Scotland Monday enacted the Period Products Act, making Scotland the first country to make period products free. The bill was first introduced by Monica Lennon, a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP), in 2017. Following her campaign, the Scottish government unanimously passed the Bill in 2020. Under the new act, the Scottish government must set up [...]

Greek Minister for Migration Notis Mitarachi Monday announced that the Syrian refugees trapped on an islet in the Evros river between Greece and Turkey have been located and a boat was provided to transport them. The refugees’ plight has attracted international attention after Turkey abandoned them there on August 8 after being transported back and [...]

A Myanmar court Monday sentenced former State Counsellor and democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi to an additional six years in prison after she was found guilty of corruption charges, according to state media. Suu Kyi was arrested in February 2021 after a military coup and has been subsequently convicted of various offenses on three [...]

The UK Financial Reporting Council (FRC) Monday fined accounting and auditing firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) £1.75 million over their Fiscal Year 2017 (FY17) audit of telecom company BT Group after it was discovered that the audit failed to uncover evidence of fraud. The FRC reported that BT group’s financial statements for FY17 had to be adjusted by [...]

Governor Larry Hogan on Tuesday directed the Maryland State police to suspend the state’s “good and substantial reason” standard for permits to carry handguns after the US Supreme Court struck down a similar New York law last month. In June, the US Supreme Court struck down in a 6-3 decision a New York law which [...]

Tom Andrews, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, Thursday called on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to put increased pressure on the Myanmar junta, following his eight-day visit to Malaysia. In February last year, a military coup took place in Myanmar, in which the junta deposed the civilian government and arrested [...]

UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights Nada Al-Nashif expressed concern Tuesday over the increase in human rights violations occurring in Islamic Republic of Iran at the 50th session of the UN’s Human Rights Council. In accordance with resolution 76/178 of the UN General Assembly, the Secretary-General of the United Nations was required to prepare [...]

The United Kingdom (UK) government announced on Wednesday a new Bill of Rights is to be introduced to strengthen freedom of speech, restrict some human rights lawsuits, and to facilitate the deportation of criminals. The Bill will introduce a “permission stage” in court to prevent “trivial human rights claims,” from overwhelming the judiciary and it [...]

The UN Special Rapporteur on the right to health Sunday, called for a holistic approach to violence with a special focus on preventing violence against women, non-binary people, and children. Tlaleng Mofokeng’s report highlights the intersection between violence and its impact on the right to health. The report highlights the dramatic changes to the health situation [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) Monday reported that prominent Rwandan YouTube commentator Aimable Karasira has accused prison authorities of beating him and other jailed critics. Karasira spoke out about losing a family member to Hutu extremists and to the RPF during and after the 1994 Rwandan genocide. In May 2021, he was arrested and charged with [...]