A Russian court Monday sentenced a former mayor to six months of community service after finding him guilty of criminal negligence due to a major diesel fuel leak from a storage tank in the Arctic city of Norilsk in May.  In a statement, the Krasnoyarsk Regional Court announced that Riant Akhmetshin was sentenced to “correctional [...]

Polish officials on Saturday arrested Roman Giertych, a high-profile lawyer, former deputy prime minister of Poland, and staunch critic of the Polish government, on charges of money laundering. Giertych is accused of laundering the equivalent of USD $23 million, although the specifics behind the allegations have not been revealed. Giertych’s legal practice includes involvement in [...]

China’s National People’s Congress Standing Committee on Sunday passed the Export Control Law of the People’s Republic of China, which restricts sensitive exports, such as military, nuclear and technology goods, that may threaten national security. A list of controlled items will be published “in a timely manner.” This law allows China to retaliate against countries, [...]

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) indicted six military officers from the Russian Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) Monday. The charges against the officers include using malware to cause blackouts in Ukraine in 2015 and 2016; $1 billion in losses to three corporations in 2017; disrupting computers supporting the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics; hack-and-leak efforts against French [...]

An extensive report released Monday by Human Rights Watch outlined numerous abuses and due process violations in North Korea’s pretrial detention system. HRW stated that its “report is based on interviews and research conducted by Human Rights Watch staff and a consultant between January 2015 and May 2020.” Among those interviewed were “22 North Koreans [...]

The Standing Committee of China’s 13th National People’s Congress passed a newly revised Law on the Protection of Minors at its 22nd session on Saturday. The Law on the Protection of Minors increases the responsibility of guardians and parents towards minors. Parents or guardians of minors will now not only have to protect the life, [...]

The Standing Committee of China’s 13th National People’s Congress passed a new biosafety law at its 22nd session Saturday after the third reading of the draft in Beijing. The Biosafety Law has ten chapters and eighty-eight articles which deal with risks in the biosafety field, national biosafety governance, and systems for minimizing biosafety threats. The [...]

The European Union and the United Kingdom announced the imposition of sanctions against several Russian officials Thursday, citing their use of chemical weapons against Alexei Navalny, a prominent critic of the Kremlin. Included in the sanctions are two people who work directly for Russian President Vladimir Putin. The EU said that “it is reasonable to [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) condemned Syria and Russia in a report Thursday for launching at least 46 deadly attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure in Idlib. The report reveals that the Syrian-Russian offensive targeted hospitals, schools, markets, and other essential facilities for over 11 months. HRW contends that these unlawful attacks violate international humanitarian law and [...]

UN Special Rapporteur Tomas Ojea Quintana is urging the international community to lift sanctions on North Korea to lessen the impact of COVID-19 lockdowns, according to a report published Thursday. There have been no officially confirmed cases of COVID-19 in North Korea. The borders went on complete lockdown at the beginning of the year. Because [...]