Russia announced new sanctions against 18 British nationals in response to the UK’s “confrontational policies” against the country on Monday. However, the statement did not mention which particular policy the sanctions are responding to. The sanctions were made against not only the UK’s government officials but also scholars. These newly sanctioned individuals will be denied [...]
Search Results for: 2014-12-12
Moscow court orders arrest of exiled novelist Boris Akunin over Ukraine support
A Moscow court issued an arrest warrant in absentia on Tuesday for exiled novelist Grigori Chkhartishvili (under pen name Boris Akunin) over his critique of Russia’s war against Ukraine. Accused of justifying terrorism and spreading “fake news” about the Russian army, Akunin, who has resided outside Russia since 2014, faces charges initiated last month by [...]
Pennsylvania state court website down due to denial of service cyberattack
Pennsylvania Chief Justice Debra Todd announced Sunday night that a portion of the Pennsylvania State Court’s website is unavailable because of a denial of service cyberattack. The Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) defines a denial of service attack as when users cannot access their online information systems or network resources because of “malicious actors [...]
The exchange of information is a key driver of today’s digital economy. International trade cannot be performed without business owners’ ability to transfer data across national borders, and multinational enterprises’ (MNE) internal operation relies on the ability to move data among countries where they have business presence. Accordingly, data has come to the center of [...]
Russia court sentences pro-war activist to 4 years in a penal colony for inciting 'extremism'
The Moscow Municipal Court sentenced Igor Girkin (also known as Igor Strelkov) on Thursday to four years in a general regime colony for questioning the salaries of Russian fighters and the situation in Crimea. Girkin was found guilty of committing a crime under Part 2 of Article 280 of the Criminal Code of the Russian [...]
UN Human Rights Council examines peer review of China human rights record
The UN Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Working Group examined the human rights record of China, one of the 14 states reviewed during this year’s session, for the fourth time on Tuesday in a meeting at Geneva. The three previous UPR reports on China—which took place separately in February 2009, October 2013, and [...]
Ihor Kolomoyskyi as a Case Study in Ukraine's War on Corruption
Since 2014, Ukraine has taken decisive steps toward combating corruption. This has included the adoption of anti-corruption legislation and the establishment of anti-corruption bodies that operate in accordance with international standards. Furthermore, there has been a concerted effort to identify and address the root causes of corruption in Ukraine. Notably, the presence of an oligarchy [...]
The US’s Biden administration moved Wednesday to designate the Houthi rebels, Ansar Allah, as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) group, the latest effort to cut the group’s financial resources in response to attacks on shipping lanes in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. The designation will take effect on February 16. Officials stressed [...]
Cambodia court convicts land rights activists for inciting 'peasant revolution'
A court in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on Monday convicted four land rights activists on charges of provoking a “peasant revolution.” The activists are part of the Coalition of Cambodian Farmer Community (CCFC). The Cambodian government charged the activists with plotting against the state for discussing the history of wealth distribution and land rights in Cambodia. [...]
Russia designates author Boris Akunin as 'foreign agent' amidst dissent crackdown
Russia’s Ministry of Justice designated popular fiction writer Grigori Chkhartishvili (pen name Boris Akunin) a “foreign agent” for his criticism of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The ministry said Friday that Chkhartishvili “opposed the special military operation in Ukraine.” Chkhartishvili’s cited opposition was a Facebook post written the day Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in [...]