A judge for the US District Court for the District of South Carolina on Thursday upheld a provision of South Carolina’s controversial immigration law that permits law enforcement officers to check the immigration status of motorists. Judge Richard Gergel ruled that he would still prevent certain parts of the immigration law from taking effect. Gergel [...]
The US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled Thursday that Michigan’s voter approved initiative to ban consideration of race for applications to public universities is unconstitutional . In a split 8-7 decision, the court struck down Proposal 2 , which banned affirmative action in public employment, public education and state contracting. The court, [...]
US Attorney General Eric Holder announced Thursday that British Petroleum (BP) has agreed to pay a record $4.5 billion in penalties and to plead guilty to felony misconduct for its role in the devastation caused by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill . Holder emphasized that the settlement includes a roughly $1.25 billion criminal fine, [...]
The German Finance Ministry on Thursday gave final approval to amendments to the Luxembourg Agreement that will increase compensation to surviving victims of the Nazi regime. German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble signed the amended agreement at a ceremony in the Jewish Museum in Berlin. The amendments were initially approved by the Finance ministry in July [...]
Ireland’s Deputy Prime Minister Eamon Gilmore pledged Thursday to bring “legal clarity” to Ireland’s abortion laws following the death of Savita Halappanavar , a 31-year-old dentist who was denied a potentially life saving abortion. Ireland, a traditionally Catholic nation, has some of the most restrictive abortion laws in Europe. The Irish Constitution recognizes a right [...]
Six Pennsylvania judges filed suit challenging a section of the state constitution which requires all justices and judges of Pennsylvania to retire at the end of the calendar year in which they reach the age of 70. The plaintiffs argue that this requirement is in violation of the equal protection and due process clauses of [...]
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday urged nations around the globe to carry out the rulings made by the International Criminal Court (ICC) . Speaking before 500 high-level officials at a ceremony for the tenth anniversary of the ICC, Ban praised the court for bringing perpetrators of human rights abuses to justice. However, Ban also [...]
Myanmar announced on Wednesday that it has freed 452 prisoners ahead of a visit by US President Barack Obama . Myanmar’s state-run media reported that the government has released the prisoners on humanitarian grounds and as a goodwill gesture by the nation. However, Myanmar’s main opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD) criticized the [...]
A UN internal review panel (IRP) released a report on Wednesday stating that the UN failed to meet its responsibilities at the end of and in the aftermath of the Sri Lanka war which ended in 2009. The report raises many concerns regarding the UN’s response to certain situations, including failure to meet the needs [...]
Women displaced by conflict in Colombia are facing rape and domestic violence as well as obstacles in obtaining health care, protection and legal remedies, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a report released Wednesday. The report states that the four million women who have been forced out of their homes due to armed conflicts in [...]
