The Sudaneses authorities are impeding press freedom in the country by targeting journalists and newspapers over every anything imaginable including merely reporting of protests that have taken place. The African Editors Forum (TAEF) has continued to draw the attention of the Sudanese authorities to this bad habit of arresting and detaining journalists. In a statement … Read more
Angola’s ruling party has bowed to public criticism of a proposed law banning all abortions and instead accepted a revised bill allowing terminations in cases of rape or maternal health risk. The about-turn follows a rare rally in March when roughly 200 demonstrators protested against the proposed bill under heavy police surveillance in the capital … Read more
Texas is nearing passage of a law on the use of bathrooms in public schools by transgender children, reviving an issue that sparked boycotts and protests when North Carolina passed a similar measure last year. The state legislature’s lower house approved the measure over the weekend in a less restrictive form than originally proposed, and … Read more
German ministers have approved plans to fine social media firms up to 50m euros ($53.3m; £42.7m) if they fail to remove hate speech and fake news quickly. The proposed law would give the companies 24 hours to block obviously criminal content after it had been reported, and seven days for other offensive material. However, a … Read more
Audience figures for Sunday Mass on Spanish public television have soared after a far-left party tried to get the weekly broadcast banned to be more ‘multicultural’. Unidos Podemos, the third biggest party in parliament, last week tabled a proposed law that would end the broadcast of the Roman Catholic Mass on La2 television. Spain’s secondary … Read more
Japan is moving to pass its strictest-ever smoking laws, but the country’s powerful tobacco lobby wants to stub out measures that were adopted years ago by other developed nations. The government is keen to change Japan’s image as a puffing paradise — smoking is still allowed in most bars, restaurants and cafes — as Tokyo … Read more
Israel’s parliament gave preliminary approval Wednesday to two controversial measures that would limit calls to prayers from mosques, including one prohibiting the use of loudspeakers at all hours, after shouting matches between lawmakers. The bills — the second of which would ban loudspeakers in urban areas between 11:00 pm and 7:00 am — will eventually … Read more
Nigeria’s second most influential Muslim leader – the Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II has disclosed that there will soon be a law which would stop men from taking more than one wife if they did not have the means to support them. The Emir averred that for people in the largely Muslim north of … Read more
A proposed Texas law that targets transgender people could prompt the NFL to keep future Super Bowls from Dallas and Houston if it passes, a league spokesman told the Houston Chronicle. The proposed law, known as “Senate Bill 6” or the “bathroom bill,” would require transgender people use the bathroom corresponding to the sex listed … Read more
Zimbabwe has launched its own money for the first time since the country’s dollar was abandoned seven years ago amid rampant inflation. The bond note, which is worth one US dollar – the country’s main currency since 2009 – is raising fears of a return to the ill-fated local dollar. The move, first announced in … Read more
Namibia has proposed a law that will ban foreigners from buying land in the country. The Land Bill of 2016 is a combination of the Agricultural Commercial Land Reform Act of 1995 and the Communal Land Reform Act of 2002. Under this proposed law, foreigners will not be allowed to buy or own land. They … Read more
Parliament is set to pass the amended Presidential Transition Bill on Monday with a new provision that allows an outgoing President and his Vice a one-month grace period to vacate official bungalows. Under the new amendment of the Presidential (Transition) Act 2012, the outgoing President and his vice would be required to vacate the official … Read more
The discourse around access to information has often focused on how it helps in the fight against corruption and in enhancing citizens’ capacity to exercise other rights. A lot has been said about how the lack of information impedes citizens’ ability to assess the decisions of their leaders, and even to make informed choices about … Read more