********** LAW **********
return to top
The 'foreign agents' law that has set off mass protests in Georgia - podcast
Wed, 15 May 2024 02:00:28 GMT
The bill requires any civil society organisation that receives more than 20% of its funds from abroad to register as being under foreign influence. Daniel Boffey reports
On the face of it the bill could sound innocuous: any civil society organisation that receives more than 20% of its funds from abroad must register as an organisation under foreign influence. Yet the new law Georgia’s parliament passed yesterday has sparked outrage and demonstrations in the capital, Tbilisi.
Critics claim the bill is “Kremlin-inspired” as Putin passed a similar law in 2012, which they say has had a chilling effect on civil society. Demonstrators think it is a way to redirect Georgia towards Russia. The Guardian’s chief reporter, Daniel Boffey, has been speaking to young protesters – often schoolchildren – about why they are so incensed.
Continue reading...A new anti-terrorism bill would allow the government to take away vital tax exemptions from nonprofit news outlets.
The post Criticizing Israel? Nonprofit Media Could Lose Tax-Exempt Status Without Due Process appeared first on The Intercept.
The US musician went from homelessness to multiplatinum success with the thrash metallers – and then became a pop cultural icon in Japan. He explains the weirdest portfolio career in rock
It’s one of the most perplexing questions in heavy metal history: how does a bullet-wearing guitarist for Megadeth end up critiquing beauty products on Japanese daytime TV? “I started getting addicted to the challenge of: can I really do this?”, laughs Marty Friedman. “And the hardest one was being a judge on a show where these girls were doing makeup makeovers. I can’t think of anything I care less about in the entire world. ‘Well, she looked better with the foundation on after the blush!’”
Marty Friedman joined Megadeth in 1990 and helped the thrash band become a platinum-selling mainstream force that decade – one of the genre’s “Big Four” alongside Metallica, Slayer and Anthrax – but he walked away in 2000, and three years later he left the US altogether to start a new life in Japan, where as well as making music as a solo artist, he has established himself as an improbable but sizeable pop-cultural marvel.
Continue reading...The Google subsidiary said it would comply with last week’s court order but said it was disappointed by the decision
YouTube has said it will comply with a court decision and block access inside Hong Kong to 32 videos deemed prohibited content, in what critics say is a blow to freedoms in the financial hub amid a security clampdown.
The action follows a government application granted by Hong Kong’s court of appeal requesting the ban of a protest anthem called Glory to Hong Kong. The judges warned that dissidents seeking to incite secession could weaponise the song for use against the state.
Continue reading...After inquiries from The Intercept, Duane Kees stepped down from his ethics panel position.
The post This U.S. Attorney Resigned Amid an Ethics Investigation. Yet He Wound Up Overseeing Judges’ Ethics. appeared first on The Intercept.
Rory Carroll, the Guardian’s Ireland correspondent, looks at what is fuelling anti-immigrant anger in the Republic of Ireland
Immigration has increasingly become a point of tension in Ireland. Recently, the Irish government said the threat of deportation to Rwanda had partly fuelled a surge in arrivals entering Ireland via the land border with Northern Ireland, a route that it says now accounts for more than 80% of asylum seekers in the republic. The Irish Refugee Council and other advocacy groups have questioned the figure. On Monday a judge in Belfast ruled that large parts of the UK government’s illegal migration act should not apply in Northern Ireland because they breach human rights laws; the UK government has said it will appeal the ruling.
Today in Focus host Hannah Moore talks to Rory Carroll, the Guardian’s Ireland correspondent, about immigration policy in Ireland. He tells Hannah that a changing population, a housing crisis and social and economic inequalities have led to rising anti-immigrant sentiment in Ireland. In November, riots broke out after a stabbing in Dublin. Social media commentators outed the alleged assailant as a foreigner – in fact, he was a naturalised Irish citizen, reportedly from Algeria – and a violent protest ensued. Hundreds of people rampaged through central Dublin, targeting property and police.
Continue reading...Supreme court judges order Arvind Kejriwal’s release until 1 June and question timing of his arrest on corruption charges
One of India’s best-known opposition leaders, Arvind Kejriwal, the chief minister of Delhi, has been granted bail by the country’s supreme court to allow him to take part in general election campaigningafter being kept behind bars for almost two months.
