The Polish Parliament began debating two controversial bills Wednesday amid an ongoing lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic. One of the bills, titled “Stop Abortion” will, if passed, impose a near-total ban on abortion. Amnesty International has criticized the Polish government for choosing to debate these bills during the lockdown, accusing the Sejm (Polish parliament) [...]
The Nanterre Court of Justice in France issued an order on Tuesday limiting the types of products Amazon France is allowed to ship for the next 30 days. The order comes in response to a complaint filed by a French trade union on April 8. The complaint accused Amazon France of continuing normal shipping operations [...]
US President Donald Trump on Tuesday confirmed an announcement he made last week: The US will halt funding to the World Health Organization (WHO) while the country reviews the organization’s conduct. During a coronavirus update, the president stated, “I am instructing my administration to halt funding of the World Health Organization while a review is [...]
The El Salvador Legislative Assembly extended its COVID-19 state of emergency law Sunday by a 68-12 vote despite human rights concerns. The extension is effective until April 16. The state of emergency law allows the El Salvador government to detain those who violate lockdown orders. This provision has concerned human rights groups. According to the [...]
The Ministerial Meeting of OPEC and non-OPEC countries concluded on Sunday with an agreement to cut oil production and raise prices in an attempt to stabilize the global oil market, which has seen significant fluctuation in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. The agreement calls for significant reductions in production. ll Participating Countries agreed to [...]
Canada gave royal assent to an emergency wage bill Saturday evening, giving relief to many Canadian workers and businesses adversely impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak. The $73 billion package enables private companies, non-profits, and charities to apply for government assistance to subsidize paychecks to employees. To qualify, entities must prove a reduction of revenue of [...]
The Prosecutor General of Russia, Igor Krasnov, announced that Russia will take additional steps to limit the spread of misinformation associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. “The placement of unreliable, socially significant information disseminated under the guise of reliable information, has been revealed, which pose a threat to public safety,” Krasnov’s office said in a statement. [...]
France’s national competition regulator on Friday issued a statement that urges Google to begin negotiating payment with publishers and news agencies for the re-use of their content. The statement calls on Google to begin negotiating within three months. The regulator agency states that press publishers and Agence-France Presse (AFP) complained that Google is infringing on [...]
The National Assembly of Cambodia passed a state of emergency bill on Friday due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The bill is now being sent to the Senate. The bill passed in the lower house by 115 votes in favor and 10 abstentions. Justice Minister Koeut Rith wrote an initial draft of the bill and later added [...]
UN Secretary-General António Guterres said Thursday in his remarks to the Security Council that the COVID-19 pandemic threatens global peace. “In some conflict settings, the uncertainty created by the pandemic may create incentives for some actors to promote further division and turmoil,” Guterres stated. “This could lead to an escalation of violence and possibly devastating [...]
