Chinese authorities on Monday formally charged at least seven human rights lawyers who have been secretly detained for months, the lawyers’ family members said. The Chinese government believes that the individuals charged are linked to events that have disrupted the public order, including a police shooting. The lawyers charged are of the Beijing Fengrui Law [...]
The Supreme Court of the Philippines on Tuesday approved a deal that would extend US military presence in their country. The Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) will allow for the US to build more military facilities while maintaining military ships and aircraft in the country. In a 10-4 ruling, the court found that the agreement [...]
The Supreme Court of India on Tuesday banned a popular bull fighting event at this year’s harvest festival in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. The decision comes in response to protesters who claim that the sport of Jallikattu, in which men chase bulls to grab prizes off their horns, amounts to animal cruelty. The [...]
The US Supreme Court heard oral arguments Monday on the First Amendment rights of public teachers who do not wish to pay union fees. In Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association the court must decide whether public employees who have opted out of a union that represents their interests must still affirmatively opt-out of paying the [...]
Ugandan authorities are using intimidation and force against journalists, radio hosts and activists, limiting the possibilities that the upcoming presidential election in February is fair and unbiased, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a report Sunday. The report claims that journalists have been suspended after publishing views counter to the ruling party and that party [...]
White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough told Fox News Sunday that President Barack Obama intends to fulfill his promise to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility before leaving office. The statement was made in an interview previewing the president’s final State of the Union address Tuesday evening. The president has pledged to close the [...]
Former Serbian paramilitary commander Dragan Vasiljkovic was indicted Friday for war crimes committed during Croatia’s war of independence. Vasilikovic was indicted in Croatia six months after being extradited from Australia. The 61-year-old holds dual Serbian-Australian citizenship. Vasiljkovic is accused of torturing and killing captured members of the Croatian army and police during the 1991-1995 Croatian [...]
The US Supreme Court on Friday granted certiorari in Welch v. United States to determine whether Johnson v. United States , which found increased sentences under the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA) unconstitutionally vague, should be applied retroactively. Petitioner Gregory Welch originally entered a plea agreement to serve 0-10 years imprisonment for robbery, but his [...]
The European Commission (EC) ruled Monday that selective tax advantages offered by Belgium under its “excess profit” tax scheme are illegal under EU state aid rules. The “excess profit” tax scheme, effective since 2005, reduced the corporate tax base of companies by anywhere between 50 and 90 percent. The scheme, which was marketed under the [...]
More than a dozen death row inmates in Zimbabwe on Sunday submitted a plea to the nation’s constitutional court through a local NGO, arguing that their death sentences are unconstitutional. The inmates have spent between four and 20 years on death row for murder charges. The substance of the inmates’ claim rests in sections 48, [...]
