The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Friday took action against three companies accused of forced labor practices. US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued a Withhold Release Order and two forced labor Findings. The Withhold Release Order was issued against Malaysia-based YTY Group, based on information that YTY Group uses forced labor in its manufacturing [...]

Official discrimination against people affected by leprosy remains codified by way of more than 100 laws worldwide, and this status quo must end, urged a senior UN official on Friday. “It is time for all States concerned to make a choice: whether to keep such discriminatory laws against persons affected by leprosy in violation of [...]

Hundreds of current and former UN officials, human rights and legal experts, international NGOs, and academic institutions have signed an open letter to the UN Human Rights Council calling for an international investigation into the 1988 massacre of thousands of political prisoners in Iran. In 1988, following a fatwa issued by Iran’s then-Supreme Leader Ayatollah [...]

Germany announced it arrested Russian national Ilnur N. on Thursday for alleged involvement with Russia’s foreign intelligence service. According to German prosecutors, Ilnur used his position as a research assistant at a Bavarian university to share information with locally stationed Russian senior intelligence officers. Germany alleged that Ilnur engaged in three such meetings and shared [...]

NGO Access Now Thursday released a statement signed by dozens of NGOs calling on Kazak authorities and telecommunications providers to ensure internet access across the nation. Access Now accused the government of “toying” with internet access to dampen protests and provide “cover for escalating violence.” According to Access Now, the NGO defends rights for digital [...]

The High Commission of India in Ottawa released a statement Thursday on the previous week’s death of four Indian nationals on the US-Canada border, saying that the four had likely died from exposure to the outdoor elements. The commission further stated that unsafe migration due to human smuggling was a key factor in their deaths. [...]

The European Union (EU) Thursday filed a case in the World Trade Organization (WTO) against the People’s Republic of China following trade restrictions that China has been imposing on Lithuania. This move comes in response to trade restrictions that China has imposed on Lithuania since December 2021. The trade restrictions imposed include blocking all Lithuanian [...]

A World Trade Organization (WTO) arbitrator Wednesday ruled in favor of China in a retaliatory tariff dispute, granting China the right to impose retaliatory tariffs on US imports totaling up to $645 million a year. The decision brings to an end a decade-long dispute between the US and China. China’s WTO complaint originated with tariffs [...]

Two men were arrested Wednesday in Manchester, England as a part of the US investigation into a hostage situation at a Texas synagogue earlier this month. The hostage situation took place on January 15 at the Congregation Beth Israel synagogue in Colleyville, a town near Fort Worth, Texas. Malik Faisal Akram, 44, of Lancashire, England [...]

The European Commission Wednesday adopted a proposal, titled the “European Declaration on Digital Rights and Principles for the Digital Decade,” to act as a framework to guide European policymakers, companies, and the EU in dealing with digital transformation. The declaration follows the commission’s Digital Compass, which contains specific targets for the digital transformation set to [...]