On Wednesday, the European Parliament voted to ban single-use plastics. The new law bans certain single-use plastic items, such as plastic cutlery, plastic straws, and plastic plates. This ban is planned to be in place by 2021. The law also states that “ember states will have to achieve a 90% collection target for plastic bottles [...]
A three-judge bench of the High Court in Malé ordered police to release former Maldives president Abdulla Yameen on Thursday. The court ruled that there was not enough reason to hold Yameen beyond a month under the law, finding that the prosecution had not provided sufficient reason to extend his remand in custody. Yameen was [...]
Authorities in the Maldives transferred former vice president Ahmed Adeeb to house arrest on Tuesday. Adeeb, who is serving out a 33-year prison sentence, underwent surgery to remove kidney stones and was being treated at Malé’s Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital. While the Maldives Correctional Service (MCS) confirmed that Adeeb was being placed under house arrest, [...]
Amnesty International on Wednesday called on Brunei to halt plans to introduce “vicious” new punishments such as death by stoning for same-sex acts and amputation for robbery, set to take effect next week. Amnesty has previously expressed concerns over changes to the Penal Code when they were proposed in 2014 and is currently calling on [...]
EU parliament on Tuesday approved new rules to create a Europe-wide market for electricity that is cleaner, more competitive and better able to cope with risks. The Clean Energy for All Europeans package empowers European consumers to become active players in the energy transition and creates the first national energy and climate plans. Among its [...]
A letter signed by 44 organizations was sent to members of the European Parliament on Monday urging them to vote to exclude fossil fuel infrastructure funding from the upcoming European Union Cohesion Policy. The vote for the Cohesion Plan will occur on Wednesday. The European Commission has proposed net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. If [...]
The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Tuesday agreed to release former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif from detention for eight weeks to seek proper medical treatment. The court granted his request, saying the medical records and Sharif’s health history show he is in need of greater medical treatment. The Additional Prosecutor-General opposed the request, saying Sharif is [...]
A Belgrade appeals court published a decision on Tuesday in which it annulled Mirjana Markovic’s one-year prison sentence and sent the case back for retrial. Mirjana Markovic is a former leader of the Yugoslav left party and widow of former Serbian strongman Slobodan Milosevic. In 2000 Markovic was accused of abuse against official duty, as [...]
The US Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled against the victims of the attack on the USS Cole and their families. The opinion, authored by Justice Samuel Alito, held that the Republic of Sudan was improperly served and cannot have a default judgement entered against them. The USS Cole entered the harbor of Aden, Yemen, to [...]
The European Parliament on Tuesday approved the new Copyright Directive for online platforms, holding them liable for user uploaded content, except for materials such as memes, GIFs and hyperlinks to news articles. The Directive aims to apply copyright law to the digital age, as well as to ensure that the internet remains a space for freedom [...]