Kejriwal, who heads the Aam Aadmi party (AAP), has been held in jail since March when he was arrested on money-laundering charges. He has maintained that his arrest and detention was politically motivated to prevent him taking part in the election, which began in April and will continue until June.
Continue reading...The 71-year-old veteran peace activist discusses the war on Gaza, the Biden administration, and shaking up Congress.
The post Code Pink’s Medea Benjamin on Disrupting the U.S. War Machine appeared first on The Intercept.
Men with obesity offered incentives and sent healthy-eating tips in Game of Stones trial found to have lost most weight
Financial incentives of up to £400 alongside text messages could encourage men living with obesity to lose weight, research has found.
The research, known as Game of Stones and presented at the European Congress of Obesity, involved a year-long trial involving 585 men living with obesity from Belfast, Bristol and Glasgow.
Continue reading...First-time candidate, who lost after pro-Israel group spent millions supporting another Democrat, defeated by senator Sarah Elfreth
Former US Capitol police officer Harry Dunn has lost his congressional primary election in Maryland, after a pro-Israel group spent millions of dollars supporting another Democrat in the crowded race.
Dunn, a first-time candidate who gained national attention after publishing a book about his experiences protecting lawmakers during the January 6 insurrection, lost to state senator Sarah Elfreth in Maryland’s third congressional district.
Continue reading...Alsobrooks beats Dave Trone and Hogan wins Republican primary, setting up November clash that could determine control of Senate
Democrat Angela Alsobrooks will face off against former Republican governor Larry Hogan in the Maryland Senate race this November, setting up an unexpectedly competitive election in the reliably Democratic state. Republicans have a rare opportunity to flip a Senate seat in Maryland, and the outcome of that race could determine control of the upper chamber in November.
Alsobrooks and Hogan won their parties’ Senate primaries on Tuesday, as Maryland voters cast ballots in the presidential race as well as congressional elections. Joe Biden and Donald Trump easily won the state’s primaries after already securing enough delegates to capture their parties’ nominations.
Continue reading...Package in congressional review process after Biden delayed shipment of bombs over fears they would be used to attack Rafah
The US state department has moved a $1bn package of weapons aid for Israel into the congressional review process, two US officials said on Tuesday.
The latest weapons package includes tank rounds, mortars and armored tactical vehicles, one of the officials told Reuters.
Continue reading...The 22-year-old woman and her child were civilian casualties of a U.S. drone strike, but the Pentagon won't return the family's messages.
The post Pentagon Compensated Zero Civilian Victims in 2022 — Despite Evidence That the U.S. Killed a Mom and Child in Somalia appeared first on The Intercept.
The powerful lobbying group is going against a Capitol Police officer who fended off January 6 insurrectionists.
The post Neither Candidate Has Much to Say About Israel. So Why Is AIPAC Pouring Money Into This Race? appeared first on The Intercept.
Antony Blinken’s report identifies “incidents that raise concerns,” but says Israel is not blocking humanitarian aid.
The post Israel “Likely” Used U.S.-Supplied Weapons in Violation of International Law. That’s OK, Though, State Department Says. appeared first on The Intercept.
Four lawsuits alleging Hamas ties against Students for Justice in Palestine, the AP, UNRWA, and a cryptocurrency exchange share many of the same plaintiffs.
The post October 7 Survivors Sue Campus Protesters, Say Students Are “Hamas’s Propaganda Division” appeared first on The Intercept.
A donor to Dexter in the Portland congressional race tells The Intercept: “I give all my contributions through AIPAC.”
The post AIPAC and Republican Donors Raising Big Money for Maxine Dexter Against Susheela Jayapal in Oregon appeared first on The Intercept.
An open letter from government attorneys questions the legal cover for arms transfers to Israel.
The post Even Biden’s Lawyers Are Urging the White House to Change Course on Gaza appeared first on The Intercept.
A former facility psychologist is suing the Bureau of Prisons over an Instagram account that joked about suicide at FCC Lompoc.
