Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari on Thursday signed the Contempt of Court Bill 2012, which would shield senior officials from contempt of court proceedings. The bill was approved by both the lower and upper house of the national parliament on Monday and Wednesday, respectively. The new law is seen as an attempt to exempt the [...]
A judge for the US District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi on Wednesday extended his prior injunction blocking a controversial Mississippi abortion law that was scheduled to go into effect July 1. The judge issued the initial temporary injunction earlier this month. The judge plans to rule on whether to make the injunction [...]
A human rights group report was released on Wednesday documenting 81 instances of sexual assault and rape in Syria since anti-government demonstrations began in March 2011. Women Under Siege , a project of the Women’s Media Center, has been collecting reports of sexualized violence in Syria for several months, creating a crowd-sourced map of independently [...]
The National Association of Broadcasters on Tuesday filed an emergency motion with the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit challenging a new regulation that is expected to go into effect in August. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted the new rule in April requiring broadcasters to disclose political expenditure and advertising [...]
A non-profit United Nations watch group released a report last month criticizing the UN’s lack of a comprehensive internal security policy in the face of its own increased reliance on private military and security companies (PMSCs). In producing Dangerous Partnership: Private Military & Security Companies and the UN the Global Policy Forum analyzed available data [...]
Microsoft Inc. and Motorola on Tuesday filed a joint motion in the US District Court for the Western District of Washington asking the court to suspend three patent cases between the parties until a trial is held on a licensing disagreement. Microsoft filed suit against Motorola, which is now owned by Google in 2010, complaining [...]
The Ivory Coast justice ministry announced Tuesday that two allies of former president Laurent Gbagbo have been charged with genocide relating to the months of post-election violence that followed Gbagbo’s refusal to step down after his defeat in the November 2010 elections. Genevieve Bro-Grebe, leader of the pro-Gbagbo Women Patriots, and Abou Drahamane Sangare, former [...]
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak on Wednesday announced plans to replace the 1948 Sedition Act with the new National Harmony Act. The prime minister stated that the new act will ensure the protection of the right to freedom of speech while balancing national unity and preventing hatred based on different religious views. The sedition act [...]
The Trial Chamber of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) on Wednesday upheld the decision to try four accused assassins of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri in absentia. The Chamber rejected the defense motion that challenged the legality and jurisdiction of the Tribunal over the case. The defense counsel, representing the four accused: Salim [...]
Migrants residing in Greece face a rising culture of discrimination and violence, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a report on Wednesday. The report, entitled “Hate on the Streets: Xenophobic Violence in Greece,” documents instances of abuse and discrimination against migrants who traveled Greece seeking refuge from war-torn homelands. The report notes that police frequently [...]
