Following a months-long blockade that culminated in violent attacks by Azerbaijani forces, the government of the predominantly ethnic Armenian region of Nagorno-Karabakh announced Thursday it would disband, effective immediately. “The Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh … ceases to exist,” the separatist republic — referred to in Armenian as Artsakh — stated via its official information channel on [...]

North Korea expelled US soldier Travis King on Wednesday, 2 months after he crossed into its territory from South Korea. KCNA, North Korea’s state media, announced that North Korea expelled King after state officials completed their investigation into him. According to KCNA, state officials concluded that King entered North Korean territory illegally after being “disillusioned” [...]

UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous Tuesday called for the UN Security Council (UNSC) to intervene in the Afghan women’s rights crisis. In a speech before the council, Bahous noted the deterioration of women’s rights in Afghanistan under Taliban rule. Bahous made three recommendations to the UNSC including convening a dedicated session on the role [...]

Commissioner of Education of the State of New York Betty Rosa banned the use of facial recognition technology (FRT) in New York schools on Wednesday after a state report found that student privacy risks outweighed the potential security benefits. The order mandates that schools are not allowed to purchase or utilize FRT. However, it permits [...]

The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and 17 states sued Amazon on Tuesday for anticompetitive conduct that, they claim, has helped it maintain its “monopoly power” in the online superstore market and the online marketplace services market. The federal and state governments are asking that the US District Court for the Western District of Washington [...]

A US federal judge in Texas ruled on Tuesday that the state’s ban on drag performances was unconstitutional and blocked it from going into effect. District Judge David Hittner found in his preliminary injunction against the ban that it “impermissibly infringes on the First Amendment and chills free speech.” The ruling follows an August 31 [...]

California Governor Gavin Newsom signed more than 20 bills into law concerning guns on Tuesday. The new laws cover a variety of topics including, but not limited to, an increase in taxes, requirements for gun dealers, waiting periods, criminal penalties, individuals prohibited from owning firearms and safety materials. Specifically, Assembly Bill (AB) 1598 requires a [...]

A New York judge found on Tuesday that former President Donald Trump and his business associates committed fraud by lying about the financial valuation of various business assets from as early as 2011. In doing so, Judge Arthur Engoron granted New York Attorney General Letitia James’ motion for partial summary judgment and effectively ordered the [...]

The West Kowloon Magistrates’ Court on Monday sentenced the head of the Hong Kong Journalists Association Ronson Chan to five days in jail, according to the Hong Kong Free Press (HKFP). As this decision is at the magisterial level, the official opinions will not be published until 2024. Chan was found guilty of obstructing a [...]

The Constitutional Court of South Korea on Tuesday struck down a provision of the Law on the Development of Inter-Korean Relations which prohibits the distribution of leaflets in North Korea and imposes penalties on violators, known as the North Korea Leaflet Ban Act. This decision comes after two years since South Korean organizations started advocating [...]