The Washington State Senate passed a domestic partnership bill (SB 5336) Thursday which would establish a domestic partner registry, giving same-sex couples enhanced rights including inheritance, hospital visitation, and the power to authorize medical procedures. The bill, sponsored by openly gay Sen. Ed Murray (D) passed by a vote of 28-19, defeating a proposed amendment [...]
The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) officially launched Thursday, taking over and expanding the responsibilities of the former European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia (EUMC) . The new independent agency will initially study issues of racial, gender, and religious tensions in the European Union caused by large influxes of immigrants, but will [...]
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday denied that the Japanese military forced Korean and Chinese women into prostitution during World War II, echoing sentiments by Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso last month that a proposed US resolution urging Japan to apologize for the alleged practice was based on bad information . Abe said there [...]
A Florida commission convened to investigate the botched December execution of Angel Diaz determined Thursday that more oversight is necessary to ensure inmates are properly sedated before execution. Currently Florida uses the chemicals sodium pentothal, pancuronium bromide and potassium chloride , to sedate, paralyze and kill inmates. According to the testimony of an anesthesiologist, if [...]
The US Department of Defense announced Thursday that it has transferred five more Guantanamo Bay detainees to their home countries for detention or release, bringing the total number of detainees released from Guantanamo so far this year to twelve. Three of the newly freed detainees have been transferred to Tajikistan, and two to Afghanistan. In [...]
A German probe into the US detention of Murat Kurnaz , a Turkish citizen born in Germany who was held at Guantanamo Bay for nearly five years, is being delayed because official documents are being withheld by authorities in the state of Bremen, the chairman of the government investigation committee said Thursday. Siegfried Kauder said [...]
The Chinese parliament will consider amending a law allowing the state to send criminal suspects to labor camps without a trial during the National People's Congress (NPC) scheduled for next week, the China Daily reported Thursday. The system, called "re-education through labor," or "laojiao" , currently allows the police to send those suspected of committing [...]
The US military on Thursday formally referred the charges against David Hicks to a military commission. Under the Military Commissions Act of 2006 and the Manual for Military Commissions (MMC) , Hicks, an Australian citizen, will face arraignment within 30 days after he is served with the charges, and the military commission will be assembled [...]
Former US Rep. Bob Ney (R-OH) reported to prison Thursday morning to begin serving his 30-month sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution , a minimum-security prison in Morgantown, West Virginia. The district judge who presided over Ney's sentencing hearing rejected Ney's claim that his alcohol dependency clouded his judgment, finding that it didn't fully explain [...]
A 2000 decision by the Canadian Parliament to deny retroactive survivor pension benefits to persons in same-sex relationships was unconstitutional discrimination under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms , the Supreme Court of Canada held in a ruling Thursday. Parliament passed legislation in 2000 to recognize the legal rights of same-sex couples, but decided [...]
