The Court of Appeal of Paris on Wednesday affirmed the acquittal of former prime minister Dominique de Villepin for allegedly taking part in a smear campaign known as the Clearstream Affair . Villepin was charged with “complicity in false accusation” for his alleged role in a plot to defame several French public figures, including current [...]
Leonard Forsman, Chairman of the Suquamish Tribe, says that the tribe’s decision to recognize same-sex marriage reflects the community’s high value on inclusiveness and the fact that homosexuality historically has not been a divisive issue in the tribe… Last month, the Suquamish Tribal Council amended its existing Marriage and Divorce Ordinance to permit marriages regardless [...]
The District Court of The Hague on Wednesday ruled that the Dutch government must pay damages to one survivor and seven widows of men killed by Dutch troops during a 1947 massacre in Indonesia . The court ruled that the Dutch government is responsible for killings committed in the village of Rawagedeh, now called Balongsari, [...]
The new ruling regime in Libya vowed to investigate allegations of human rights abuses Wednesday after the World Bank recognized the newly formed National Transitional Council (NTC) as the official government. The NTC was responding to an Amnesty International report published Tuesday alleging that both sides of the Libya conflict are responsible for human rights [...]
The Paris prosecutor’s office on Tuesday began an inquiry into allegations against former French president Jacques Chirac and his prime minister Dominique de Villepin over the receipt of millions of dollars from African leaders. The accusations against the two former French officials were made by a lawyer who worked as an aide to Chirac and [...]
A judge for the US District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania ruled Tuesday that a provision of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) requiring individuals to purchase health insurance is unconstitutional. The challenge was brought by a self-employed couple that would be subject to the minimum coverage provision, arguing that Congress’ [...]
The Supreme Court of Russia ruled Tuesday that former oil executive Mikhail Khodorkovsky and his business partner Platon Lebedev were illegally detained for their trial last year, a symbolic victory for the pair that will have no effect on their sentences. Although the two were already convicted and in jail for other charges, authorities moved [...]
A delegation from the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on Tuesday released a report announcing a humanitarian crisis in Yemen that requires immediate intervention. The delegation was sent to Yemen in late June to gather information about the country’s human rights situation by meeting with officials, civilians, members of opposition [...]
The North Carolina Legislature on Tuesday approved putting a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage on a statewide ballot to be voted on in May. The Republican-controlled Senate voted 30-16 to place the proposed amendment on the ballot. The Senate voted on the measure after the House on Monday voted 75-42 to approve the proposed [...]
Three authors groups on Monday sued HathiTrust and five universities in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York over the digitizing of millions of copyright-protected books. The universities received permission from Google to scan approximately 7 million copyright-protected books and started a program allowing unlimited downloads for students and faculty of [...]
