UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon said in a statement delivered Sunday to the African Union summit that the leaders in Africa must increase efforts to lower poverty levels, end cycles of violence and accelerate development. Ban noted that while many countries have made strides to achieve the UN’s eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) , he [...]
Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Sunday called on the Russian State Duma to reject a proposed law that would fine any individuals or organizations, including government officials, who promote homosexuality to minors under the age of 18. The bill, which was passed after a first reading on Friday by the lower chamber of parliament, would [...]
An Egyptian court on Saturday sentenced 21 people who were found guilty of involvement in last year’s Port Said soccer stadium disaster to the death penalty. The ruling comes almost a year after the February 1, 2012 tragedy that killed 74 people and injured more than 1,000 when fans of Al-Masry violently stormed the stands [...]
JURIST Guest Columnist Walter Smith, University of Washington School of Law Class of 2013, discusses Washington state legally recognizing same-sex marriage by popular vote… On December 6, Washington state certified its statewide election returns and officially became the first US state to begin legally recognizing same-sex marriages by popular vote. Maryland and Maine, the only [...]
The Office for Civil Rights of the US Department of Education on Friday issued guidance clarifying school districts’ existing legal obligations to give disabled students an equal chance to compete in extracurricular sports alongside their peers without disabilities. The US Secretary for Education Arne Duncan acknowledged the critical role sports play in the school experience. [...]
The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia has sentenced former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) agent John Kiriakou, who was among the first to disclose information to the public about the CIA’s use of waterboarding and other interrogation techniques, to thirty months in prison for intentionally disclosing information identifying a covert agent. [...]
The Virginia Senate approved legislation on Friday that would prohibit the state government from discriminating against its employees based on sexual orientation. The Senate passed the bill 24-16 with four Republicans joining all 20 Democrats in support. Senator Adam Ebbin (D) , an openly gay lawmaker, declared that the anti-discrimination bill would help ensure that [...]
The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Friday vacated the conspiracy conviction of Ali Hamza Ahmad Suliman Al Bahlul , the media secretary of Osama bin Laden . The DC Circuit ruled that the military tribunal that convicted Al Bahlul of conspiracy in 2007 erred because a Guantanamo prisoner could [...]
The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Friday ruled that the recess appointment of three members of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) by President Barack Obama was unconstitutional. The Obama administration argued that the president’s appointment was constitutional because the Senate was on a 20-day recess when the appointments [...]
The Supreme Court of Canada ruled Friday that common law couples do not have the same rights as married couple in Quebec. The case involves a common law couple with three children in which the mother filed suit for spousal support, “partition of the family patrimony and the legal matrimonial regime of partnership of acquests.” [...]
