Turkish authorities on Wednesday arrested two military officials alleged to have been involved in the Balyoz Security Operation Plan (“Sledgehammer” plot) , a military plot to overthrow the Islamic-rooted government. Lieutenant General Ziya Guler and officer Bulent Akalin were arrested after appearing in court to testify about documents related to the coup that were discovered [...]
A three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit heard arguments on Wednesday regarding the constitutionality of the new Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) , specifically the individual mandate provision that penalizes all citizens who fail to purchase health insurance. New Jersey Physicians, Inc. , a nonprofit physician organization, [...]
A judge for the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida ruled Wednesday that Florida’s procedure for imposing the death penalty is unconstitutional. Florida’s death penalty statute provides that the jury in a capital case is to make an “advisory sentence” to the court based on whether certain aggravating factors exist that would [...]
Dutch lawmakers on Wednesday passed a network neutrality law, which prohibits mobile operators from blocking or charging consumers fees for using Internet-based communication services. The law, passed by the Dutch Parliament’s lower house, the Tweede Kamer , will prevent operators including KPN, Vodafone and T-Mobile from imposing extra fees for free services like Skype. The [...]
The International Criminal Court (ICC) Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said Wednesday that he will seek an investigation into the Ivory Coast on Thursday. Last week, Ocampo issued a public notice for victims of violence in the Ivory Coast to give statements and advise if the ICC should proceed with a formal investigation, although in May [...]
The South Carolina House of Representatives voted 69-43 on Tuesday to enact legislation aimed at reforming the state’s immigration laws. The immigration reform bill allows police officers to check a suspect’s immigration status during a lawful stop, seizure, detention, or arrest, and mandates businesses to participate in the E-Verify system, which confirms a person’s employment [...]
Ukrainian opposition leader and former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko filed a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on Tuesday, alleging violations of the European Convention of Human Rights . The complaint argues that the charges against Tymoshenko are politically engineered by current Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych , Tymoshenko’s political rival. In presenting [...]
The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit Tuesday upheld the dismissal of a torture suit against former US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld brought by four Afghan and five Iraqi citizens alleging they were illegally detained and tortured. The plaintiffs sued in 2005 claiming Rumsfeld and three other high-ranking military officers [...]
A UN official on Tuesday denounced continued human rights abuses against civilians in the South Kordofan region of the Sudan . The UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Valerie Amos said that the UN knows of more than 70,000 people who have been displaced by the conflict, many of whom are subject [...]
The Australian Government on Wednesday introduced legislation aimed at reinforcing current cybercrime laws and improving Australia’s international cybercrime security. Australian Attorney General Robert McClelland and Minister for Home Affairs and Justice Brendan O’Connor announced that the Cybercrime Legislation Amendment Bill of 2011 aims to provide Australian agencies with better access to international Internet information collections, [...]
