Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom vetoed legislation Thursday that would have reinstated the death penalty. Colom has stated that his government does not believe capital punishment improves a nation’s security and has called on the Guatemalan Congress to abolish capital punishment permanently. Legislative Decree 37-2010 would have reinstated the death penalty while reserving to the executive [...]

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Jon Feere : “States regularly assist the federal government in making sure federal laws and regulations in a whole host of areas are followed. The feds generally welcome the support. But when it comes to immigration, the Obama administration has signaled opposition to states that wish to provide assistance. The administration argues that states are [...]

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The Trial Chamber of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) on Wednesday suspended the trial of former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic for a month. The postponement allows Karadzic to read 14,000 pages of evidence the prosecution sent to him in October. Karadzic faces 11 war crimes charges, including counts of genocide [...]

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UK Prime Minister David Cameron announced Thursday that Britain’s intellectual property laws will undergo a review with an eye towards modernization, in an effort to encourage innovation and small business. Cameron suggested that the law may be reformed in order to allow for increased use of copyright material without the owner’s permission. The review is [...]

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The US District Court Eastern District of Missouri on Wednesday unsealed an indictment charging three men with providing material support to Somali-based Islamic terrorist organization al Shabaab . The October 21 indictment charges Mohamud Abdi Yusuf, Duane Mohamed Diriye and Abdi Mahdi Hussein with funding and providing materials to a known terrorist organization. The federal [...]

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Afghanistan’s Attorney General’s (AG) office announced Wednesday it will investigate possible voter fraud committed by the country’s election commission after the parliamentary election held in September. A deputy attorney general said that the office has received complaints that election officials working for the Independent Election Commission (IEC) , which is responsible for investigating complaints of [...]

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The European Commission on Thursday released a 20-page document outlining recommendations for stronger Internet privacy laws. The recommendations come after a review of its 15 year-old privacy laws . The document addresses issues including “improving the coherence of the data protection legal framework,” “enhancing control over one’s own data” and “ensuring informed and free consent.” [...]

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Serbian President Boris Tadic apologized Thursday for Serbian war crimes during a visit to Croatia. Tadic and Croatian President Ivo Josipovic together visited a memorial in Vukovar , where Serbian forces murdered 260 Croatians in November 1991. Tadic said, “I came here to offer an apology and express regret.” Tadic becomes the first Serbian president [...]

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