The post Who Ran This Derogatory Prison Meme Page? A Prison Guard. appeared first on The Intercept.
In talking points reviewed by The Intercept, the pro-Israel lobby argues that Israel has “no other option” but to invade Rafah.
The post As Biden Warns Against Rafah Invasion, AIPAC Pushes Congress to Support Israel’s Operation appeared first on The Intercept.
On campus, inside the Capitol, and in court, there’s an all-out assault on American democracy in the name of Israel.
The post They Used to Say Arabs Can’t Have Democracy Because It’d Be Bad for Israel. Now the U.S. Can’t Have It Either. appeared first on The Intercept.
Lots of complicated details here: too many for me to summarize well. It involves an obscure Section 230 provision—and an even more obscure typo. Read this.
Trafalgar theatre, London
The Olivier award-winner returns to her role as an actor in rehab in Duncan Macmillan’s brutally powerful play
Duncan Macmillan’s 2015 play about addiction is a tricksy and unnerving thing, even for those who know what’s coming. This reprise of the original National Theatre and Headlong production reunites some of its main players including director Jeremy Herrin and Denise Gough, who won an Olivier award for her lead performance.
Gough plays Emma, an actor undergoing rehab for drink and drug addiction with no clear backstory. We follow her into a rehabilitation centre and a therapy circle of addicts telling their respective stories. At first it seems like a paler version of Lucy Prebble’s The Effect, recently revived at the National Theatre. The group scenes are protracted yet do not travel deep enough into the philosophical questions raised, and rehearse much that is overfamiliar, from the testimonies of those in rehab to the relationship between addict and therapist (Sinéad Cusack). There are also mentions of Trump, Ukraine and Covid, rather too shoehorned in.
At Trafalgar theatre, London, until 10 August
Continue reading...The 71-year-old veteran peace activist discusses the war on Gaza, the Biden administration, and shaking up Congress.
The post Code Pink’s Medea Benjamin on Disrupting the U.S. War Machine appeared first on The Intercept.
Whether it’s in segregated America or the glory days of postwar France, Omar Victor Diop appears in photographs of worlds he was previously shut out from
Continue reading...A year-long celebration aims to start a new chapter for Belfast, forging better connections and conversations within communities through creativity and culture
Belfast did not have the best of starts to 2024. Never mind the mass public sector strikes, the not-unrelated fact of Northern Ireland being without a functioning government (the government returned, the strikes were settled, or suspended … for now), at the end of January, one of the city’s most respected – revered – publicans, Pedro Donald, who over the years had brought us the John Hewitt, La Boca, the Sunflower and the American Bar, announced that he was leaving for Amsterdam. There may not be bombs and bullets any more, he said, but Belfast was “a dump and derelict”. Indeed, apart from a few good years between the Good Friday agreement and the financial crash, the city was in many ways no further on than when he started in the trade in 1984.
Some bridled at the broadside. But walking towards the Sunflower along Royal Avenue, historically the main shopping street, after 6pm sometimes, you would have been hard-pressed to say Pedro had called it wrong. Hard-pressed, too, to say that the people in whose gift was the title of “city of this” or “capital of that” were being entirely unreasonable when they overlooked bids from Belfast in the not-too-distant past.
Continue reading...Russia, shunned from the world stage, and China, subject to new US tariffs, want to pivot further from the west
Having secured a mandate to extend his rule of Russia to three decades, Vladimir Putin is expected to travel to Beijing on Thursday on a state visit to meet Xi Jinping intended to shore up his most important international relationship.
The two men toasted their “no-limits” friendship in February 2022 – meant as a counterweight to the global influence of the US. That partnership has increasingly come under pressure as the Biden administration sought to isolate Russia from its Chinese lifeline after the full-scale invasion in Ukraine, which began later the same month.
Continue reading...The 22-year-old woman and her child were civilian casualties of a U.S. drone strike, but the Pentagon won't return the family's messages.
The post Pentagon Compensated Zero Civilian Victims in 2022 — Despite Evidence That the U.S. Killed a Mom and Child in Somalia appeared first on The Intercept.
“We’re continuing to work around the clock with the government of Israel and with the government of Egypt to work on this issue,” the State Department said.
