The US Supreme Court granted certiorari in seven cases on Friday, consolidating several of them for a total of four oral arguments to be heard early next year. The first grant, a consolidation of Barr v. Dai and Barr v. Alcaraz-Enriquez, concerns credibility determinations in asylum hearings. In both cases, applicants for asylum were given [...]

Hong Kong police wearing riot gear overwhelmed and arrested at least 86 people on Thursday during planned protests against Beijing during China’s National Day holiday. According to a Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) press release, protesters gathered in Causeway Bay and other areas of Hong Kong chanting slogans like “Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our [...]

California Governor Gavin Newsom has vetoed a bill that would promote the rehire of employees laid-off due to Covid-19. Under Assembly Bill 3216, an “employer shall offer its laid-off employees . . . all job positions that become available . . . for which the laid-off employees are qualified.” The bill requires employers to notify [...]

The Sendai High Court has ordered the Japanese government and Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), the operator of the Fukushima nuclear plant, to pay 1 billion yen ($9.5 million) in damages to victims of the 2011 disaster. Affirming the decision and rationale of a Fukushima district court, the Sendai High Court made its decision Wednesday [...]

In what has been called a Hundred Years’ War on Palestine by Rashid Khalidi, we are seeing a new development every week now. From Prime Minister Netanyahu’s promise of formal annexation to the Israel – UAE deal (Abraham Accords) and the UAE-Bahrain deal, each with the ability to shape the future of the Palestinians. Nevertheless, [...]

The Supreme Court of Ireland found Tuesday that Subway’s sandwich bread exceeds Ireland’s statutory sugar limit and therefore cannot be defined as bread. The 51-page decision follows over a decade of litigation brought by Brookfinders Ltd., the US fast-food chain’s Irish franchisee, who argues that its bread qualified as a “staple food,” and was therefore [...]

Canada and the UK imposed sanctions against Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and several other senior officials Tuesday, responding to the rigged election and subsequent violence against protesters. The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development office clarified that the sanctions are part of a “coordinated international approach with Canada, in a bid to uphold democratic values and [...]

California Governor Gavin Newsom on Tuesday vetoed a bill that sought to give low-income households, regardless of immigration status, $600 for emergency food assistance. Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, many families throughout the US have been struggling financially. This bill sought to help alleviate that financial burden by using state funding to contract with a [...]

The EU sent a letter of formal notice to the UK Thursday over a UK bill that breaches the EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement and thus violates international law. Ursula Von der Leyen, the European Commission president, announced Thursday that it had launched a formal infringement procedure against the UK through a letter of formal notice sent to [...]

A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit by Kimberly Gardner, the first African American Circuit Attorney for the City of St. Louis, claiming a “racially motivated conspiracy to deny the civil rights of racial minorities.” In her initial complaint, Gardner argued that the city of St. Louis, the local police union, a special prosecutor and [...]