US Secretary of State Antony Blinken Wednesday imposed visa restrictions on an unannounced number of individuals who are allegedly involved in undermining the democratic process in Nigeria. This move comes just before the February 2023 Nigerian elections—one of which will replace President Muhammadu Buhari. The visa restrictions are authorized by Section 212(a)(3)C) of the Immigration and Nationality [...]
The Honolulu municipal government signed a settlement agreement on Tuesday to improve paratransit for people with disabilities. This agreement was in response to a complaint in violation of Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Honolulu’s city and county government run a public paratransit known as The Handi-Van service for people with disabilities [...]
India’s Supreme Court Collegium Wednesday reconsidered the proposal to appoint openly gay lawyer Saurabh Kirpal as a Delhi High Court judge, and observed that every individual is “entitled to maintain their own dignity and individuality based on sexual orientation.” Kirpal’s appointment has been pending for the last five years. Saurabh Kirpal is an Indian lawyer, [...]
Human Rights Watch (HRW) Wednesday accused the Rwandan government of manipulating the country’s justice system to stifle free speech, citing the conviction of Rwandan opposition politician Théophile Ntirutwa, a member of the unregistered Dalfa-Umurinzi opposition party. The High Court’s Rwamagana chamber sentenced Ntirutwa last month to seven years in prison for “spreading false information or harmful [...]
Belarus opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya Tuesday condemned the ongoing trial in absentia against her and other opposition figures, calling it “revenge by a pathetic dictator who lost power & tries to take revenge on all who stood up for freedom.” Tikhanovskaya accused Alexander Lukashenko of losing the 2020 Belarusian elections to her, selling Belarusian sovereignty [...]
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken Tuesday announced visa restrictions on 25 Belarusian officials accused of repressing pro-democracy actors. The move, made under the authority of Presidential Proclamation 8015, responds to the Lukashenka regime’s alleged suppression of political dissent and democratic expression in the country. Blinken accused the Belarusian government of “undermining democracy” and putting democracy [...]
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) Thursday reached a $31 million settlement with City National Bank over allegations that the bank engaged in “redlining,” a form of racial discrimination where banks routinely deny loans to communities of color. City National Bank is one of the largest banks in the United States. This is the largest [...]
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Wednesday rejected a petition by the Center for Biological Diversity to list discarded polyvinyl chloride as hazardous waste under federal law. The Center filed a petition on July 24, 2014, requesting to list discarded polyvinyl chloride as a hazardous waste under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). EPA [...]
A Texas man filed a lawsuit Tuesday against six state-run medical schools, accusing them of violating anti-discrimination laws by using affirmative action to give preference to female and non-Asian minorities in admissions. The plaintiff, George Stewart, is a Texas man who was denied admission to all six public medical schools. He filed a class action [...]
Human Rights Watch (HRW) Monday said that the EU should pass clear legislation to protect people working for digital labor platforms, like Uber. HRW said the purpose of the legislation should be to reduce employment misclassification in the industry and create world-leading safeguards against the potentially harmful effects of workplace automation. The Employment Committee of [...]
