A panel for the Brazil Superior Court of Justice on Tuesday unanimously ruled to reduce former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s 12-year prison sentence to approximately nine years In deciding to reduce his sentence, the panel ruled that his sentence was excessively increased. Lula was convicted of bribery with a construction company in exchange [...]
A court in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu ruled Monday that a marriage between a cisgender man and a transgender woman is valid. The Madurai-based bench of the Madras High Court held the term “bride,” as used in Section 5 of India’s Hindu Marriage Act, to be inclusive of transgender women. State registration authorities [...]
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia executed 37 men Tuesday for terrorism related crimes. Among those killed, 11 were accused by authorities for spying on behalf of Iran. Fourteen were convicted for violent offenses pertaining to prior anti-government protests. Most of the convicts identified as Shia and were predominantly from the country’s majority Shia eastern province. Most [...]
The UN passed a watered-down version of a resolution meant to combat rape and sexual violence in conflict zones Tuesday. After threatening to veto the resolution, the US placed pressure to have 2013 resolution language removed, including “reproductive health” services for survivors. Germany first sent a letter to the UN Secretary General detailing the impacts of [...]
The Myanmar Supreme Court of the Union on Tuesday rejected the appeals of two Reuters journalist who were sentenced to seven years in prison for violating the Official Secrets Act. Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo were detained in December 2017 while investigating the killing of 10 Rohingya Muslim men and boys. They were alleged to have [...]
The Supreme Court of Afghanistan on Sunday approved the extension of President Ashraf Ghani’s tenure until the upcoming presidential elections scheduled for September 28. According to Article 61 of the Afghanistan’s Constitution, the legal tenure of the National Unity Government under Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah ends on May 22. Previously, presidential elections were [...]
The White House announced Monday that US President Donald Trump will not reissue Significant Reduction Exceptions (SREs) when they expire in early May in an effort deny Iran’s principal source of revenue and bring its oil exports to zero. The SRE waivers allowed eight economies to purchase Iranian oil without facing US sanctions. However, by [...]
Two brothers of Sudan’s ousted President Omar al-Bashir were arrested Wednesday. A spokesperson for the transitional military council said the two were taken into custody as they were “symbols and leaders of the previous regime.” Sudan’s defense minister, Awad Mohamed Ahmed Ibn Auf announced on state television last Thursday that Omar al-Bashir had been detained and [...]
Uganda’s Supreme Court ruled 4-3 Thursday to uphold a constitutional amendment to remove an age limit that had previously barred anyone over 75 from seeking the nation’s highest office. Uganda’s Parliament voted to strike down the age limit in 2017, and President Yoweri Museveni, now 74, signed the amendment into law in January 2018. The petitioners, including [...]
The Supreme Court of Nepal on Friday issued an interim order directing authorities not to implement a ban imposed by Kathmandu’s District Court on a popular online video game called “PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG).” Nepal’s Telecommunications Authority had banned the game last week pursuant to the Kathmandu District Court order. Kathmandu’s Metropolitan Crime Division had approached [...]
