Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Amnesty International on Tuesday called on the military junta of Myanmar to facilitate relief efforts and join opposition groups in a partial ceasefire. The 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck Myanmar and Thailand last Friday, devastating the Sagaing region. The official death toll is at 2,065 although experts warn the number could [...]

The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders requested Monday the urgent intervention of Chinese authorities regarding the arbitrary detention and ill-treatment of citizen journalist Zhang Zhan. Zhang Zhan is accused of “picking quarrels and stirring up trouble.” Currently, there is no information about Zhang Zhan’s situation at the Pudong Detention Center in Shanghai [...]

Amnesty International released a report on Friday shedding light on the disproportionate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the education of Indigenous youth across multiple continents. Drawing on more than 80 interviews and surveys conducted between 2021 and 2023, the organization’s findings highlighted systemic inequities, a glaring lack of consultation with Indigenous communities, and a need [...]

The Hong Kong Court of Appeal (CA) on Thursday dismissed the government’s application for leave to appeal a case concerning a satire show that criticized police anti-epidemic efforts during the COVID-19 lockdown. In the application, the Communication Authority submitted three questions for the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal (CFA) to consider. First, the application [...]

An interim report from a commission led by retired state High Court judge Michael D’Cunha in India’s Karnataka on Sunday recommended the prosecution of former chief minister B.S. Yediyurappa and former health minister B. Sriramulu for alleged corruption during the COVID-19 pandemic. The report, submitted to the Karnataka government on August 31, details extensive financial irregularities [...]

The recent decision by Italy’s Court of Cassation (Corte di Cassazione) in case number 27115/2024 has sparked numerous reactions due to its consideration of the COVID-19 pandemic as a potential extenuating circumstance in a femicide case. This crime, which garnered significant media attention in Italian society, involved a perpetrator who was initially sentenced to life [...]

When the COVID-19 pandemic began, post-secondary education institutions rapidly shifted to virtual learning environments: They quickly adopted virtual technology platforms and, as the pandemic oscillated in intensity, established functional, effective and integrated bimodal learning platforms (i.e., in-person lectures with an option to participate remotely). University faculties prided themselves on these rapid transitions, which allowed them [...]

The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on many aspects of our modern lives. Mandatory face masks, local and national lockdowns, and compulsory social distancing in public places have become a part of everyday routines all around the world. The pandemic has also tested the regulatory and administrative capacity of both states and international organizations to [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit on December 17 in a bipartisan, 2-1 decision upheld OSHA’s vaccine-or-test requirements for the American workplace and lifted a stay previously put in place by the Fifth Circuit. Judge Jane Stranch, an Obama appointee, joined by Judge Julia Gibbons, appointed by George W. Bush, wrote that [...]

On November 16 the US Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati  was randomly selected by the Multi-district Litigation Panel in Washington, DC to decide whether the Biden Administration’s vaccine mandate for American workers, promulgated by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), is legal. OSHA’s rules, which are planned to take full effect on [...]