The post American Medical Missions Trapped in Gaza, Facing Death by Dehydration as Population Clings to Life appeared first on The Intercept.
A new anti-terrorism bill would allow the government to take away vital tax exemptions from nonprofit news outlets.
The post Criticizing Israel? Nonprofit Media Could Lose Tax-Exempt Status Without Due Process appeared first on The Intercept.
From biking adventures to city breaks, get inspiration for your next break – whether in the UK or further afield – with twice-weekly emails from the Guardian’s travel editors. You’ll also receive handpicked offers from Guardian Holidays.
From biking adventures to city breaks, get inspiration for your next break – whether in the UK or further afield – with twice-weekly emails from the Guardian’s travel editors.
You’ll also receive handpicked offers from Guardian Holidays.
Continue reading...Philippines coast guard and navy watch as wooden boats head to Scarborough shoal to place buoys and hand food packs to local fishers
A flotilla of about 100 mostly small fishing boats led by Filipino activists has set sail for a disputed shoal in the South China Sea, where Beijing’s coast guard and suspected militia ships have used powerful water cannon to ward off what they regard as intruders.
The Philippine coast guard and navy deployed one patrol ship each to keep watch from a distance on the activists and fishers, who set off on wooden boats with bamboo outriggers on Wednesday to assert Manila’s sovereignty over the Scarborough shoal. Dozens of journalists joined the three-day voyage.
Continue reading...Human-caused climate crisis brought soaring temperatures across Asia, from Gaza to Delhi to Manila
The record-breaking heatwave that scorched the Philippines in April would have been impossible without the climate crisis, scientists have found. Searing heat above 40C (104F) struck across Asia in April, causing deaths, water shortages, crop losses and widespread school closures.
The extreme heat was made 45 times more likely in India and five times more likely in Israel and Palestine, the study found. The scientists said the high temperatures compounded the already dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where displaced people are living in overcrowded shelters with little access to water.
Continue reading...The US musician went from homelessness to multiplatinum success with the thrash metallers – and then became a pop cultural icon in Japan. He explains the weirdest portfolio career in rock
It’s one of the most perplexing questions in heavy metal history: how does a bullet-wearing guitarist for Megadeth end up critiquing beauty products on Japanese daytime TV? “I started getting addicted to the challenge of: can I really do this?”, laughs Marty Friedman. “And the hardest one was being a judge on a show where these girls were doing makeup makeovers. I can’t think of anything I care less about in the entire world. ‘Well, she looked better with the foundation on after the blush!’”
Marty Friedman joined Megadeth in 1990 and helped the thrash band become a platinum-selling mainstream force that decade – one of the genre’s “Big Four” alongside Metallica, Slayer and Anthrax – but he walked away in 2000, and three years later he left the US altogether to start a new life in Japan, where as well as making music as a solo artist, he has established himself as an improbable but sizeable pop-cultural marvel.
Continue reading...Russia, shunned from the world stage, and China, subject to new US tariffs, want to pivot further from the west
Having secured a mandate to extend his rule of Russia to three decades, Vladimir Putin is expected to travel to Beijing on Thursday on a state visit to meet Xi Jinping intended to shore up his most important international relationship.
The two men toasted their “no-limits” friendship in February 2022 – meant as a counterweight to the global influence of the US. That partnership has increasingly come under pressure as the Biden administration sought to isolate Russia from its Chinese lifeline after the full-scale invasion in Ukraine, which began later the same month.
Continue reading...White House levy to protect US makers from cheap imports likely to inflame trade tensions
The US president, Joe Biden, has announced a 100% tariff on Chinese-made electric vehicles as part of a package of measures designed to protect US manufacturers from cheap imports.
In a move that is likely to inflame trade tensions between the world’s two biggest economies, the White House said it was imposing more stringent curbs on Chinese goods worth $18bn.
Continue reading...Arrests in killing of Canadian Sikh activist offer glimpse of the nexus of underworld crime and alleged Indian hit squads
Less than half an hour after the prominent Canadian Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar was shot dead outside a temple in British Columbia, Moninder Singh addressed a crowd near the site of the brazen attack.
