The UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan concluded its first visit to South Sudan on Thursday and expressed concern regarding the ongoing pattern of human rights violations in South Sudan. The Commission was established in March to monitor human rights issues in the city amidst an ongoing war between warring factions. Though the [...]

Former president of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva , on Thursday denounced charges filed against him in a corruption scandal involving more than 50 of the country’s politicians. The charges , including corruption and money laundering, were filed on Wednesday. The former president speculated that the charges may be a method used by prosecutors [...]

The US Senate approved legislation Thursday amending the Safe Drinking Water Act to provide $100 million in emergency funding to repair pipes in cities suffering from lead contamination, such as Flint, Michigan . The amendment also makes grant money available so educational agencies may carry out testing for and remediation of lead contamination in their [...]

Debt bondage remains the world’s leading form of slavery despite being outlawed in many regions, according to a report presented Thursday by a UN human rights expert. UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery Urmila Bhoola explained that many people do not understand the complexities of debt bondage. She also reported that the experts [...]

The US Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday advanced a bill that would extend the statute of limitations for Holocaust families and heirs trying to retrieve artwork seized by Nazis during World War II. The Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery Act was introduced in April and co-authored by Texas senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz with the [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled Thursday that a decades-old federal prohibition against gun ownership by people committed to mental health institutions could violate the Second Amendment, reviving a challenge to the law. The case was brought by 74-year-old Clifford Tyler, who was committed to a mental health institution 25 years [...]

A Swedis appellate court in Stockholm on Friday upheld the arrest warrant and detention order issued six years ago against Julian Assange . The warrant, which Assange has challenged multiple times, was issued in 2010 in connection with sexual assault charges involving two women he met in Sweden at the time. Assange has consistently maintained [...]

The EU General Court on Thursday upheld sanctions against former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych . Following an uprising in 2014, Yanukovych fled to Russia, and the EU imposed sanctions for embezzlement and wrongdoing. Yanukovych successfully challenged the sanctions from March 2014 to March 2015 due to lack of evidence, but the court upheld the sanctions [...]

The International Criminal Court (ICC) will work to prosecute environmental crimes, according to a policy paper published Thursday detailing how the court will select and prioritize cases. The court made the paper available to the public in order to increase “transparency” but clarified that the paper is an “internal document” that gives rise to no [...]

The US House of Representatives on Thursday approved a bill that would temporarily block the transfer of detainees from the Guantanamo Bay detention camp. The bill, which passed with a 244-174 vote, would prevent transfers until a 2017 military budget is passed or until President Barack Obama leaves office. The Obama administration has cleared 20 [...]