India's Supreme Court awarded Hindus control of a disputed religious site in the town of Ayodhya for the construction of a temple, in a landmark verdict announced amid heightened security across the country. Muslims will be given five acres of land at an alternative site in Ayodhya, in northern Uttar Pradesh state, the top court ruled.

In a unanimous decision over the site claimed by both Hindus and Muslims, the five-judge bench asked the government to set up a trust that will construct a temple for Hindu deity Ram.

"The judges tried their best to have a kind of a balance but ultimately it's the mystery of the faith over rule of law, because they [judges] said that we can't be doing anything...if they[Hindus] believe that Ram was born here," said Faizan Mustafa, vice-chancellor of NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad, before questioning: "Belief is good for the purposes of religion, but can it become a basis to resolve property disputes?"

Canada became the first voice supporting a genocide prosecution of Myanmar government for systemic violence that forced about 750,000 Rohingya Muslims to flee their country. Gambia filed the genocide case this week with the International Criminal Court in The Hague on behalf of the Organization of Islamic Co-operation. Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland in a statement said the move will advance accountability for the crime of genocide, which includes mass murder, systemic discrimination, hate speech and sexual and gender-based violence.

"Canada welcomes the Gambia's submission to the International Court of Justice of an application to institute proceedings against the Government of Myanmar for alleged violations of the Genocide Convention," her statement said. To that end, she said the government will enlist the help of former Liberal interim leader and longtime politician Bob Rae, who also served as Canada's special envoy to Myanmar to aid the Gambian efforts.

Hong Kong's rule of law has been pushed to the "brink of total collapse" after more than five months of protests, police have warned. The warning came a day after the territory saw a marked escalation in violence, with police shooting one activist in the torso. A pro-Beijing supporter was later set on fire by anti-government protesters.

The protests started in June against a now-withdrawn plan to allow extradition to mainland China, but have since morphed into wider demonstrations, with activists demanding greater democracy and police accountability in Hong Kong. "Hong Kong's rule of law has been pushed to the brink of total collapse as masked rioters recklessly escalate their violence under the hope that they can get away with it," police spokesman Kong Wing-cheung told reporters, adding that the attack on the pro-Beijing supporter was being investigated as attempted murder.

New U.S. government data shows an unprecedented 69,550 migrant children were held in U.S. government custody over the past year - enough infants, toddlers, kids and teens to overflow the typical NFL stadium. That's more children detained away from their parents than any other country, according to United Nations researchers.

The nearly 70,000 migrant children who were held in government custody this year - up 42 percent in fiscal year 2019 from 2018 - spent more time in shelters and away from their families than in prior years. The Trump administration's series of strict immigration policies has increased the time children spend in detention. In 2013, Australia detained 2,000 children during a surge of maritime arrivals. In Canada, 155 were detained in 2018. In the United Kingdom, 42 migrant children were put in shelters in 2017, according to officials in those countries.