Suspended oil leases in Alaska’s Arctic wildlife refuge
Biden administration suspended oil and gas leases in Alaska’s Artic National Wildlife Refuge, reversing the approval of a drilling program by the Trump administration. The remote region is home to polar bears and other wildlife, and a rich oil reserve. Biden’s executive order taken when he first assumed office suggested a new environmental review needed to address possible legal flaws in the drilling program approved by the previous administration under a 2017 law enacted by the Congress. A detailed review of the same also identified defects in the record of decision supporting the leases, including a lack of analysis of a reasonable number of alternatives.
UK “people’s tribunal” to hear claims of abuse of Uyghurs by China
A people’s tribunal was recently set up in London to assess whether China’s alleged rights abuses against the Uyghur people, a largely Muslim ethnic group, constitute genocide. Witnesses havemade grave allegations against Chinese government, alleging that inmates in detention camps for Ughyurs were routinely humiliated, tortured, and abused. Although the tribunal isn’t backed by the UK government, and has no power to impose sanctions or punish China, organisers hope that make the evidence public will compel international action. A British barrister has said that the forum would create “a permanent body of evidence and a record, if found, of crimes perpetrated”.
New Chinese law to counter foreing sanctions against its officials
The Chinese Parliament has passed the Anti-foreign Sanctions Law, which provides a comprehensive legal shield for blocking foreign sanctions agsinst Chinese officials and entities, protecting them against long-arm jurisdiction, especially from the US. The law was passed by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC), China’s national legislature. The law was passed following various US and EU sanctions against a number of Chines entities and officials over allegations of human rights violations against Uyghurs and imposition of China’s national security law in Hong Kong.
Worsening political crisis in Nepal
Nepal President Bidya Devi Bhandari on May 22 dissolved the 275- member House of Representatives for a second time in five months and announced snap elections on November 12 and 19 on the advice of Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli, who lost a trust vote in the House last month. The Kathmandu Post has reported that the Prime Minister who is currently heading a minority government, has been continuously been attacking the Constitution of Nepal and undermining the long struggle of the Nepalese people to achieve the federal republic and its rule of law. The Supreme Court has further quashed the appointment of 20 ministers made by the PM, citing that the expanisons made after the dissolution of the House of Representatives was unconstitutional and hence, the ministers cannot discharge their duties. Following the order, there are only five ministers left in Oli’s Cabinet, including the Prime Minister himself.
China downplays report of leak at nuclear power plant
After reports of radioactive leak at Taishan nuclear plant in China’s Guangdong province in the south of the country, the Chinese government acknowledged damage to the fuel rods, but denied the reports of the radioactive leak. China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment said it was a common problem with no need for any concern. CNN in it’s report stated that the French energy firm which helps operate the plant, reported a “performance issue” and warned the US government that China’s nuclear regulator has raised limits on permissible levels of radiation outside the plant to avoid shutting it down. However, China’s environment ministry stated that the report wasn’t true.
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