EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini on Thursday expressed great concern over potential war crimes being committed by Islamic State (IS) militants in the UNESCO World Heritage site of Palmyra . The statement came after members of IS entered the site of Palmyra after seizing the neighboring town. “With the reported occupation of the ancient [...]
An 84-year old attorney, businessman and political candidate filed a lawsuit in a Tennessee court on Wednesday, challenging a law that makes it a felony for a doctor or another person helps someone commit suicide. John Jay Hooker, who once ran for Tennessee governor and worked for Robert F. Kennedy, said the law violates the [...]
More than a year after Qatar’s government promised reform for migrant workers, little to no improvement has been made , Amnesty International (AI) said Thursday. The government announced in November that the kafala sponsorship system, which currently limits the rights of foreign workers, is to be replaced with legislation that promotes a new employment contract [...]
The State’s Attorney for Baltimore City on Thursday announced the indictment of six police officers on charges including murder and manslaughter over the death of Baltimore resident Freddie Gray while he was in police custody. Baltimore state attorney Marilyn Mosby filed charges earlier in May upon receiving the medical examiner’s report that ruled Gray’s death [...]
Five of the world’s largest banks agreed Wednesday to plead guilty to rigging currency markets and to pay over USD $5 billion in penalties to the US Department of Justice (DOJ) , along with several domestic and international agencies. Traders from Citicorp, Barclays, the Royal Bank of Scotland, JPMorgan Chase and UBS were accused of [...]
Nebraska lawmakers voted 32-15 Wednesday to approve a bill abolishing the death penalty. Earlier in April Nebraska lawmakers voted 30-13 in favor of the legislation to repeal the death penalty and replace it with life imprisonment in first-degree murder cases. Governor Pete Ricketts , who supports capital punishment and has promised to veto the bill, [...]
Louisiana legislatures on Tuesday rejected a religious objections bill that was pushed by Governor Bobby Jindal . A House legal committee voted 10-2 to kill the bill, ending weeks of serious debate. However, in an effort to solicit Christian conservatives for his likely presidential bid in 2016, Jindal immediately responded by issuing an executive order [...]
The Supreme Court of the US Virgin Islands ruled Wednesday that second-parent adoptions by same-sex couples are permitted under Virgin Islands law. The children’s fathers are anonymous sperm donors who knowingly waived all of their parental rights. The biological mother and her same-sex partner filed an adoption petition in the Superior Court of the Virgin [...]
The office of Burundi President Pierre Nkurunziza announced Wednesday that the men who plotted last week’s failed coup will stand trial. The 18 suspects, including three army and police generals, will be judged under the country’s penal code. The coup began when leader Major General Godefroid Niyombare , who is still at large, made the [...]
Foreign ministers from Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia issued a joint statement Wednesday addressing the recent influx of migrants arriving to their respective nations and agreeing to take in migrants in the most humanitarian fashion. While the countries have agreed on taking in migrants awaiting on ships, they have have condemned both human trafficking and smuggling [...]
