Republicans in the Wisconsin state legislature broke several state laws when they passed last month’s controversial budget bill, charges Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne (D) in a complaint filed Tuesday in a Wisconsin circuit court . Ozanne alleges the February 25 special session that enacted the Budget Repair Bill, or Senate Bill 11 , [...]
Six opposition leaders were arrested in Bahrain on Thursday after the government, backed by foreign troops from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) , violently dispersed protesters in the capital of Manana on Wednesday. Among those arrested are dissident Hassan Mushaima and secular party leader Ebrahim Sharif. Six people were killed during the clashes on Wednesday [...]
The Obama administration on Wednesday backed Internet privacy legislation at a hearing before the US Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation . The hearing followed reports released in December by the US Department of Commerce and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) petitioning for stronger online privacy protections, while maintaining the innovation of the Internet. [...]
A Pakistani court on Wednesday acquitted and released US consulate worker Raymond Davis, who was being held in connection with the shooting deaths of two men. Earlier in the day, the court formally indicted Davis on two counts of murder after the Lahore High Court ruled Monday that, despite US assertions , he does not [...]
Utah Governor Gary Herbert on Tuesday signed into law a package of bills aimed at both reforming the state’s immigration laws and challenging the federal government to take action for reform nationally. One of the four bills, H.B. 497 , is an enforcement law similar to the controversial Arizona immigration law , and requires police [...]
Amnesty International (AI) on Wednesday released a report documenting discrimination and human rights violations against Roma migrants in Slovenia and urging the Slovenian government to protect Roma communities. The report reveals that Roma communities are being denied access to housing, water and sanitation. Much of the Roma population is living in overcrowded shacks without access [...]
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) on Tuesday sued the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) for unfairly disciplining Sikh inmate Sukhjinder Basra for refusing to trim his beard. The suit also names the state of California and Governor Jerry Brown in alleging a violation of the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons [...]
A panel of judges for the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit stayed a ruling Tuesday that would have forced the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) to approve or deny five applications for offshore drilling permits by March 19. The stay bars enforcement, pending appeal, of a February 17 [...]
The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reinstated a lawsuit on Tuesday, allowing a Muslim woman to sue several government parties for forcing her to remove her religious headscarf while detained in a holding cell. Souhair Khatib argued that being forced to remove her hijab was a violation of her religious rights under [...]
A spokesperson for the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on Tuesday urged Turkish officials to respect journalists’ freedom of expression . The international concern increased after the Turkish government arrested nine journalists earlier this month based on accusations that the journalists were members of the political dissent group Ergenekon and [...]
