The US Supreme Court on Monday ruled 7-1 in Montana v. Wyoming for Wyoming in a dispute with Montana over water rights to the Tongue and Powder rivers. Montana claimed that Wyoming violated the Yellowstone River Compact , which allocates water rights to the two Yellowstone River tributaries, by allowing the construction of water storage [...]
China’s government released human rights lawyer Teng Biao Friday after more than 70 days of detention, but this was quickly followed by reports that fellow human rights lawyer Li Fangping disappeared later in the afternoon under suspicious circumstances. Teng’s release came after discussions between Chinese officials and US Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy Human [...]
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay urged Uganda’s government Sunday to stop using what she called excessive force against protesters, including opposition leader Kizza Beisgye . Pillay criticized the government’s treatment of Bezigye during his arrest last Thursday, during which video shows government forces breaking into his SUV , shooting pepper spray directly [...]
A judge for the US District Court for the Central District of California on Friday denied a motion by Toyota to dismiss a class action lawsuit filed over the alleged sudden-acceleration defects. A final ruling is expected within the next two weeks . Last month, Judge James Selna agreed to dismiss economic damage claims from [...]
Utah Governor Gary Herbert announced on Friday that the state of Utah filed a complaint in the US District Court for the District of Utah against the Department of the Interior (DOI) regarding an order issued by Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar in December. Secretarial Order 3310 created a new “Wild Lands” designation for [...]
The Supreme Court of Canada on Friday ruled that Ontario’s Agricultural Employees Protection Act (AEPA) does not violate the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms . The AEPA denies workers the right to unionize and engage in collective bargaining. The court determined by an 8-1 margin that the APEA does not violate the workers’ freedom [...]
A US Army panel of experts on Friday declared Pfc. Bradley Manning competent to stand trial for leaking a controversial classified video of a 2007 US helicopter strike in Iraq and classified State Department documents on Wikileaks last year. It took a panel of psychiatrists nearly nine months to determine Manning’s competency. Manning was transferred [...]
Former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak could face the death penalty if convicted of ordering attacks on protesters during the demonstrations in Egypt early this year. Egypt’s Justice Minister Mohammed al-Gindi told al-Ahram weekly that Mubarak would face either the death penalty or life imprisonment if convicted. Mubarak is also facing charges of corruption and embezzlement [...]
The UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) , in an emergency special session on Friday, publicly condemned the violence used by Syrian authorities against peaceful protesters. Additionally, the council has immediately called for a full investigation of “all alleged violations of international human rights law” in Syria. The council’s probe into Syrian violence is a direct [...]
The US Appeals Court for the District of Columbia Circuit on Friday overturned last year’s ruling that placed a preliminary injunction on federal funding of embryonic stem cell research. In a 2-1 vote by a three-judge panel, the court concluded that those opposing the funding had not shown that their case was likely to succeed [...]
