US President Joe Biden Monday urged Congress to pass an updated assault weapons ban and raise the minimum age to purchase an assault rifle after the Monterey Park, California mass shooting Saturday that killed 11 people. Biden said, “There can be no greater responsibility than to do all we can to ensure the safety of [...]

The Supreme Court of California Monday reversed Billy Ray Waldon’s conviction and death sentence from 1991. The court agreed with Waldon that the trial court judge wrongly allowed Waldon to represent himself at trial, even after a prior judge denied his request. The court stated that the trial court’s failure to provide counsel for Waldon [...]

The UN reported Monday that at least 18,483 civilians have died or suffered injury in Ukraine since Russia’s invasion of the country in February 2022. The UN Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights (OHCHR) said that 7,068 civilians died and 11,415 civilians were hurt as a result of the war. This figure includes [...]

A Brooklyn, New York federal judge Monday rejected Douglass Mackey’s arguments to dismiss an indictment brought by federal prosecutors from the Eastern District of New York (EDNY). Mackey is accused of participating in an online conspiracy to spread deceptive information during the 2016 Presidential election to injure some Twitter users’ right to vote. Mackey argued [...]

US federal law enforcement Monday arrested Charles McGonigal, a former FBI Special Agent in charge of the New York Field Office. McGonigal, along with former Soviet diplomat-turned-US citizen Sergey Shestakov, face five counts of US sanction violations, money laundering, and false statements from taking money from Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska. Federal prosecutors claimed that Deripaska, [...]

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Monday settled with Bloomberg Finance L.P. over claims that the company made misleading disclosures relating to its paid subscription service BVAL, which provides daily pricing for over 2.5 million securities to more than 1,300 financial institution customers. Bloomberg agreed to pay the SEC a $5 million penalty and cease [...]

The New South Wales (NSW), Australia government Monday announced a new domestic violence prevention scheme to be trialed in the region which will release details and history of past offenders. The Right to Ask Scheme is based on the UK’s Clare’s Law, which “enables the police to disclose information to a victim or potential victim [...]

Sierra Leone Monday passed a landmark law promoting women’s rights in the workplace and positions of power. The Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Act (GEWE) was signed into law by President Julius Maada Bio, who stated that the law will “address the gender imbalances in this country comprehensively.” The GEWE, introduced to parliament in 2021, [...]

Amnesty International Monday urged Eswatini authorities to conduct an independent investigation into the murder of human rights lawyer and activist Thulani Maseko. In a news release, Amnesty International called for Maseko’s death to be “promptly investigated in an effective, thorough, impartial and transparent manner, completely independent of government.” Maseko was reportedly assassinated in his home [...]

In August 2021, the Taliban gained control of Afghanistan, and the judicial and prosecution system that had been in place for more than 20 years has since crumbled. Lawyers, judges, and prosecutors have detected a persistent threat, and things are only getting worse. While most Afghan attorneys have fled to the US or Europe, some [...]