Iran’s supreme court on Sunday suspended the execution of three men convicted following the November 2019 anti-government protests. The Revolutionary Court in Tehran had in February 22 convicted the three men of moharebeh (waging war against God), and “destroying and setting fire to public property with the aim of confronting the political system of the [...]

The UK announced Monday the suspension of the country’s extradition treaty with Hong Kong for an indefinite period. This comes in response to the Hong Kong National Security Law recently enacted by China. UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said that the law is a “clear and serious violation” of the UK-China Joint Declaration and China’s [...]

Four US publishers, including three from the big five, have sued the Internet Archive (IA) for mass copyright infringement under its emergency library program (ELP). IA is known for championing Controlled Digital Lending (CDL) through its open library, wherein it lends out e-copies of books it holds physically, maintaining a loaned-to-owned ratio. In response to [...]

The Indian Government took the global media by storm when it announced a ban on 59 Chinese apps in India to counter the threat posed by these applications to the country’s “sovereignty and security”. The ban has been imposed under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, and justifying its move the government cited the [...]

This essay describes a walk not taken with my students. Here is a pdf version for anyone that might like to have a copy of this material for personal or educational use. The purpose of the walk was to show one thing: a big monument cannot fix a small person or a bad idea. This [...]

A three-judge panel at the Jerusalem District Court on Sunday decided that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s trial would begin hearing its first witnesses in January 2021. The court, presided over by Judge Rivka Friedman-Feldman, decided to hear witnesses and take evidence three days a week. Netanyahu, now the longest-serving Israeli Prime Minister, had in [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit ruled Friday that Amazon’s “last mile” delivery drivers are exempt from the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) because they are engaged in interstate commerce. Section 1 of the FAA exempts “contracts of employment of seamen, railroad employees, or any other class of workers engaged in foreign or [...]

The city of Oakland, California, on Saturday agreed to pay $32.7 million to victims of the 2016 Ghost Ship warehouse fire. On December 2, 2016, a party was being held on the second floor of a warehouse in Oakland. The warehouse housed an artist collective known as Ghost Ship, and served as a refuge for [...]

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf signed an executive order on Friday establishing the Pennsylvania State Law Enforcement Citizen Advisory Commission. The purpose of the Commission is to improve policing practices within law enforcement agencies under the Governor’s jurisdiction. The Commission is comprised of Pennsylvania citizens focused on promoting transparency, fairness, and accountability among the Commonwealth’s state [...]

“Personhood” laws seek to classify fetuses as “persons” and grant them full legal protection under the US Constitution. These laws purport to protect the rights of a pregnant person, should they be involved in any sort of incident that terminates the pregnancy. Pro-choice individuals vehemently oppose Personhood laws because they broadly restrict an individual’s choice [...]