The Italian Court of Cassation , the country’s highest appeals court, on Friday upheld a ruling clearing former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi of fraud and embezzlement charges relating to his commercial broadcast company, Mediaset. Prosecutors in Milan had appealed after a judge ruled in October that there was not enough evidence to indict Berlusconi. That [...]
Blind Chinese human rights activist Chen Guangcheng arrived in New York on Saturday, resolving a US-China struggle that began when Chen escaped house arrest last month and fled to the US embassy in Beijing, seeking protection from Chinese authorities. In a press conference Saturday evening Chen thanked the US for its help and the Chinese [...]
The US District Court for the District of Utah on Tuesday overturned Utah Code §§ 76-10-1206 and 76-10-1233 , major parts of a Utah law that regulate electronic materials potentially harmful to minors. Originally passed in 2005, the law was challenged by the American Civil Liberties Union of Utah as overbroad and in violation of [...]
UN Special Rapporteur on torture Juan E. Mendez concluded his nine-day visit to the Republic of Tajikistan on Friday, stating that he was pleased with the country’s recent modifications designed to aid in eradicating torture, but that mistreatment of suspects remains the norm. Mendez is especially encouraged by the recent introduction of a new criminal [...]
Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi died in Libya on Sunday after losing his battle with cancer. His brother reported that Megrahi, 60, died in his home in Tripoli after his health deteriorated rapidly due to his condition. Megrahi was a former Libyan intelligence officer and the only person convicted of the bombing of Pan [...]
The US International Trade Commission (ITC) on Friday concluded its investigation into a complaint that a number of Motorola mobile phones infringed on several Microsoft patents. The decision affirmed the ruling of an administrative law judge in December that Microsoft had proven by a preponderance of the evidence that Motorola had in fact violated one [...]
The Israeli Knesset Wednesday rejected a bill that would have legalized civil marriages in the country. The “Freedom of Choice in Marriage” bill was proposed to allow marriages not approved by Jewish Law , including same-sex marriage and marriages between a Jewish person and a gentile. Currently marriages in Israel are only conducted in religious [...]
Malawi President Joyce Banda announced in her first national address on Friday that she will decriminalize homosexual acts. The provisions she intends to repeal are Section 153 and 156 of the Penal Code, which provide 14 years or 5 years imprisonment, respectively, for anyone engaging in male homosexual activity or relationships. Lesbianism is not criminalized [...]
The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia decided to uphold Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act Friday, affirming the ruling of the district court below . Section 5 requires covered jurisdictions to clear changes in voting districts, polling places and other electoral processes with the Department of Justice (DOJ) or federal [...]
The Maryland Court of Appeals , the state’s highest court, ruled Friday that a lesbian couple legally married in California can get a divorce in Maryland. Even though Maryland does not currently allow same-sex marriage , the court ruled 7-0 that valid same-sex marriages performed out-of-state should be recognized for purposes of divorce. The court [...]
