The spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights , Rupert Colville, said Wednesday that his office is concerned about the apparent extra-judicial execution of a Palestinian man in the West Bank last week. The execution occurred after an attack by two Palestinians on an Israeli solider. One of the attackers was killed on [...]
Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe on Wednesday vetoed Senate Bill 41 , otherwise known as the Religious Freedom; Marriage Solemnization, Participation, and Beliefs Act. The law had passed through Virginia’s Senate and had been presented to McAuliffe for further action in January. The stated purpose of the bill was to allow individuals and business owners who [...]
The Tianjin No 1 Intermediate People’s Court on Wednesday sentenced Ji Wenlin, the former vice governor of south China’s Hainan Province, to 12 years in prison on corruption charges. The former government official was found to have used his office to collect millions in bribes and assetss to benefit himself and others. His case is [...]
Hertz Schram PC , a southeastern Michigan firm, filed a class action lawsuit Tuesday on behalf of the children in Flint, Michigan, who were injured by exposure to the high levels of lead in the city’s drinking water . The class represents children under the age of 17, who sustained brain damage as a result [...]
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday urged world leaders to accept more refugees and to combat the growing international anti refugee sentiments. The remarks were made at the opening of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) conference to create pathways for Syrian refugee admission. The conference seeks to identify mechanisms for states to resettle [...]
Venezuela’s National Assembly on Tuesday approved an amnesty law that would free 77 individuals allegedly jailed for political reasons under a number of crimes such as the instigation of violence or commission of treason. President Nicolas Maduro has vowed to veto the law by any means . Roughly half of the prisoners were jailed by [...]
The US Supreme Court ruled Wednesday in Luis v. United States that the pretrial restraint of a criminal defendant’s legitimate, untainted assets needed to retain her counsel of choice violates the Sixth Amendment. The petitioner, Sila Luis, was charged in October 2012 by a federal grand jury with conspiring to defraud the federal government’s Medicare [...]
The US Supreme Court on Tuesday issued an order in Zubik v. Burwell , a challenge to the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) birth control mandate, directing the parties to file supplemental briefs. The court, in its order, said that the additional briefs should “address whether and how contraceptive coverage may be obtained by petitioners’ employees [...]
French President François Hollande on Wednesday said that he will no longer move forward with his plan to reform the country’s constitution. The reform would have included an amendment that would deprive French citizenship or rights attached to it from dual nationals convicted of terrorism. In a short speech, he announced that he intended to [...]
North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper on Tuesday stated during a press conference that he will not defend House Bill 2 , which he considers to be discriminatory against the LGBT community. The bill, which was signed into law last week, prevents local governments from enacting their own nondiscrimination ordinances. Under the new law, cities [...]
