News Feed

29/06/2021

Russian opposition deputy barred from Moscow elections over Navalny support

Russian opposition politician and Moscow municipal deputy Ilya Yashin said he has been barred from running in the upcoming Moscow City Duma elections for supporting jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny. Yashin said the Moscow electoral commission cited a recent law that bars anyone associated with a terrorist or extremist organization from running for public office.

Source: The Moscow Times

29/06/2021

Legal experts draw up ‘historic’ definition of ecocide

Legal experts from across the globe have drawn up a “historic” definition of ecocide, intended to be adopted by the international criminal court. The draft law defines ecocide as “unlawful or wanton acts committed with knowledge that there is a substantial likelihood of severe and widespread or long-term damage to the environment being caused by those acts”.

Source: The Guardian

06/07/2021

Spain takes ‘giant step’ towards gender self-identification

The Spanish Cabinet approved a draft bill extending LGBTI rights that also bans conversion therapies, makes it easier for lesbian couples to register as co-parents and gives trans people access to assisted reproduction. The document, which still needs to undergo review and secure parliamentary backing, would also allow people 16 and over to legally change their name and gender on their identity documents without undergoing hormone therapy or securing medical reports indicating “gender dysphoria.”

Source : El Pais

06/07/2021

Concerns over rule of law as Slovenia takes over EU presidency

Amid high tension between east and west over democratic values, the European Union's presidency passes to Slovenia, led by a nationalist who has a history of crossing swords with the EU executive in debates over democracy. Prime Minister Janez Jansa clashed with Brussels over media freedoms in the run-up to Slovenia's six-month stint leading the 27-nation bloc.

Source: France 24

06/07/2021

EU countries approve landmark climate change law

EU countries gave the final seal of approval to a law to make the bloc's greenhouse gas emissions targets legally binding. Negotiators from Parliament and EU member states reached a deal in April on the climate law, which sets targets to reduce net EU emissions by 55% by 2030, from 1990 levels, and eliminate them by 2050.

Source: Reuters

06/07/2021

U.K. wants to send asylum seekers to offshore centers after Denmark passes similar law

Home Secretary Priti Patel is pushing forward with legislation next week that would permit the U.K. to send refugees and migrants abroad for processing — a move similar to a law that Denmark passed in early June allowing it to send asylum seekers outside Europe while their applications are reviewed.

Source: Washington Post

06/07/2021

Putin bans comparisons of the USSR to Nazi Germany

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law banning to publicly compare the goals and actions of the USSR with those of Nazi Germany in World War II, as well as to deny the decisive role of the Soviet people in the victory over fascism. The changes were made to the law "On Commemoration of the Victory of the Soviet People in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945".

Source: Kommersant

13/07/2021

Slovenian voters reject changing water protection law

Slovenian voters overwhelmingly rejected changes to the country’s water management law. According to a near-complete count of ballots released by election authorities, about 86.5% of people voted against the amendments approved by Prime Minister Janez Jansa’s government that ecologists claimed threaten the environment and water quality.

Source: AP News

13/07/2021

Spain legalises euthanasia and assisted suicide

Spain has joined a handful of countries where terminally or seriously ill people can end their lives legally, provided they fulfill certain criteria and get doctors' approval. The reform came after years of campaigning by supporters.

Source: DW