]

The legal team for a former top Nagorno-Karabakh official alleged in a Friday letter addressed to the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture that their client, former Nagorno-Karabakh Minister of State Ruben Vardanyan, and an unnamed Armenian business leader had been tortured while in custody in Azerbaijan for engaging in a hunger strike. Vardanyan was detained [...]