Switzerland’s Supreme Court on Wednesday overturned the outcome of a nationwide referendum on the grounds that voters were given insufficient information. The 2016 referendum concerned married couples being unfairly taxed for their joint incomes compared to cohabiting partners who are taxed separately. Through a narrow margin, the referendum to equally tax cohabiting partners was rejected [...]

Counsel for the Obama administration Gregory Craig was indicted on Thursday for making false statements to and concealing work-related information he performed for the Ukraine government in 2012 from the US Department of Justice (DOJ). The DOJ alleges that Craig lied and withheld information in order to avoid registering under the Foreign Agents Registration Act [...]

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) on Thursday confirmed that Julian Assange, the co-founder of WikiLeaks, has been indicted for conspiracy to commit computer hacking with Chelsea Manning, a former intelligence analyst in the US Army. The indictment was unsealed after Assange was arrested in the UK. The indictment, filed under seal in the Eastern District of [...]

The South Korean Constitutional Court ruled Thursday that the law making abortion a crime is unconstitutional. For now, the law still stands. But, if it is not amended by 2020, it “will become null and void.” The court called the current law “an unconstitutional restriction that violates a pregnant woman’s right to choose.” Currently, the [...]

Sudan’s defense minister, Awad Mohamed Ahmed Ibn Auf announced on state television Thursday that President Omar al-Bashir has been detained and a military council will lead the country for two years. Further, the Constitution has been suspended, the National Assembly dissolved, and a state of emergency declared.  Protesters are demanding the power be placed in [...]

The European Council agreed Wednesday to extend the deadline for the ratification of the Brexit withdrawal agreement until October 31. The extension comes after UK Prime Minister Theresa May sent a letter last week in which she requested the deadline be pushed back to May 22 pursuant to Article 50(3) of the Treaty on European Union. In [...]

The UK Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that citizens of Zambia may sue a mining company in the UK. The case arises out of a claim by Zambian citizens against Vedanta Resources PLC, which is a company in the UUK that is the parent company of Konkola Copper Mines PLC. The latter company is the owner [...]

The Canadian government proposed changes to its asylum laws Tuesday via a recently tabled omnibus budget bill. If approved, the omnibus bill would include provisions to amend the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act that would prevent refugees from seeking asylum in Canada if they have made asylum claims in other countries. Division 16 of Part 4 [...]

New Zealand’s Parliament has on Wednesday passed a law banning semiautomatic weapons in response to the Christchurch massacre last month that killed 50 and injured scores of Muslim worshippers. The legislation has passed the final of three stages and will become law with the ceremonial approval of the Queen of England’s delegate expected Thursday. 119 [...]

Amnesty International reported on Wednesday that global executions fell by nearly one-third last year to the lowest figure in at least a decade. In its 2018 global review of the death penalty, Amnesty assed known executions worldwide, except in China, where executions thought to be in the thousands remain classified as a state secret. Kumi [...]