Swiss citizens voted against three environmental laws Sunday, rejecting proposed initiatives that sought to improve their long-term quality of life. The first initiative sought to ensure clean drinking water and healthy food by eliminating subsidies for the use of food pesticides and antibiotics. The second initiative proposed banning all synthetic food pesticides. Nearly 61 percent [...]

A UN rights expert expressed serious concern on Thursday with the 10-year imprisonment of five human rights defenders in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), calling for their immediate release. The imprisoned individuals (Mohamed al-Mansoori, Hassan Mohammed Al-Hammad, Hadif Rashed Abdullah al-Owais, Ali Saeed Al-Kindi and Salim Hamdoon Al-Shahhi) are part of the “UAE94,” a group [...]

A federal judge in Texas dismissed a lawsuit Saturday by 117 hospital employees who sued Houston Methodist over its requirement that all employees receive the COVID-19 vaccine. The hospital employees who refused to be vaccinated were placed on unpaid suspension on Monday. The employees were told that they would be fired if they were not [...]

California Governor Gavin Newsom signed executive orders (here and here) on Friday to lift emergency restrictions aimed at preventing the spread of COVID-19. As of June 15, restrictions including such as physical distancing and capacity limits will be lifted as cases and deaths from coronavirus continue to decrease. Of the 58 Californian executive orders related [...]

The German Parliament passed a law on Friday requiring large and medium-sized businesses to do their due diligence in combating human rights violations along their supply chain. The law introduces a shift to mandatory compliance with international norms on labor exploitation. The Bundestag adopted the draft law by a large majority. The law introduces obligations [...]

The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) added 12 individuals, entities and vessels to the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list Thursday for funding Houthi efforts in Yemen. In a press release, the Treasury said that the newly designated persons were engaged in a smuggling operation. The effort was led by [...]

US Department of Justice (DOJ) Inspector General Michael Horowitz announced Friday that the department’s internal watchdog will be investigating illegal data seizures by the Trump administration. The Trump administration allegedly secretly seized phone data from House Democrats in 2018 when the administration was aggressively cracking down on leaks regarding Russian meddling in the 2016 elections. The [...]

China’s legislature passed a new anti-sanctions law Thursday following the enactment of blocking rules earlier this year. In January, China’s Ministry of Commerce published new rules designed to counteract extraterritorial application of other countries’ sanctions and export control laws. China has historically criticized Western nations for interfering in China’s internal affairs, but the blocking rule [...]

The US Supreme Court on Thursday overturned a ruling by the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit that “reckless” crimes qualify as violent felonies for purposes of the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA). The ACCA mandates a 15-year sentence for those persons found guilty of illegally possessing a firearm who have been convicted [...]

North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper on Wednesday issued an executive order highlighting the state’s “commitment to creating clean energy jobs increasing economic opportunities, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions through the expansion of offshore wind power.” Executive Order 218, “Advancing North Carolina’s Economic and Clean Energy Future with Offshore Wind,” formally introduces North Carolina’s first-ever targets [...]