Google on Monday urged the international community to ensure the free flow of online information by respecting global trade regulations and establishing new rules to protect against limitations on the Internet. Google estimates that up to 40 countries are incorporating surveillance tools into their Internet infrastructure, blocking online services and requiring licensing regimes that discriminate [...]
Iraqi parliamentary officials on Saturday unanimously approved a power-sharing agreement whereby Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and President Jalal Talabani will remain in power for an additional term, despite tension over governmental power positions for the country’s minority Iraqiya alliance leader, Iyad Allawi . Under the basic unity agreement outlined by Iraqi lawmakers, the country’s [...]
Arizona voters approved Proposition 203 , authorizing the possession of up to two-and-a-half ounces of medical marijuana , according to results released by the Arizona Secretary of State Saturday. The measure, voted on during the midterm elections earlier this month, was too close to call on election night and remained so until all votes were [...]
Amnesty International (AI) on Saturday praised the release of Myanmar pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi , but urged the Myanmar government to release all political prisoners still held. AI described Suu Kyi’s release as “welcome,” but emphasized that there are still an estimated 2,200 political prisoners held in Myanmar, the majority of which remain [...]
Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Saturday criticized the Azerbaijani Supreme Court for failing to order the release of imprisoned journalist Enyulla Fatullayev in violation of a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) . On Thursday, the Supreme Court vacated Fatullayev’s convictions for defamation and the incitement of terror and ethnic hatred. The [...]
The Myanmar Police Force on Saturday released pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi , ending her almost eight years under house arrest. Police left the area and a barbed-wire fence near her home was removed, allowing Suu Kyi to address supporters that had gathered. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton hailed Suu Kyi’s release from [...]
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has urged Hezbollah not to resort to violence in an attempt to impede the investigation of the UN Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) into the 2005 murder of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri . In an interview published Friday by the Lebanese Newspaper An-Nahar , Clinton reiterated US [...]
Canadian UN ambassador John McNee on Friday announced that the country has endorsed the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples , reversing the government’s initial opposition to the declaration. Though the government reiterated its concerns about several of the declaration’s provisions, it cited encouragement from community leaders and other countries’ experiences in reversing [...]
A Chinese court ruled Friday against a man who claimed he was denied a teaching job because he is HIV-positive, in China’s first HIV/AIDs employment discrimination lawsuit. The man, known only by the alias Xiao Wu, said that he passed requisite academic tests and interviews for the job but was denied after his health examination. [...]
The US Supreme Court on Friday refused to vacate a stay issued by the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit allowing the military to continue enforcing its Don’t Ask Don’t Tell (DADT) policy while the government appeals a September decision finding the law unconstitutional. The order reads in its entirety:”The application to vacate [...]