“Make no mistake: this is a political assassination,” Singh told the agitated crowd in June 2023. “And it’s been carried out by India.”
Continue reading...Opposition say ruling party undermining democracy by using police to harass candidates into not contesting in elections
When the people of Gujarat cast their votes last week in India’s six-week-long election, there was one constituency in the state that stood silent. There were no polling stations or impatient queues of people, and no one with the tell-tale inky finger. In Surat, no voting was necessary – the outcome was already decided.
Mukesh Dalal, from the ruling Bharatiya Janata party (BJP), won the seat by default after every other candidate was either disqualified or dropped out of the race. It was the first time in 73 years that Surat’s candidate was appointed, not elected.
Continue reading...“We’re continuing to work around the clock with the government of Israel and with the government of Egypt to work on this issue,” the State Department said.
The post American Medical Missions Trapped in Gaza, Facing Death by Dehydration as Population Clings to Life appeared first on The Intercept.
On campus, inside the Capitol, and in court, there’s an all-out assault on American democracy in the name of Israel.
The post They Used to Say Arabs Can’t Have Democracy Because It’d Be Bad for Israel. Now the U.S. Can’t Have It Either. appeared first on The Intercept.
Nearly 20 missing after monsoon rains trigger flash floods, sending torrents of volcanic material and mud down slopes of Mount Marapi volcano
Heavy rains triggered flash floods and caused torrents of cold lava and mud to flow down a volcano’s slopes on Indonesia’s Sumatra island, killing at least 41 people and leaving more than a dozen others missing, officials have said.
Monsoon rains and a major mudslide from a cold lava flow on Mount Marapi caused a river to breach its banks and tear through mountainside villages in four districts in West Sumatra province just before midnight on Saturday. The floods swept away people and submerged more than 100 houses and buildings, national disaster management agency spokesperson Abdul Muhari said on Sunday.
Continue reading...Supreme court judges order Arvind Kejriwal’s release until 1 June and question timing of his arrest on corruption charges
One of India’s best-known opposition leaders, Arvind Kejriwal, the chief minister of Delhi, has been granted bail by the country’s supreme court to allow him to take part in general election campaigningafter being kept behind bars for almost two months.
Kejriwal, who heads the Aam Aadmi party (AAP), has been held in jail since March when he was arrested on money-laundering charges. He has maintained that his arrest and detention was politically motivated to prevent him taking part in the election, which began in April and will continue until June.
Continue reading...Ban Khun Samut Chin, a coastal village in Samut Prakan province, Thailand, has been slowly swallowed by the sea over the past few decades. This has led to the relocation of the school and many homes, resulting in a dwindling population. Currently, there are only four students attending the school, often leaving just one in each classroom. The village has experienced severe coastal erosion, causing 1.1-2km (0.5-1.2 miles) of shoreline to disappear since the mid-1950s
Continue reading...Lee Hsien Loong will stand down and hand power to his deputy Lawrence Wong at a challenging time for the city state
Singapore’s prime minister, Lee Hsien Loong, will stand down on Wednesday and hand power to his deputy Lawrence Wong, the first change of power in the city state in two decades.
Wong, 51, a US-trained economist credited with managing the country’s response to the pandemic, will be the fourth prime minister to lead Singapore, and is the first leader to have been born after the country’s independence in 1965. He is also only the second leader who is not a member of the founding Lee family. He will be inaugurated in a ceremony on Wednesday night.
Continue reading...Netiporn Sanae-sangkhom, 28, faced seven court cases including two for criticising Thailand’s monarchy
A political activist charged with insulting the king of Thailand has died in pre-trial detention after spending 65 days on hunger strike calling for an end to the imprisonment of political dissidents.
Netiporn Sanae-sangkhom, 28, had been detained since 26 January and maintained a hunger strike until the end of April, refusing food and water, according to her lawyers. The corrections department said she had experienced cardiac arrest on Tuesday morning and was unresponsive to treatment.
Continue reading...
RSS Rabbit links users to publicly available RSS entries.
Vet every link before clicking! The creators accept no responsibility for the contents of these entries.
Relevant
Fresh
Convenient
Agile
We're not prepared to take user feedback yet. Check back soon!
