Chicago's voluntary gun buy-back program brought in more than 6,800 weapons on Saturday as the city sought to address gun violence following the US Supreme Court decision in District of Columbia v. Heller . Chicago's gun control laws are similar to the Washington, DC statutes struck down by the Supreme Court, and the city is [...]
Thousands of protesters gathered in cities throughout Bosnia and Serbia on Sunday to demonstrate their continued opposition to the arrest of former Bosnian Serb leader and fugitive Radovan Karadzic . Serbian nationalists showed their support for Karadzic by wearing T-shirts displaying his image and the phrase "Serbian Hero". Protesters also carried flags and congregated in [...]
The US Senate in a special Saturday session passed by 72-13 the Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008 , designed to address problems from the country's so-called "sub-prime mortgage collapse." The Act provides for government grants allowing municipalities to buy and redevelop foreclosed properties, and would allow the federal government to provide additional financial backing to [...]
Witnesses before the US House Judiciary Committee on Friday presented sharply divided opinions on whether the White House has overstepped its constitutional authority during George Bush's presidency, and whether or not such alleged abuses would justify his impeachment. Committee chairman John Conyers (D-MI) opened the hearings outlining the allegedly excessive actions by the administration: It [...]
The US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit ruled Friday that criminal courts have no authority to direct restitution payments to anyone other than a victim. The issue came before the court in a case where the defendant was ordered to make scheduled restitution payments to a victim and had a lien placed against [...]
A report released Friday by Human Rights Watch states that the Rwandan government has made substantial progress in reforming its justice system over the past four years, but has fallen short in several key areas. The report commended Rwandan authorities for better ensuring the delivery of justice, strengthening defendants’ rights and abolishing the death penalty, [...]
Nepalese officials said Friday that they had arrested more than 100 Tibetans for allegedly trying to take over the Chinese embassy in Kathmandu. Chinese media said the protesters were trying to use Nepal's vulnerability as a newly-formed republic in order to push their "separatist" agenda , but Human Rights Watch (HRW) issued a report Thursday [...]
The United Nations Security Council on Friday discussed a report outlining UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon's plans to reconfigure the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) now that the state's new constitution has entered into effect. Lamberto Zannier, whom Ban recently appointed as head of UNMIK and Special Representative to Kosovo, has already stated [...]
The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) filed a lawsuit Thursday against international trading fund Optiver Holding BV and some of its subsidiaries and employees, alleging that the company manipulated the futures prices of oil and gasoline in violation of the Commodity Exchange Act . The suit, filed in the US District Court for the [...]
Three Department of Justice (DOJ) memos released Thursday indicate that certain enhanced interrogation techniques, including waterboarding , are lawful and that those who employ them in good faith lack the specific intent required to be charged with torture. Under US law , torture involves "an act committed by a person acting under the color of [...]
