A trade dispute panel convened under the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) ruled on Friday that Mexico’s export restrictions on US genetically modified corn violated the accord. The conflict stems from a presidential decree published by Mexico in February 2023. The decree established an immediate ban on the use of genetically engineered corn in dough and tortillas, [...]

The US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced on Friday that it has filed a lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase Bank, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo Bank for allowing fraud to occur on the Zelle platform. The lawsuit contains ten counts of offenses against the banks for failing to address frauds under sections 1031 and [...]

The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) expressed concern Friday over Israel’s disregard for its international legal obligations. CERD called for urgent measures to address the violence and humanitarian crisis in Gaza, the West Bank and Lebanon. CERD released the statement under its Early Warning and Urgent Action Procedures, which aim to [...]

Thai authorities have forcibly returned six Cambodian political opposition activists and a young child, Human Rights Watch reported Friday. The forcible removal puts the activists at risk of mistreatment and unfair trials in Cambodia according to the group. The six activists and one activist’s five-year-old grandson were arrested in Thailand on Sunday and forcibly removed the [...]

Tech entrepreneurs Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy said Wednesday that their new government efficiency panel will identify “thousands” of regulations made by “unelected bureaucrats” for president-elect Donald Trump to eliminate. Trump appointed Musk and Ramaswamy to lead the newly-announced “Department of Government Efficiency” (ironically designated by the acronym DOGE, evoking Musk’s meme-based cryptocurrency Dogecoin) last [...]

UN Under-Secretary-General Rosemary DiCarlo told the Security Council on Tuesday that foreign parties supplying weapons are enabling the conflict in Sudan. DiCarlo stated that “Sudan is trapped in a nightmare” and called for an immediate ceasefire. The Under-Secretary-General stressed that both sides of the conflict bear responsibility for the violence, and the primary objective should [...]

Human Rights Watch shared the hardships faced by Turkmen nationals living abroad who have been arbitrarily denied passport renewal in a report on Monday. In the report, Human Rights Watch urged Turkmenistan to issue passports to nationals living abroad via its diplomatic and consular missions. The report focused on Turkmen residing in Türkiye, which is [...]

Pope Francis’ child protection board said victims of clergy sexual abuse should have more access to information about their cases along with compensation, in its annual report published on Tuesday. The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors issued its inaugural annual report detailing findings and recommendations for the Vatican’s handling of clergy sex abuse [...]

Amnesty International announced on Wednesday that it designated four people in Cuba as prisoners of conscience. The prisoners of conscience include political dissident Félix Navarro, independent journalist Sayli Navarro, protester Roberto Pérez Fonseca, and activist Luis Robles. The term “prisoner of conscience” refers to people who are imprisoned for peacefully expressing their conscientious beliefs. Amnesty [...]

Inequities in birth and maternal health between Black and white people persist in the South Florida medical system, according to a Human Rights Watch report released Wednesday. The group called for the Florida and US governments to address racism in the system, and to provide greater access to lifelong health care, maternal health and midwifery [...]