Articles Tagged with China

On Monday, the US Department of State (DOS) issued a Temporary Final Rule establishing a 12-month visa bond pilot program for visitors seeking B-1 (business) or B-2 (tourism) visas from selected countries. Under this new rule, consular officers may require applicants to post a bond valued at $5,000, $10,000, or $15,000, depending on the officer’s [...]

A new study released by a UK-based charitable organization on Monday revealed the pressures and threats faced by academics and students engaged in Chinese-related studies at British universities. The study, titled “Cold Crisis: Academic freedom and interference in China studies in the UK,” was conducted by group UK-China Transparency, based on an anonymous survey of [...]

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) called on Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) officials on Tuesday to reopen the station Radio Nsenda Muana and release arrested station journalists. Angela Quintal, CPJ’s regional director, said that “DRC authorities should reverse the decision to suspend Radio Nsenda Muana and ensure that journalists are not criminalized for [...]

The Rome Court of Ministers on Monday dismissed a case against Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni, related to the release of a man wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged crimes against humanity. Prosecutors will continue to bring charges against Italy’s Justice Minister Carlo Nordio, Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi, and Cabinet Secretary Alfredo [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Tuesday stated that the Taliban have increased their human rights violations four years after their takeover of Afghanistan. The rights group also warned that the forced returns of Afghans to the country is intensifying the humanitarian crisis. Fereshta Abbasi, Afghanistan researcher at HRW, said that the four-year mark of Taliban [...]

United Nations human rights experts on Monday called on Serbia to end the intensifying crackdown on peaceful student demonstrators, urging the government to engage in meaningful dialogue with academic institutions to uphold academic freedom. Experts expressed concern following the Serbian authorities’ targeting of students, educators, human rights activists, and civil society, emphasizing the importance of [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) condemned Lebanese authorities on Monday over their continued inaction concerning the devastating explosion in Beirut’s port on August 4, 2020. The blast, one of the largest non-nuclear explosions in history, killed at least 236 people, injured 7,000, and destroyed large parts of the capital. HRW said authorities have failed to deliver [...]

Texas Democrats in the US on Sunday vacated the state in order to break quorum and prevent a vote on legislation that would allow Republican lawmakers to draw a district map with five new Republican-leaning seats. Many Democratic lawmakers chose to wait out the legislative session in Chicago, due to its party ties. Illinois Governor [...]

Italy’s competition regulator, the Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato (AGCM), imposed a €1 million fine on fast fashion company Shein on Monday for publishing misleading environmental claims related to the amount of pollution the company produces. The AGCM investigation found that Shein made false claims about the recyclability of its clothing, and that [...]

Former International Criminal Court (ICC) judges on Saturday criticized the handling of ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan’s sexual misconduct case, questioning UN oversight office actions like the public naming of Khan in the complaint and outsourcing investigation work to third parties. Former ICC Judge Cuno Tarfusser, alongside a former judge who remained anonymous, said that Khan [...]