US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken Tuesday announced visa restrictions on 25 Belarusian officials accused of repressing pro-democracy actors. The move, made under the authority of Presidential Proclamation 8015, responds to the Lukashenka regime’s alleged suppression of political dissent and democratic expression in the country. Blinken accused the Belarusian government of “undermining democracy” and putting democracy [...]

The Norwegian Directorate of Immigration (UDI) Monday confirmed to the AP that high ranking Russian paramilitary commander Andrey Medvedev defected to Norway and applied for asylum. This marks one of the first instances of Russian paramilitary personnel defecting to the west since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In a video recorded Monday, Medvedev [...]

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock Monday called for an international tribunal to prosecute Russian officials for war crimes and the crime of aggression in the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war. Baerbock delivered the remarks in a speech titled “Strengthening International Law in times of crisis” at the Hague Academy of International Law. Making her case for the [...]

President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola Monday announced a series of reforms for Members of the European Parliament (MEPs). The possible reforms include increasing transparency through various measures such as a revolving door policy. A revolving door policy would impact individuals who leave their government positions serving the public to pursue private interests, often [...]

A French court Tuesday began trial against 13 individuals linked to Les Barjols, a far-right French extremist group. The 13 individuals are accused of plotting to assassinate French President Emmanuel Macron along with planning a string of racially-motivated attacks. French authorities arrested members Les Barjols in 2018 after anti-terrorism units investigated reports of a violent [...]

The Somalian government is taking offensive action against the Al-Shabaab extremist group after decades of conflict. The action by Somali fighters is backed by the United States as well as African Union forces, making it the most significant course of action taken against Al-Shabab in over twelve years. Smaller resistance groups and clans initiated the [...]

UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly Monday told the House of Commons that Iran “will be held to account” for the execution of British-Iranian citizen and former Iranian Deputy Minister of Defence Alireza Akbari. Cleverly called the execution a “cowardly and shameful act of leadership” and said that the Iranian government had misused the death penalty [...]

Three Australian class action firms, purporting to represent as many as 9.7 million customers Monday announced a landmark Australian data breach class action plan against insurance provider Medibank after entering a joint cooperation agreement the previous week. The firms, Maurice Blackburn Lawyers, Bannister Law Class Actions and Centennial Lawyers, entered the agreement in relation to [...]

Climate activist group Friends of the Earth UK (FOTE) Monday released an application it filed to the High Court against the government for its decision to approve a new coal mine in the northwestern county, Cumbria. In a press release from FOTE, campaigner Tony Bosworth said that the “legal challenge focuses on how the Secretary [...]

In an open letter addressed to US President Joe Biden, Iranian-American businessman Siamak Namazi announced Monday he had commenced a hunger strike in Iran’s Evin Prison, where he has been imprisoned since 2015 on charges including espionage and colluding with a “hostile foreign government.” Namazi, a US citizen, had been arrested in October 2015 but [...]