Jimmy Lai, co-founder of Hong Kong newspaper Apple Daily and international fashion retailer Giordano, was denied bail Thursday. The Hong Kong High Court ordered the media tycoon to be placed in custody until April on the basis that he might abscond. He was charged under China’s new national security law which aims to prevent collusion [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Friday called on sport governing bodies like World Athletics, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the World Anti-Doping Agency to stop “sex testing” women runners and athletes. Sex testing is the practice of using unnecessary medical procedures and testing as conditions to compete in certain events. According to the report, [...]

The US Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced Thursday that it would soon open for sale oil and gas leases of land in the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). The Republican-controlled Congress passed and President Trump signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in 2017, which opened portions of ANWR to [...]

A nine-judge bench of Thailand’s Constitutional Court Wednesday unanimously acquitted  Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha in a conflict of interest case lodged by 56 opposition leaders of the Pheu Thai Party. Pratyut was accused of violating the ethics clauses in the Constitution by overstaying in army accommodation years after his retirement as the Chief of [...]

The US House of Representatives passed the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act on Wednesday, which aims to prohibit foreign companies from being listed on American stock exchanges if they fail to allow US regulators to review their financial audits, something several Chinese companies have been accused of. The bill was previously introduced by Republican Senator [...]

The US National Labor Relations Board on Wednesday charged Alphabet Inc.’s Google with violating the National Labor Relations Act by unlawfully surveilling, interrogating and firing activist employees. The board alleges that in 2019, Google virtually monitored employee activities and questioned them over accessing internal documents and employee calendars. The employees explained that they needed to access [...]

Iran’s Guardian Council approved a bill on Wednesday that would increase uranium enrichment and stop UN inspections of nuclear sites, measures that go against the 2015 nuclear deal, if sanctions are not eased against Iran within two months. The new bill comes from the Iran parliament after the killing of nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh. Iran blames [...]

The UN observed the International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD)on Thursday, calling for greater protection of their human rights. The IDPD was initially proclaimed by UN General Assembly resolution 47/3. The observance of IDPD “aims to promote the rights and well-being of persons with disabilities in all spheres of society and developments.” The UN [...]

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed suit Wednesday against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) demanding they release records tied to the Trump administration’s alleged purchase of cell phone data to track the locations of immigrants. The action is being brought under the [...]

The US Supreme Court Thursday vacated a federal court decision affirming California Governor Gavin Newsom’s restrictions on indoor religious services and ordered that the court reexamine the case. The challenge was brought by Harvest Rock Church, based in Pasadena, which claimed that the restrictions were harsh and went against its freedom to practice religion as protected [...]