The Florida legislature sent Governor Rick Scott a bill on Thursday revamping the state’s death penalty law. The changes are in response to the US Supreme Court ruling in January that the state’s current sentencing scheme is unconstitutional . The new legislation requires jurors to be unanimous on aggravating factors and for 10 of 12 [...]
US Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts on Thursday allowed the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to continue enforcing of its rule aimed at suppressing air pollution caused by mercury as well as other toxins from power plants. Roberts denied a petition filed by Michigan and 19 other states last week seeking to block enforcement the [...]
A 53-page report published Thursday by the UN states that even though civilian casualties in eastern Ukraine have decreased, despair among those in the conflict area has grown. Speaking about the report , UN High Commissioner for Human RightsZeid Ra’ad Al Hussein said that the civilian casualty rate was “among the lowest since the beginning [...]
The Delhi High Court granted bail Wednesday to student political leader Kanhaiya Kumar who was arrested with other students on February 9 when he rallied against the execution of Kashmiri separatist Mohammed Afzal Guru. The arrests sparked massive protests across India, with many accusing the government of violating free speech and peaceful dissent, but the [...]
The US House Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday passed two resolutions calling for an international tribunal in the Middle East to address the alleged war crimes committed by the government of Syria and its allies, specifically Russia and Iran. The resolutions call on the president to direct the UN ambassador to promote the establishment of [...]
UN Special Rapporteur on the right to housing Leilani Farha warned Thursday that homelessness is increasing in every country due to government inaction. Presenting a report to the UN Human Rights Council, Farha said that homelessness has become a global crisis because of government failure to respond to structural issues and legislation that allows for [...]
The Florida Supreme Court on Wednesdayhalted the March 17 execution of James Asay. This is the second time the court indefinitely postponed a scheduled execution. In February, the court issued a stay of execution for Cary Michael Lambrix after the US Supreme Court determined in Hurst v. Florida that the death penalty was being improperly [...]
The Pheu Thai Party filed a complaint with the UN Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on Thursday over the detention of one of its key figures, Watana Muangsook accusing the government of serious human rights violations. Acting Pheu Thai Party leader Viroj Pao-In wrote to High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad [...]
A Ukrainian pilot on trial in Russia on Thursday told the court she is going on a dry hunger strike after facing another delay at trial. Nadezhda Savchenko has been charged with complicity in the killing of two journalists, with prosecutors accusing her of providing coordinates to the Ukrainian army for the attack in which [...]
Oregon Governor Kate Brown signed a landmark minimum-wage law on Wednesday. The law makes Oregon the first state to mandate higher pay in cities than rural areas. The system works according to the specific economic need in a particular region, taking the cost of living of each into account. The minimum wage is set to [...]
