US President Donald Trump on Thursday announced in a presidential memorandum that, “upon further reflection and review,” he is extending an additional 12-month “wind-down” period for Liberians living in the US. This policy change will affect about 4,000 Liberians who are Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) beneficiaries. Last year, Trump said that he would end the DED program [...]
British lawmakers voted against Prime Minister Theresa May’s negotiated deal for the UK to withdraw from the European Union for the third time on Friday. The vote, with 286 Members of Parliament voting in favor of the deal and 344 opposing it, leaves the future of Britain’s membership in the EU in doubt. The same [...]
The European Court of Justice ruled Thursday that Germany did not violate EU law when the member state implemented a renewable energy surcharge to help level the energy market for its domestic renewable energy providers. In 2011 the German Legislature implemented an energy measure aimed at leveling out the competitive play field between convention and [...]
UN Special Rapporteur Agnes Callamard on Thursday called for the investigation and prosecution for the murder of Jamal Khashoggi to be made public nearly a month after she announced that there was evidence the murder was planned by Saudi Arabian officials. A Saudi public prosecutor indicted 110out of the 21 suspects and sought the death [...]
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 [...]
