Georgia’s parliament on Tuesday adopted a controversial law designating civil society organizations that receive funding from abroad as “foreign agents.” The law stipulates that civil society organizations receiving more than 20 percent of their funding from international donors must formally register as foreign agents — a term that evokes images of Cold War-era espionage. The legislative [...]

The New York Supreme Court’s Appellate Division upheld a gag order Tuesday against former president Donald Trump in a criminal case centering on allegations he falsified the Trump Organization’s business records to conceal hush money payments to influence the 2016 presidential election. The appeals court was unpersuaded by Trump’s arguments that the gag order violates [...]

Authorities in the French South Pacific territory of New Caledonia have decided to ban public gatherings and impose a curfew in the capital city of Nouméa following violent protests against a law project amending the electoral system, according to a statement published on Tuesday. The statement specifies that due to public order problems in Nouméa [...]

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) on Monday condemned several attacks on journalists in India amidst the country’s ongoing general election. It also called upon the authorities to thoroughly investigate the incidents. The CPJ strongly condemned the killing of journalist Ashutosh Srivastava and the assault on journalist Raghav Trivedi in the Indian state of Uttar [...]

The European Union approved on Monday a law to regulate carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions of heavy-duty vehicles to a stricter standard. The EU stated that heavy-duty vehicles account for more than 25 percent of greenhouse gas emissions from road transport in the region. The regulation proposes various objectives. Besides maintaining the 2025 emissions reduction target [...]

The University of Amsterdam (UvA) announced on Monday that the university will be closed until May 15 due to reported “violent elements” that “hijacked” a peaceful pro-Palestine demonstration earlier that day. The demonstration began with an “orderly” walkout at the UvA Roeterseiland Campus at 11 am. The walkout was coordinated with students at other universities [...]

A German higher administrative court in Münster, Germany ruled on Monday that the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, which is Germany’s domestic intelligence agency, was justified in suspecting the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) and its youth organization Young Alternative for Germany (JA) as extremism efforts. The court ruled that the office [...]

The New Zealand Court of Appeal on Monday unanimously overturned a High Court ruling that blocked a summons order for Minister for Children Karen Chhour to provide evidence before the Waitangi Tribunal under section 6(1)(c) of the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975. The court found that the tribunal has a statutory duty to inquire into [...]

An attack in Rafah killed a United Nations staff member working there, UN Secretary-General António Guterres announced on Monday. The Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General, Farhan Haq, said that one staff member from the Department of Safety and Security (DSS) had been killed and another injured “when their UN vehicle was struck as they traveled [...]

The High Court of Northern Ireland delivered a setback to UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Rwanda deportation policy by ruling that substantial sections of the Illegal Migration Act 2023 (IMA) violate human rights laws and should not be enforced in Northern Ireland. Numerous provisions of the IMA were under challenge during the proceedings, and the [...]