Groups including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have issued calls for an investigation into the death in Toronto last Sunday of a prominent Pakistani activist who had sought asylum in Canada. Karima Baloch was a 37-year-old human rights activist from the Balochistan region of Pakistan. She had applied for asylum in Canada in 2015 [...]

Kosovo is preparing for early elections after the Constitutional Court declared unconstitutional the election of Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti. The court annulled the parliamentary vote that confirmed Hoti’s coalition cabinet because one of the participating MPs had been convicted for fraud and embezzlement. Hoti was installed as prime minister in June after his party, supported by [...]

Can Dündar, the former editor-in-chief of Turkish newspaper Cumhuriyet, was convicted Wednesday on charges of terrorism in Turkey and sentenced in absentia. The Istanbul court convicted Dündar of aiding an armed terrorist organization and espionage. It sentenced him in absentia to 27 years and six months in prison. Dündar was first sentenced to five years [...]

President of Burundi Evariste Ndayishimiye Thursday pardoned  four journalists who were imprisoned for “attempting to undermine state security.” The Head of the Information and Communications Division for the Office of the President, Willy Nyamitwe, tweeted Thursday that Ndayishimiye “has favorably responded” to a letter from journalists Agnès Ndirubusa, Christine Kamikazi, Egide Harerimana, and Térence Mpozenzi requesting a [...]

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a lawsuit Tuesday against Ripple Labs Inc., a leading cryptocurrency and blockchain firm, and two of its executives. The SEC alleges that Ripple raised over $1.38 billion through an unregistered offering of a digital asset security called “XRP.” The SEC filed the complaint before a federal district [...]

China’s market regulator, the State Administration for Market Regulation, announced Thursday that based on reports they have launched an investigation into billionaire Jack Ma’s Alibaba Group Holdings for “suspected monopolistic conduct.” The State Administration of Foreign Exchange, China Banking Regulatory Commission, China Securities Regulatory Commission and The People’s Bank of China have also called Alibaba’s [...]

Governor of Massachusetts Charlie Baker Thursday vetoed the so-called ROE Act (“An Act to Remove Obstacles and Expand Abortion Access”) that seeks to codify the right to abortion and to expand access to abortion in the state. The governor indicated that he agreed with the codification of abortion rights but felt the Act went too [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit Thursday affirmed a district court dismissal of a suit that sought to declare President Donald Trump the winner of the presidential election in Wisconsin. The suit alleged that Wisconsin violated the Electors Clause of the US Constitution. The president claimed that guidance released by Wisconsin voting [...]

India’s ruling Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) says there is “no question of repealing” the new agricultural reform laws passed in September, despite ongoing protests by farmers’ unions. Thousands of farmers have been protesting outside New Delhi’s highways and outskirts for nearly five weeks against new laws which aim to increase private investment and bring efficiency [...]

A US federal judge in Maryland granted a temporary injunction against the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on Wednesday, temporarily blocking a proposed rule to reduce drug prices. The proposed “most favored nation” rule would require Medicare to reduce prices based on international prices for certain drugs, including cancer medication. Reducing drug prices [...]