A federal judge on Saturday blocked Kansas from limiting attendance at in-person religious services or activities to 10 or fewer people to prevent the spread of COVID-19, indicating that he believes that the policy violates First Amendment rights. This ruling prevents the enforcement of Executive Order No. 20-18 issued by Governor Laura Kelly, which sought [...]

The UN Security Council on Friday called upon Yemen’s warring factions to end their five-year civil war due to the spread of COVID-19. “Yemen cannot face two fronts at the same time: a war and a pandemic,” said UN Special Envoy Martin Griffiths. “We can do no less than stop this war and turn all [...]

A federal judge refused Friday to order California prison officials to release large number of inmates or impose social-distancing requirements as protections against the coronavirus, saying the state has acted reasonably so far by freeing several thousand prisoners ahead of schedule and taking steps to expand housing and improve sanitation. US District Judge Jon Tigar [...]

The Trump Administration announced a new program on Friday to help US farmers who are struggling economically because of disruptions from the pandemic. Farmers and ranchers are having a hard time getting their goods to markets because large buyers like restaurants and college dormitories have stopped buying. Not only is the lack of markets hurting [...]

El Salvador President Nayib Bukele defied the Supreme Court Wednesday after the nation’s highest judiciary issued an order for his administration to respect COVID-19 related rulings. In March the El Salvador government responded to the COVID-19 outbreak by ordering all citizens to undergo a mandatory month-long lockdown. Individuals found violating this order have been arrested [...]

Amnesty International on Thursday expressed human rights abuse concerns over emergency COVID–19 responses across Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Amnesty accused governments of broadening and abusing their police powers through emergency–pandemic measures intended to suppress political dissent, freedom of expression, and civil society. Daniel Balson, advocacy director for Europe and Central Asia at Amnesty, referred [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled Thursday that a lawsuit challenging the North Carolina General Assembly redistricting plans under the North Carolina constitution must be heard in state, not federal court. Plaintiffs allege that the redistricting plans are unconstitutional partisan gerrymanders. Plaintiffs are 38 voters who are part of the North [...]

A judge for the US District Court for the District of Columbia on Thursday denied Roger Stone’s motion for a new trial due to the alleged misconduct and bias by jury foreperson Tomeka Hart. Stone, a former advisor to President Donald Trump, had filed the motion a few days after being sentenced to 40 months in [...]

In a letter to the European Commission revealed Thursday, ministers of France, Germany, Italy and Spain proposed that a “binding mechanism” be added to the upcoming New Pact on Asylum and Migration to distribute asylum seekers. The proposal is an attempt to keep asylum reform on the agenda during the COVID-19 pandemic. The proposal states [...]

The German Constitutional Court on Thursday upheld citizens’ right to hold political protests after a group of activists in the state of Hesse petitioned the court with a document titled “Strengthen health instead of weakening fundamental rights – protection against viruses, not against humans.” The protesters hoped that the court would allow them to gather [...]