Thai premier cleared of ethics breach
BANGKOK -- Thailand's highest court on Wednesday acquitted Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha of breaching ethics clauses in the country's constitution, allowing him to stay in his job.
The Constitutional Court ruled on a complaint filed by the Pheu Thai party, the largest opposition group in Parliament, that Prayuth had broken the law by continuing to live in his military residence after he retired as army commander in September 2014.
The complaint alleged that he broke constitutional articles barring government ministers from receiving special benefits from state agencies or enterprises because that would amount to a conflict of interest.
The nine-judge panel agreed with an army explanation that retired senior officers such as Prayuth are allowed to stay in army housing in recognition of their service. The judges ruled unanimously in Prayuth's favor.
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The ruling was handed down as Prayuth has been dealing with a persistent student-led pro-democracy movement that has been holding frequent well-attended rallies demanding that he and his government step down, claiming that they gained power illegitimately.
U.N. takes pot off 1 dangerous-drugs list
BERLIN -- The U.N. Commission on Narcotic Drugs voted Wednesday to remove cannabis and cannabis resin from a category of the world's most dangerous drugs, which stands to affect the global medical-marijuana industry.
The Vienna-based U.N. agency said in a statement that it had voted 27-25, with one abstention, to follow the World Health Organization's recommendation to remove cannabis and cannabis resin from Schedule IV of the 1961 Convention on Narcotic Drugs, where it was listed with heroin and several other opioids.
The drugs that are on Schedule IV are a subset of those on Schedule I of the convention, which already requires the highest levels of international control. The agency voted to leave cannabis and cannabis resin on the list of Schedule I drugs, which also include cocaine, fentanyl, morphine, methadone, opium and oxycodone, the opiate painkiller sold as OxyContin,
Wednesday's vote therefore does not clear U.N. member nations to legalize marijuana under the international drug control system. Canada and Uruguay have legalized the sale and use of cannabis for recreational purposes, but many countries around the world have decriminalized marijuana possession.
Israel hands over $1B owed Palestinians
JERUSALEM -- Israel transferred more than $1 billion in taxes and customs duties it collects on behalf of the Palestinian Authority on Wednesday after a six-month hiatus in which the Palestinians had severed ties with Israel over its plans to annex parts of the occupied West Bank.
The Palestinians resumed contacts with Israel last month after President-elect Joe Biden's victory in the U.S. election. Biden is opposed to annexation and has promised a more evenhanded approach to the conflict.
The taxes are a key source of revenue for the Palestinian Authority, which administers parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank. It was forced to cut the salaries it pays to tens of thousands of civil servants, worsening an economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Hussein al-Sheikh, a close aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, confirmed the receipt of around $1.1 billion from Israel.
Israel said it would deduct an amount equal to what the Palestinian Authority pays to the families of prisoners and those killed in the conflict.
Hong Kong activist urges Europe 'haven'
COPENHAGEN, Denmark -- A Hong Kong pro-democracy activist during a visit to Denmark urged European nations on Wednesday to allow protesters in Hong Kong "a safe haven from the terror" of China's Communist Party.
"The situation in Hong Kong is getting worse by the day and it is important that the world knows that Hong Kong is no longer a free city," Ted Hui said in an email to The Associated Press.
Britain has extended residency rights for up to 3 million Hong Kong residents eligible for British national overseas passports, allowing them to live and work there for five years.
Britain also has followed the United States, Australia and Canada in suspending extradition agreements with Hong Kong.
Hui arrived in Denmark on Tuesday "to change the Danish government's stance," according to Thomas Rohden, chairman of the Danish China Critical Society, which organized his trip. A former Hong Kong legislator, Hui was able to get his passport back from the government and a visa after receiving an invitation from Danish lawmakers.
-- Compiled by Democrat-Gazette staff from wire reports