“Turkish authorities detained several journalists from their homes, a media workers’ union reported Monday, in what it said was a crackdown amid escalating protests triggered by the imprisonment of the mayor of Istanbul and top rival to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. On Sunday, a court formally arrested Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu and ordered him jailed pending a trial on corruption charges. His detention on Wednesday sparked the largest wave of street demonstrations in Turkey in more than a decade and deepened concerns over democracy and the rule of law in the country. In an apparent escalation of the government’s response to the growing protests, the Disk-Basin-Is union said at least eight reporters and photojournalists were detained in what it said was an ‘attack on press freedoms and the people’s right to learn the truth.'” (03/24/25)
“The Supreme Court Monday turned away casino mogul Steve Wynn’s bid for the court to consider overturning its 61-year-old precedent that has protected journalists from libel lawsuits. Wynn urged the justices to use his lawsuit against The Associated Press (AP) to revisit the 1964 landmark decision, New York Times v. Sullivan, which requires a showing of ‘actual malice’ for public figures to hold newspapers and journalists liable for defamation, a high legal bar. President Trump has long called for reducing libel protections for the press, and conservative Justice Clarence Thomas has said multiple times the precedent should be overruled. … Wynn brought the question to the Supreme Court after Nevada’s top court rejected Wynn’s 2018 lawsuit against the AP, which concerned a story the wire serve published about two women’s police reports detailing allegations of sexual misconduct against the casino mogul from the 1970s. Wynn has denied the allegations.” (03/24/25)
“Greenland’s politicians have condemned plans for high-profile US visits, in the wake of President Donald Trump’s threats to take over the island. Second Lady Usha Vance will make a cultural visit this week, and a separate trip is expected from Trump’s National Security Adviser Mike Waltz. Outgoing Greenlandic Prime Minister Mute Egede described the plan as aggressive, and said the duo had not been invited for meetings. Meanwhile, the island’s likely next leader accused the US of showing a lack of respect. Greenland – the world’s biggest island, situated between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans – has been controlled by Denmark, nearly 3,000km (1,860 miles) away, for about 300 years. It governs its own domestic affairs, but decisions on foreign and defence policy are made in Copenhagen.” (03/24/25)
“A private European aerospace company scrubbed its attempt on Monday to launch the first test flight of its orbital launch vehicle from Norway. Unfavorable winds meant that the Spectrum rocket couldn’t be launched from the island of Andøya in northern Norway, Munich-based Isar Aerospace said. The launch is subject to various factors, including weather and safety. The company said it could also conduct the test flight later in the week. Another date hasn’t yet been set. The 28-meter (91-foot) Spectrum is a two-stage launch vehicle designed for small and medium-sized satellites. The company has largely ruled out the possibility of the rocket reaching orbit on its first complete flight, saying that it would consider a 30-second flight a success. Isar Aerospace aims to collect as much data and experience as possible on the first integrated test of all the systems on its in-house-developed launch vehicle.” (03/24/25)
“The Supreme Court on Monday rejected an appeal from a Texas death row inmate whose bid for a new trial drew the support of the prosecutor’s office that originally put him on death row. The justices left in place a Texas appeals court ruling that upheld the murder conviction and death sentence for Areli Escobar …. Escobar was convicted and sentenced to death in the May 2009 fatal stabbing and sexual assault of Bianca Maldonado, a 17-year-old high school student in Austin. They lived in the same apartment complex. The focus of the prosecution case against Escobar was evidence from the Austin Police Department’s DNA lab. But a later audit turned up problems at the lab that led Judge David Wahlberg of the Travis County District Court to conclude that Escobar’s trial was unfair.” 903/24/25)
“A high court in South Korea has upheld the conviction of a 24-year-old man for a series of sexual crimes, including rape — after the attack was reflected on a washing machine door and caught on security footage, say reports. The CCTV video submitted by the victim did not appear to show the crime — until investigators spotted the attack in the door’s reflection. The man had already been indicted for other offenses, including the suspected rape of a former girlfriend and sex with a minor, reports say. He was originally convicted and sentenced to eight years in jail in November but appealed the decision. The high court then sentenced him to seven years, saying that it took into account the settlement that he had reached with one of the victims.” (03/24/25)
“A Russian missile attack on an industrial facility in Ukraine’s northeastern city of Sumy on Monday damaged a residential area and a hospital, and injured at least 28 people, a local official said. At least four children were among the injured, acting Sumy mayor Artem Kobzar said on the Telegram messenger app. He did not identify the industrial facility. … Sumy, about 30 km (18.6 miles) from the Russian border, as well as the surrounding region, is subject to constant drone and missile strikes by Russia.” (03/24/25)
“Although young plaintiffs and their supporters were disappointed by the U.S. Supreme Court effectively ending their constitutional climate lawsuit on Monday, they also emphasized the positive and far-reaching impacts of Juliana v. United States over the past decade. First filed by 21 youth plaintiffs in 2015, Juliana aimed to hold the federal government accountable for its contributions to the fossil fuel-driven climate emergency. Over the years, the effort garnered support from more than 100 members of Congress, over 400 groups, and hundreds of thousands of people worldwide. In September, plaintiffs asked the justices to reverse an appellate court’s dismissal of the case—but the country’s highest court on Monday denied a petition for certiorari. ‘The Supreme Court’s decision today is not the end of the road and the impact of Juliana cannot be measured by the finality of this case alone,’ Julia Olson, chief legal counsel of Our Children’s Trust, which represented the plaintiffs, said in a statement.” (03/24/25)
“The United Nations said Monday it will ‘reduce its footprint’ in the Gaza Strip after an Israeli tank strike hit one of its compounds last week, killing one staffer and wounding five others. Israel has denied it was behind the March 19 explosion at the U.N. guesthouse in central Gaza. In a statement Monday, U.N. Secretary-General spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said that ‘based on the information currently available,’ the strikes on the site ‘were caused by an Israeli tank’. The Israeli military did not immediately comment. Dujarric said the U.N. ‘has made taken the difficult decision to reduce the Organization’s footprint in Gaza, even as humanitarian needs soar.’ He said the world body was cutting back about a third of its approximately 100 international staffers in Gaza, but ‘the U.N. is not leaving Gaza.'” (03/24/25)
“Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra on Monday faced a no-confidence motion in parliament as the opposition alleged she was being unduly influenced by her father, a former prime minister, and is mismanaging the country. Paetongtarn, who took office last year, is expected to survive her first no-confidence vote on Wednesday with the backing of her ruling coalition that makes up the majority of the House of Representatives. The head of the opposition in parliament, Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut, said Paetongtarn had failed to address many of the country’s chronic problems including the slumping economy, air pollution, crimes and corruption. He said her administration was serving the interests of her family and her father, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, a popular but highly controversial political figure.” (03/24/25)
