UN Secretary‑General António Guterres on Monday expressed grave concern about increases in human trafficking in an open UN Security Council (UNSC) debate in New York. Guterres listed Da’esh, Boko Haram, Al‑Shabaab and the Lord’s Resistance Army as some of the terrorist groups forcing women and children into de-humanizing servitude. Reminding UNSC of the disturbing images [...]
The US District Court for the District of Maryland on Tuesday granted a preliminary injunction against President Donald Trump‘s transgender military ban . The development follows another preliminary injunction partially granted by the US District Court for the District of Columbia in October, which partially blocked portions of the ban, but allowed the portion of [...]
The Federal Trade Commission (FCC) released a plan on Tuesday to dismantle regulations that require equal access to the internet, often called net neutrality . The proposal would repeal internet regulations put in place by the Obama Administration and allow for internet service providers to block access to certain websites. The proposal, made by FCC [...]
Former Bosnian Serb Army Commander Ratko Mladić was sentenced to life imprisonment Wednesday by the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) for crimes committed during the Bosnian conflict from 1992-1996. Mladić was found guilty of two counts of genocide, crimes against humanity (five counts: persecutions; extermination; murder; deportation; and inhuman acts) [...]
Venezuelan Supreme Court justices currently in exile have filed a complaint with the International Criminal Court (ICC) accusing President Nicolás Maduro of crimes against humanity. The complaint was initially filed with the Venezuelan Supreme Tribunal of Justice (STJ) by Hebert Garcia Plaza, a former member of the Maduro cabinet. However, the STJ stated that many [...]
The Federal Supreme Court of Iraq ruled Monday that a referendum on Kurdish Independence held on September 25 was unconstitutional. The court claims jurisdiction over the constitutionality of the referendum through Article 93 of the Iraq Constitution which grants the court power to settle matters in application of federal law as well as decisions and [...]
Former Alaska Governor and 2008 Republican Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin on Tuesday filed notice of her intention to appeal the dismissal of her defamation suit against the New York Times . Palin filed suit in June, alleging that the paper defamed her when it published an op-ed that linked a political advertisement circulated by [...]
Two immigrants in Virginia filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday against Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Homeland Security Acting Secretary Elaine Duke in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia challenging the decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program . On September 5, Sessions and Duke announced that DACA [...]
International Criminal Court (ICC) Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda made a formal request on Monday to investigate alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by U.S. military and the CIA. The proposed investigation focuses on alleged crimes committed in Afghanistan by the U.S. military in May 2003, in addition to crimes at secret CIA detention [...]
Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker signed House No. 4009 (H4009) on Monday guaranteeing access to free contraception for women notwithstanding any future changes to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that may be effected by Congress . This development follows President Donald Trump’s Executive Order 13798 titled Promoting Free Speech and Religious Liberty passed in May 2017 [...]
