The Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) announced Wednesday that the coronavirus strain known as COVID-19 is now officially classified as a pandemic. The director also noted that although this distinction “does not change WHO’s assessment of the threat posed by this virus,” it should also be recognized that “we have never before seen [...]

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called Tuesday for the humanitarian release of Americans unlawfully detained in Iran amidst growing concerns about the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in Iranian prisons. Pompeo warned that the US would hold Tehran responsible if any of the citizens died from COVID-19, stating “our response will be decisive.” Pompeo later alleged [...]

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced the first part of a stimulus plan Wednesday meant to safeguard Australia’s public health and economy against the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). The plan, worth A $2.4 billion (USD $1.6 billion), proposes opening up to 100 respiratory and fever clinics as the latest demonstration of continued support [...]

Both houses of the Russia Parliament on Wednesday approved a constitutional change that would allow President Vladimir Putin to run for reelection again. The current Russian constitution requires the president to step down after serving two consecutive terms. Putin is currently serving his second consecutive term and would have to leave office when his term [...]

The High Court of South Africa in Pretoria cleared South African President Cyril Ramaphosa of corruption charges on Tuesday. The president made an inaccurate statement before the Parliament in 2018 concerning a campaign donation made to his son by African Global Operations. He later wrote a letter to the Parliament to clarify the error. The [...]

Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani agreed Wednesday to a phased release of thousands of imprisoned Taliban fighters. This decision follows an earlier refusal that threatened to thwart the recently negotiated peace plan between the Taliban, the US and the Afghan government. The president announced that the government has agreed to release the prisoners in exchange for [...]

The UK Court of Appeal affirmed a lower court decision Tuesday rejecting gender neutral markers on passports. Christie Elan-Cane argued for a policy to allow gender neutrality on passports in 2018. Elan-Cane wanted passports to have an “X” category for people who do not identify fully with either male or female. Elan-Cane argued the current [...]

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced Monday that France, Portugal, Luxembourg, Finland and Germany will take in minor migrants that are currently in Greece, where refugee camps are “already over the limit”. Von der Leyen noted that the minor migrants “are the most vulnerable” and that “t is urgent to get them away [...]

Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada David Lametti introduced a bill to the Canadian House of Commons on Monday to criminalize sexual orientation conversion therapy programs. The bill would amend the Criminal Code to criminalize conversion therapy for all minors, including removing a child from Canada with the intention of subjecting the child [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Tuesday that the Colombian National Police “abused the mostly peaceful demonstrators” who had been protesting in 2019. HRW noted that most of the protests were peaceful, but some protesters were violent against both police officers and property. However, HRW stated that “n several cases, the police used excessive force against [...]