The El Salvador Legislative Assembly extended its COVID-19 state of emergency law Sunday by a 68-12 vote despite human rights concerns. The extension is effective until April 16. The state of emergency law allows the El Salvador government to detain those who violate lockdown orders. This provision has concerned human rights groups. According to the [...]

The Ministerial Meeting of OPEC and non-OPEC countries concluded on Sunday with an agreement to cut oil production and raise prices in an attempt to stabilize the global oil market, which has seen significant fluctuation in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. The agreement calls for significant reductions in production. ll Participating Countries agreed to [...]

Canada gave royal assent to an emergency wage bill Saturday evening, giving relief to many Canadian workers and businesses adversely impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak. The $73 billion package enables private companies, non-profits, and charities to apply for government assistance to subsidize paychecks to employees. To qualify, entities must prove a reduction of revenue of [...]

The Prosecutor General of Russia, Igor Krasnov, announced that Russia will take additional steps to limit the spread of misinformation associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. “The placement of unreliable, socially significant information disseminated under the guise of reliable information, has been revealed, which pose a threat to public safety,” Krasnov’s office said in a statement. [...]

France’s national competition regulator on Friday issued a statement that urges Google to begin negotiating payment with publishers and news agencies for the re-use of their content. The statement calls on Google to begin negotiating within three months. The regulator agency states that press publishers and Agence-France Presse (AFP) complained that Google is infringing on [...]

The National Assembly of Cambodia passed a state of emergency bill on Friday due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The bill is now being sent to the Senate. The bill passed in the lower house by 115 votes in favor and 10 abstentions. Justice Minister Koeut Rith wrote an initial draft of the bill and later added [...]

UN Secretary-General António Guterres said Thursday in his remarks to the Security Council that the COVID-19 pandemic threatens global peace. “In some conflict settings, the uncertainty created by the pandemic may create incentives for some actors to promote further division and turmoil,” Guterres stated. “This could lead to an escalation of violence and possibly devastating [...]

The Swiss government announced Thursday that it will look at temporarily amending its bankruptcy laws during the coronavirus crisis to help companies that have encountered cash-flow problems and mounting debt. The government warned on Wednesday that the Swiss economy could shrink as much as 10.4 percent this year. Justice minister Karin Keller-Sutter said that companies [...]

A year after violent protests ousted Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir, Human Rights Watch called upon the Sudanese government Friday for justice in the deaths of dozens of demonstrators. Al-Bashir was removed from power in a coup d’état in April 2019 after four months of protests against his administration. Pro-government police heavily repressed these protests through [...]

India’s new citizenship law and policies are causing discrimination against Muslims, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a report Thursday. The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) allows a fast-track to citizenship in India for undocumented immigrants who entered India before December 31, 2014. The CAA grants citizenship on the basis of religion, and allows persons “belonging [...]