Judge Callie Granade of the US District Court for the Southern District of Alabama on Monday refused to stay her order to a probate judge that he must begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. This new order states that the Probate Court of Mobile County must comply with her ruling in Strawser v. Strange [...]
Oregon Governor Kate Brown on Monday signed a new law that makes Oregon the first state in the nation to institute automatic voter registration. House Bill 2177 , informally called the Motor Voter legislation, will use data from the state Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to automatically register eligible voters in the DMV system. The [...]
An EU official said Monday that the EU remains committed to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and will stand by its policy of not recognizing Russia’s annexation of Crimea. The EU continues to consider Russia’s “referendum” and their annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol as illegal and a threat to international security in terms of its [...]
Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Sunday reported evidence that cluster bombs were dropped on at least two towns in Libya. HRW said they have not yet determined who dropped the bombs. The Libyan Air Force recently bombed the two towns, but it has denied using banned cluster bombs. Cluster munitions are a form of air-drop [...]
US Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) on Sunday halted the confirmation vote on Attorney General Nominee Loretta Lynch until the Senate passes the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015 . The vote on bill came to a standstill when senators read anti-abortion language within the act. The provision of the act bars [...]
Four Thai activists will face military court on charges of violating junta orders banning public gatherings. The activists are members of a group called Resistant Citizen, which has held demonstrations around Bangkok protesting against military rule. Prosecutors have asked the men to report on March 27 to decide if charges will be pressed. On Monday [...]
The Residual Special Court for Sierra Leone has granted provision release to Moinina Fofana, a former militia leader convicted of war crimes. Fofana was convicted in 2007 of murder, cruel treatment, pillage and collective punishment for his role in Sierra Leone’s civil war and sentenced to a 15-year term. His release is noteworthy, as he [...]
The US government on Friday appealed a federal court ruling that reduced the potential liability BP faces under the Clean Water Act in relation to the 2010 offshore oil spill . District Court Judge Carl Barbier of the US District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana in January set the size of the Deepwater [...]
China’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hong Lei said in a press conference Monday that the Chinese government is proceeding in its review of revisions to the controversial draft counter-terrorism law despite recent reports that China had suspended such talks . Hong stated that the law will be “made in light of China’s need to combat terrorism [...]
An Iranian court on Sunday sentenced a son of former president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani to 15 years in prison on charges of embezzlement and bribery. Rafsanjani’s son, referred to only as “MH” in court documents, is assumed by those in the Iranian government to be Mehdi Hashemi. Hashemi is a businessman and politician who [...]
