UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday called on leaders in Guinea-Bissau to respect the rule of law and maintain constitutional order in the wake of a confrontation between the military and government in which the prime minister was detained and later released. A spokesperson for the secretary-general said: The Secretary-General is following with concern the [...]
Japanese authorities on Friday indicted a New Zealand anti-whaling activist in connection with boarding a Japanese whaling vessel as part of an anti-whaling protest in the antarctic seas. Tokyo District Public Prosecutors are bringing five charges against Captain Pete Bethune – trespassing, assault, illegal possession of a knife, destruction of property, and obstruction of business. [...]
Canadian Minister of the Environment Jim Prentice on Thursday proposed a new set of regulations aimed to reduce greenhouse gases (GHG) emitted from vehicles. The new standards will apply to cars and light truck models starting in 2011. The standards will differ based on the footprints of cars (measured in square meters) and how many [...]
Pakistani lawmakers were weighing a constitutional bill Friday that would greatly limit the powers of President Asif Ali Zardari , reversing the expansion of presidential powers under former military leader Pervez Musharraf . If passed by both houses of parliament, the 18th Amendment Bill would transfer presidential powers to the office of the prime minister [...]
The Kenyan Parliament on Thursday unanimously approved a draft constitution . The vote follows two days of contentious debate , though none of the many proposals for amendment passed, and the draft remained as introduced by the Committee of Experts on Constitutional Review . The draft includes several significant checks on presidential authority, including a [...]
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Friday urged Turkmenistan to place a stronger emphasis on human rights . At a joint press conference with Turkmenistan's President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, Ban said that he, "called on the government to fulfill all obligations under international human rights law and the many treaties to which it is a signatory." Ban [...]
JURIST Guest Columnist Virginia Sloan, president and founder of the bipartisan Washington DC-based Constitution Project, says that US Attorney General Eric Holder should stand by his decision to try Guantanamo Bay detainees in traditional federal court, rather than in military commissions…. Last month, the Constitution Project, working with Human Rights First, brought more than a [...]
The German government is considering accepting detainees held at the US military prison at Guantanamo Bay , according to interviews published this week by Der Spiegel magazine. German Chancellor Angela Merkel , Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere, and Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle revealed a possible plan to accept the transfer of three inmates to Germany. [...]
The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled Thursday that Internet auction house eBay is not required to actively monitor its website for the sale of counterfeit goods. The decision comes in a case brought by jeweler Tiffany & Company , alleging that eBay diluted its trademark by facilitating the sale of "copycat" [...]
Kenyan Foreign Minister Moses Wetangula said Thursday that Kenya will no longer accept Somalian pirate cases to be tried in its courts. Wetangula stated that the large number of Somalian pirate cases referred to Kenya has overburdened the country's judicial system and noted that the international community has not followed through on its promises to [...]
