New York Governor Kathy Hochul Saturday signed legislation validating natural organic reduction as a method of burial. Known as “human composting” in common parlance, the process involves placing the body of deceased in a vessel and adding organic material like wood chips, alfalfa grass and straw. Such an arrangement provides conducive environment for natural microbes to act [...]
US President Biden Friday signed a $1.7 trillion omnibus spending bill which consists of two key legal provisions for pregnant and nursing workers. First, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act necessitates employers to provide “reasonable workplace accommodations for workers whose ability to perform the functions of a job are limited by pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical [...]
The outgoing government of Brazillian President Jair Bolsonaro Friday lifted a ban on Venezuelan officials from entering Brazil, as per a decision published in the government’s Official Gazette. This move was preceded by the Thursday revocation of a 2019 ordinance signed by then Justice Minister Sergio Moro which banned Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro and officials [...]
The US House Committees on Oversight and Reform & Energy and Commerce Thursday jointly released a report criticizing the US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval of Alzheimer’s drug Aduhelm. The report says that the FDA and Aduhelm-manufacturer Biogen acted in concert to get the drug approved in a hastened manner despite doubts about Aduhelm’s [...]
US President Joe Biden Tuesday signed into law the Prison Camera Reform Act, 2021, which requires the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to revamp the outdated security systems at its 122 facilities. It puts special emphasis on fixing broken surveillance cameras after the surfacing of several reports of inmate escapes, staff sexual misconduct and high-profile [...]
The Federal Government of Somalia Wednesday vehemently condemned Genel Energy PLC’s oil and petroleum exploration activities in the country’s northern breakaway region of Somaliland. The Oil Ministry rejected the company’s “illegal claim” of oil exploration rights in the region, saying: The Federal Government of Somalia has been closely monitoring the illegal petroleum operations in the [...]
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Tuesday urged countries in Andaman Sea region to step up for helping rescue Rohingya Muslims stranded at sea. In contrast, the UNHCR welcomed Indonesian fishermen’s–in concert with local authorities’–actions which saved 58 people Sunday and 174 people Monday. UNHCR Representative to Indonesia, Ann Maymann, thanked the local communities [...]
Indian authorities registered 23,094 first information reports (FIRs) from March 2020 to March 2022 for violations of COVID-19 policies, according to a report released Sunday by the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy. Fines were intended to be the primary form of punishment for COVID policy violations with FIRs to follow only on non-payment of such fine. [...]
