Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee announced the commencement of a four-week consultation period for a new local security law under Article 23 of the Basic Law, Hong Kong’s mini-constitution, on Tuesday. This consultation period will allow Hong Kong citizens to voice their opinions on the new law and have them considered by lawmakers. Article [...]
Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court on Monday ordered a lower court to reconsider whether a state law limiting Medicaid funds for abortion violates the equal protection rights of low-income individuals. Under the 1982 Pennsylvania Abortion Control Act, abortion care can only be covered by Medicaid — a government-funded health insurance program for low-income individuals and families — [...]
The year 2024 is an important one for Sri Lanka. It is a presidential election year, and a resolution adopted by the UN Human Rights Council to gather evidence of international crimes for use in future prosecutions is due for renewal. After the public ousters of the former-elected President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in 2023, Ranil Wickremesinghe [...]
Iran executed four individuals it claims were associated with an Israeli intelligence operation backed by Israel’s Mossad Agency. Iran charged the four individuals with orchestrating a bomb attack on a factory in the city of Isfahan, known for manufacturing weapons and equipment for Iran’s Ministry of Defence. The plot was intended to take place during [...]
The Saudi Arabian Oversight and Anti-corruption Authority (Nazaha) announced Sunday the arrest of the CEO of the Royal Commission for Al Ula, a historical oasis in the Medina province located in the north-west of the kingdom, Amr bin Saleh Abdulrahman Al Madani, on charges of money laundering and abuse of authority. According to Nazaha, the [...]
Three foreign-born Japanese residents have filed a statement of claim against the Japanese national and local governments for the alleged police practice of racial profiling. Each of the applicants sought damages of 3.3 million Japanese Yen. The three applicants are Pakistani, African-American and Pacific Lander respectively, who also are either Japanese citizens or permanent residents. [...]
On Monday, the wife of the imprisoned Russian opposition activist Vladimir Kara-Murza announced that Russian authorities removed him from the maximum security prison in Siberia and his current whereabouts are unknown. Following this announcement, the British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Cameron urged the Russian authorities to provide Kara-Murza’s lawyers [...]
The Arrangement on Reciprocal Recognition and Enforcement of Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters by the Courts of the Mainland and of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, which allows for specific court rulings from mainland China to be enforced in Hong Kong, officially came into effect on Monday. Hong Kong implemented the arrangement by [...]
The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit declined to block a preliminary injunction on Monday, allowing the US Military Academy in West Point to continue to consider race as a factor for admission. This decision comes as the US Supreme Court considers the issue in a pending appeal brought by Students for Fair Admissions [...]
Malaysia’s former finance minister, Tun Abdul Daim bin Zainuddin, was charged Monday for failing to comply with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) order to declare his assets. Zainuddin, along with his wife and two children, were requested in January 2024 to testify about “high-value assets” that are under their company’s name within and outside the country. Zainuddin, [...]
