Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak was sentenced to 12 years in jail last week, after a Malaysia High Court found him guilty on all seven counts in the first of many multi-million-dollar corruption trials.

The case was centred around his involvement in the 1 Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) – a sovereign wealth fund set up in 2009 when Najib Razak was prime minister. Razak, who was in office from 2009 to 2018, pleaded not guilty to the charges of criminal breach of trust, money laundering and abuse of power.

The European Union has blocked funding to six Polish cities, making up nearly a third of Poland, because of their attitude toward the LGBTQ community.

According to a statement from the EU’s commissioner for Equality, six towns in Poland have adopted homophobic policies, calling themselves ‘LGBT-free zones,’ directly contradicting the EU’s belief in equity for all people.

A small group of Thai Royalists held a rally in response to the largest anti-government demonstration since Thailand imposed a state of emergency to tackle the coronavirus pandemic.

The rally, which was held on Thursday, was mainly attended by mainly senior citizens with a few college-aged students. They were acting in response to a set of protests led by the student movement known as Liberation Youth Group, who had organised a series of anti-government protests in recent weeks.

The Guardian reports, that the student protests were attended by over 2,000 and were the largest since the government-imposed lockdown restrictions in March. In terms of size, the Royalist rally, which was organised by a group known as “The Vocational School Students protecting the Nation”, was only attended by 75 demonstrators. Most of these were senior citizens with a few college-aged students.

Photo of a spokesman of China's foreign ministry, Wang Wendin

China has demanded that the European Union “stop meddling in Hong Kong affairs and Chin’s internal affairs”; after the Union decided to limit the sale of technology for use in Hong Kong, over concerns about its controversial new security law.

Recent documents in the British High Court reveal allegations of a “rogue” British SAS (Special Air Service) unit carrying out night-time executions of civilians in Afghanistan.

A collection of files, previously withheld from the UK court, have brought to light communications between high ranking officials of the special forces discussing the murder of over 33 Afghan civilians in 11-night raids carried out by a SAS unit over the course of 3 months.

The Hong Kong government announced that elections scheduled for September would be postponed by a year because of the coronavirus pandemic. Pro-democracy opposition candidates argue that this is another in a series of attempts to weaken their chances and slow the momentum growing around their platform.

The move to postpone elections comes soon after twelve pro-democracy candidates reported being barred from running as candidates, due to their opposition to a new security law and what have been perceived as “subversive intentions.”

Zimbabwe’s security forces have forced a lockdown in Harare, on Thursday, clearing people off the streets and forcing businesses to close a day before planned anti-government protests.

In Harare, the capital, armed soldiers and anti-riot police manned checkpoints, telling people to leave.

The Zimbabwe police released a statement saying;

Around 100 vulnerable asylum seekers, including minors, have been relocated to Finland and Germany from Greece and Cyprus refugee camps, according to the EU’s asylum coordination agency.

New York City police have come under criticism after a viral video showing officers, including some in plainclothes, were seen arresting a protester and taking her away in an unmarked van as protest continued across the country.

Videos of the arrest have circulated on social media, attracting scrutiny from politicians and civil rights groups.

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tweeted, “There is no excuse for snatching women off the street and throwing them into unmarked vans,” connecting these actions to authoritarianism.

US Congresswomen, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez – who was subject to a verbal attack by Florida Republican Representative Ted Yoho – slammed the comments and the apology made by Yoho, at the House Chamber, in Washington, D.C.

She emphasised the incident as extending the “culture of lack of impunity and accepting of violence and violent language against women” and that “an entire structure of power supports that”.