The South African National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) announced Thursday it would appeal a Pietermaritzburg High Court judgment invalidating corruption charges against politician Jacob Zuma . The NPA stated that the appeal will argue that the "court's interpretation of the Constitution and the NPA Act regarding the obligation to solicit representations before recharging was incorrect." The [...]
The US House of Representatives on Thursday passed the Second Amendment Enforcement Act (H.R. 6842) , which would repeal multiple parts of the District of Columbia's Firearms Control Regulations Act of 1975, including its semiautomatic handgun ban, its registration requirements, and its mandate that any guns in the home be locked up and inoperable. The [...]
Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty on Thursday urged Canadian officials to embrace his call for an outright ban on handguns. Acknowledging that all federal leaders should use the upcoming October election to discuss the issue, McGuinty commented : We have an opportunity as a distinct Canadian society to say, 'We are not going to do what [...]
US blogger and attorney Gopalan Nair was sentenced to three months in jail Wednesday for insulting a Singaporean judge. Justice Kan Ting Chiu of the Singaporean High Court told Nair that he had "scandalized" the nation's judiciary by accusing a judge of "prostituting herself" in a defamation case brought by former Singaporean Prime Minister Lee [...]
The High Court of Uganda will not try soldiers from the Ugandan People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) if they are accused of human rights abuses, according to Wednesday statements by Justice Dan Akiiki-Kiiza , the head of the Court's War Crimes Division. The head justice insisted that the mandate of the court is restricted to the [...]
Russian president Dmitry Medvedev Wednesday signed military defense agreements with Georgia's breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia despite heavy international criticism. Medvedev said that Russia now recognized the regions as independent countries since its conflict with Georgia , and that his country planned to permanently station troops in the regions. In an attempt to [...]
The Iraqi Parliament Wednesday failed to agree on a controversial provincial election bill in light of new disagreements over procedure. Kurdish legislators had strongly opposed the bill's proposal to establish a provincial council in Kirkuk made up of equal numbers of Kurdish, Arab, and Turkmeni representatives. A UN proposal would have compromised by allowing elections in the [...]
US Army Specialist Belmor Ramos pleaded guilty Thursday to conspiracy for his involvement in the killings of four unarmed Iraqi prisoners west of Baghdad in 2007. In his confession, Ramos said he willingly took part in the killings as retribution for earlier deaths of US soldiers. As part of a plea agreement, Ramos was sentenced [...]
The Supreme Court of Thailand delayed a ruling Wednesday regarding corruption charges against former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his wife Pojamarn Shinawatra . The couple are being tried in absentia over a controversial purchase of government land at a below-market price which occurred while Thaksin was in office. The Supreme Court also issued new [...]
Pakistani lawyers Thursday boycotted legal proceedings in the country and continued to hold protests calling for the restoration of all judges ousted by former President Pervez Musharraf last November. According to local reports, some proceedings did go ahead at the reconstituted Pakistani Supreme Court , but many other courts, including the Lahore High Court were [...]
