France remains a “very sexist” society, according to a report by a government-created equality watchdog, even as the country has made strides in gender equality five years into the #MeToo movement, the Associated Press reported. The High Council for Equality between Women and Men released its...
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A Lebanese judge charged a number of politicians and high-ranking officials this week with homicide for their alleged role in the port explosion that rocked Lebanon’s capital Beirut in 2020, Reuters reported. On Monday, Judge Tarek Bitar abruptly resumed an investigation that had been stalled for...
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The European Union approved new sanctions targeting Iranian officials alleged to be involved in the ongoing crackdown against anti-government protesters in the country – but stopped short of labeling Iran’s elite military branch as a “terrorist” organization, Al Jazeera reported Monday. The new sanctions will hit...
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The Canadian government agreed this week to pay more than $2 billion to settle a class-action lawsuit seeking compensation for the loss of language and culture caused by the country’s controversial residential school system, the BBC reported. The lawsuit began in 2012 when 325 First Nations...
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Sierra Leone passed a law that would require public and private entities to allocate 30 percent of their jobs to women, a move aimed at tackling the gender imbalance in the West African nation, Radio France Internationale reported. The new Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Act...
Read full story →Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva sacked the head of Brazil’s military Saturday over his alleged involvement in the Jan. 8 riots, when supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro stormed the country’s main government buildings in the capital, the Washington Post reported. The removal of...
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India’s Supreme Court judges backed the appointment of a gay lawyer to Delhi’s High Court, despite the government’s fierce objections over his candidacy and his activism in LGBTQ causes, Reuters reported. Saurabh Kirpal had initially been recommended for a judicial appointment in 2017 and the country’s...
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Peruvian protesters and police clashed in the capital, Lima, and other cities over the weekend, the latest bout of unrest since mass demonstrations erupted in the South American nation following the ousting of President Pedro Castillo last month, Axios reported. One historic building in Lima caught...
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Israel’s Supreme Court ordered the removal of a senior member of the newly formed government this week, a ruling that highlights the brewing showdown between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s conservative coalition and the country’s judiciary, CBS News reported. The top court ruled that Aryeh Deri, the...
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Guatemalan authorities issued a series of arrest warrants against anticorruption officials this week, a development that has raised fears about democratic backsliding in the Central American country, the Wall Street Journal reported. The warrants target dozens of judges and prosecutors who were involved in fighting corruption...
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New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said she would resign next month, ahead of an October election that promises to highlight the deepening political and economic challenges facing the country, the New York Times reported Thursday. The progressive leader announced Thursday that she was stepping down...
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A Japanese court acquitted three former Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) executives, who were charged with negligence in the 2011 Fukushima nuclear plant meltdowns, the first criminal prosecution related to the incident that occurred more than a decade ago, the Associated Press reported Wednesday. The three...
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The United States Supreme Court is debating whether the federal government can pursue criminal charges against Turkey’s state-owned bank, a case that has raised legal questions among justices and legal analysts about sovereign immunity even as Turkish officials are due to meet their US counterparts...
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The British government is planning to give police more powers to shut down protests that are deemed disruptive, a move that human rights groups have criticized as an attack on the right to protest, the Evening Standard reported. The amended Public Order Bill will give officers...
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Iran is implementing new rules to enforce the country’s strict laws requiring women to cover their heads in public, as the country’s clerics seek to curb the anti-government protests that have engulfed the Islamic republic for months, the Wall Street Journal reported. Earlier this month, the...
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The United Kingdom government blocked Scotland’s gender reform bill this week, an unprecedented move that Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon described as a “full-frontal attack” on the Scottish parliament, Sky News reported. The issue relates to Scotland’s Gender Recognition Reform Bill which was passed by a majority...
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China experienced its first population decline since 1961, with the world’s most populous country facing a demographic crisis, Axios reported Tuesday. The country’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said there were 1.41175 billion people living in China at the end of 2022 – a drop of...
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Unknown assailants killed a female former lawmaker and her bodyguard this week, the first assassination of a politician of the ousted Western-backed Afghani government since the Taliban takeover in 2021, Voice of America reported. Authorities said gunmen shot and killed Mursal Nabizada at her home in...
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Islamist militants kidnapped around 50 women in northern Burkina Faso, the government confirmed Monday, marking the first mass kidnapping in the West African nation as it continues to fight a years-long jihadist insurgency, Reuters reported. Officials said armed men kidnapped the women in two different locations...
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The Swedish government plans to abolish a decades-old requirement for restaurants and other venues to obtain permits to allow dancing on their premises, removing a law that observers have called outdated and overly moralistic, the Associated Press reported. The ruling center-right coalition said venues would no...
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