Texas attorney general Ken Paxton suffered a defeat yesterday in his lawsuit against the City of Austin’s mask mandate after a Travis County judge ordered the mandate to stay in effect. Texas governor Greg Abbott issued executive order GA-34 on March 2, which lifted all mandatory COVID restrictions, including mandates to wear masks and impose [...]

Poland’s ruling nationalist party announced a new law Thursday banning LGBTIQ people from adopting children even if they are not in a same-sex relationship. Polish law already prohibits same-sex couples from adopting. This proposal would require local authorities to investigate single people interested in adoption to ensure they are not cohabitating with a same sex-partner. [...]

The Libyan parliament validated Wednesday an interim government mandated to reunite the fractured country after a decade of war and administer the December elections under an UN-backed peace plan. Abdulhamid Dbeibah, a billionaire businessman, was selected as an interim prime minister at a forum held by the United Nations in Geneva last month. Dbeibah submitted his [...]

As natural resources remain ever necessary to power our technologically advanced society, nations are looking for new sources for key resources including coal, oil, and natural gas. As polar sea ice has melted and opened new potential shipping lanes, the Arctic has become a new frontier where nations are seeking oil and natural gas reserves [...]

During a vote taken at about 12:30AM on Wednesday, Republican legislators in the Oklahoma House of Representatives approved a bill cracking down on “riots,” and granting immunity to drivers who hit protesters demonstrating on public roadways. House Bill 1674 was introduced by Rep. Kevin West to address the year’s increased number of protests and alleged riots in [...]

The US Department of the Treasury sanctioned the two adult children of commander-in-chief of the Myanmar military, Min Aung Hlaing, on Wednesday in response to the continued violence by military forces against protesters. In a press release, the Treasury Department labeled Min Aung Hlang as the leader of the military coup against Myanmar’s democratically elected [...]

A UN expert urged the Security Council Wednesday to take action on allegations of human rights violations in North Korea. Tomas Ojea-Quintana, the UN Special Rapporteur for North Korea, spoke at the 43rd session of the UN Human Rights Council, where he stated that such claims should be referred to the International Criminal Court (ICC) [...]

Amnesty International reported Thursday that the Myanmar military (the Tatmadaw) is increasingly adopting lethal tactics and weapons, ordinarily employed on the battlefield, against peaceful protesters of the February coup. Officers are reported to be using weapons such as semi-automatic rifles, sniper rifles, and light machine guns, which are not appropriate for policing. These are coupled [...]

Mexico’s Chamber of Deputies voted Thursday to decriminalize marijuana. The measure was approved by a vote of 315 to 128, with 23 members abstaining. The law will allow any adult to smoke marijuana with certain restrictions. These restrictions include a cap on possession that would make it illegal to possess more than 28 grams of [...]

The US House of Representatives passed two pieces of legislation Thursday to enforce higher standards for background checks on persons intending to purchase firearms from licensed arms dealers. HR 8, the Bipartisan Background Checks Act, requires licensed gun dealers, manufacturers or importers to act as a third-party background check on unlicensed private parties who intend [...]