Human Rights Watch (HRW) Wednesday criticized repressive measures on civil society groups by European governments considered to be liberal democracies. In a report, HRW expressed alarm at democratic backsliding in “healthy” democracies such as the UK, Italy, Greece and France. According to the V-Dem Institute, the COVID-19 pandemic aggravated democratic backsliding around the world. The [...]

The spokesperson for the Colombian government Wednesday announced the suspension of a recent ceasefire with the National Liberation Army (ELN). Alfonso Prada, official spokesperson and minister of the interior, said the “legal effects” of the negotiated deal would be immediately nullified. The announcement came after the ELN denied that it had reached a deal with [...]

A federal court Wednesday sentenced former Bolivian minister Arturo Murillo to 70 months in prison, according to a statement from the US Department of Justice. Murillo was convicted of corruption and conspiracy to launder bribes in the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida. In October 2022, Murillo pleaded guilty to accepting at [...]

The Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs has appealed to the UN for support in recovering reparations for losses suffered during World War II after Germany refused to engage in negotiations. During a press conference on Tuesday, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Arkadiusz Mularczyk addressed UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and other UN officials to establish “cooperation [...]

The Hong Kong Final Court of Appeal Wednesday heard submissions by two transgender men appealing a January 2022 High Court decision, which upheld a government policy requiring transgender persons to undergo genital reconstruction surgery before changing the sex on their identity cards. The court reserved the ruling to a later date. In their oral submission, [...]

William “Rick” Singer, the orchestrator of the “Varsity Blues” college admissions bribery scheme, was sentenced to 3.5 years in prison Tuesday for his role in the “nationwide conspiracy” including cheating in entrance exams and falsely admitting students as athletic recruits. Additionally, he was also ordered to pay the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) $10,668,841 in restitution, [...]

A Reuters special report released Tuesday found that operatives are spreading pro-Kremlin messages in Germany. The report found that operatives have been attempting to shift Germany’s stance on the war in Ukraine towards a pro-Russia approach. Many of these operatives allegedly have ties to Russia and have reportedly organised rallies advocating for an end to [...]

The UN Security Council Tuesday welcomed new members Ecuador, Japan, Malta, Mozambique and Switzerland. This is the first time Mozambique and Switzerland have held seats in the security council. The council consists of 15 countries. Five of them–China, France, Russia, the UK and the US–are permanent members with veto powers. The other ten members are elected [...]

A federal California court Tuesday dismissed Ali Al-Ahmed’s lawsuit against Twitter Inc. for suspending his account. Al-Ahmed is a Saudi analyst and critic granted asylum in the US. US Judge Edward Chen for the US District Court for the Northern District of California ruled that Al-Ahmed’s amended complaint’s causes of action were time-barred and improperly [...]

Ireland’s data regulator, known as the Data Protection Commission (DPC), Tuesday fined Meta Platforms Ireland Limited (Meta Ireland) €390 million for its Facebook and Instagram personalized advertisement delivery, which violated the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The DPC fined Meta Ireland €210 million for its Facebook breaches and €180 million for its Instagram breaches. Further, [...]