The UK government released a new definition of extremism on Thursday in response to a rise in extremist threats across the country. Groups that meet the new definition will be automatically barred from receiving government funding. The statement outlining this definition noted that the change is due to the increasing pervasiveness of extremist ideologies in recent [...]

The lower house of the Spanish Parliament approved on Thursday a controversial legislative proposal granting amnesty for Catalan separatists involved in the 2017 independence bid. The proposed law seeks to “put an end to judicial processes and sentences” against anyone who took part in the Catalan independence campaign that took place between November 1, 2011 [...]

Civil society is facing unprecedented challenges globally due to escalating conflicts and crises. In 2023, groups that were pivotal in advocating for human rights, offering humanitarian aid and giving a voice to the marginalized encountered increasing difficulties. Their work has become more challenging due to growing repression and conflict, yet they remain beacons of hope [...]

The Indian government banned Thursday 18 Over the Top (OTT) streaming platforms for alleged obscene and vulgar content. Additionally, 19 websites, 10 apps, and 57 social media handles of such OTT platforms were also banned nationwide. The Indian Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B) stated in a press release that it collaborated with various intermediaries [...]

Japan’s Sapporo High Court affirmed on Thursday that the country’s current ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional. This ruling from the High Court upholds the Sapporo Lower Court 2021 decision that found the ban unconstitutional. However, Thursday’s rulings are the first time a High Court in the country has gone as far as to declare [...]

The Parliament of Kyrgyzstan passed a bill modeled after Russia’s “foreign agents” law on Thursday, increasing the government’s oversight of non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The law will require anyone receiving foreign donations to label themselves a “foreign representative” and follow tighter guidelines when documenting their activities. The bill specifically targets NGOs receiving foreign funding, and it requires [...]

A US federal judge in New York denied a motion to dismiss on Thursday from Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) in his pending conspiracy case. In the order, Judge Sidney Stein found that the constitutional challenges Menendez raised in his motion did not cover the charges. Menendez pleaded not guilty to the four charges—which alleged that [...]

The US federal judge overseeing former president Donald Trump’s criminal case regarding his allegedly wrongful detention of classified documents rejected the former president’s motion to dismiss on Thursday in a short, two-page order. Trump sought to dismiss 32 of the 40 pending criminal charges against him in the case. However, Judge Aileen Cannon denied Trump’s [...]

The Hong Kong Court of First Instance upheld pro-democracy activists Chow Hang-tung, Tang Ngok-kwan and Tsui Hon-kwong’s convictions of failing to comply with notice to provide information under Article 43 of the China-imposed National Security Law. Schedule 5 of the Implementation Rules of Article 43 states that the Commissioner of Police may serve a notice [...]

The Mississippi House of Representatives passed on Wednesday a bill that seeks to define sex in strictly binary terms, impacting the recognition of transgender individuals’ identities within the state. The Mississippi Women’s Bill of Rights reflects a broader trend among Republican-controlled legislatures in the US to address and restrict the legal acknowledgement of transgender and [...]