The Mexican Supreme Court on Monday overturned two state anti-corruption laws that would have allowed departing governors to choose prosecutors in charge of investigating corruption allegations against them. Many believed the laws were passed in an effort to curtail corruption reforms and protect the politicians themselves. The laws, passed in Chihuahua and Veracruz, were ruled [...]
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein on Monday unleashed a scathing criticism of Western “demagogues,” accusing them of spreading populist xenophobia and racism. At issue for Zeid was the recent eleven point manifesto released by Dutch politician Geert Wilders , which laid out plans to remove Islam from the country including [...]
JURIST Guest Columnist Joseph H. Marren discusses the impeachment of Brazil’s President… On August 30 Brazil’s Senate voted to convict Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff on charges that she used improper accounting to cover-up a growing budget deficit and illegal loans from state-owned banks. A recent WSJ editorial remarked that millions of Americans are probably wondering [...]
Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring on Friday sent a letter to the US Department of Justice (DOJ) requesting and investigation into the Hampton Roads Regional Jail in Portsmouth after the deaths of two inmates—60-year-old Henry Stewart and 24-year-old mentally ill Jamycheal Mitchell. Stewart had filled out an emergency grievance form at the jail on August [...]
South Sudan consented to the addition of another 4,000 UN peacekeeping troops to the existing force of 14,000 soldiers, under intense pressure from the UN, US and the rest of the international community. The announcement was made in a joint statement issued Sunday at the end of a meeting between South Sudan President Salva Kiir [...]
Members of the international community have called upon Cuban dissident Guillermo Fariñas to end his hunger strike. Several people have pleaded with Fariñas to end his hunger strike, a protest begun following government officers brutalizing him earlier in July, saying that he can do more alive than dead for promoting democratic reforms in Cuba. According [...]
Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte declared the country in “a state of lawlessness” on Saturday following a suspected terrorist attack in Davao City on Friday. Duterte expressed his belief that the explosion, which killed 14 people and injured at least 71 more, was an act of terrorism and declared a “state of lawlessness” , which would [...]
Israel agreed to permit officials from the International Criminal Court (ICC) to visit the country and the occupied territories, according to statements made by an Israeli foreign ministry spokesman on Sunday. However, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not officially agreed to the visit. Specific details, including the timing of the visit, are still under discussion [...]
Bangladesh executed a member of the Jamaat-e-Islami party on Saturday for war crimes committed during Bangladesh’s 1971 war of independence. Mir Quasem Ali was accused of murder, confinement, torture, and inciting religious hatred. In all, five leaders of the party have been executed for war crimes in the country in recent years. Ali was arrested [...]
The Puducherry (former Pondicherry) Legislative Assembly ratified the Goods and Services Tax (GST) constitutional amendment passed by the Parliament of India earlier this month amid a walkout staged by the primary opposing party and ruling party of Tamil Nadu, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK or ADMK). All members of the All India [...]
