Egypt’s cabinet and the Ministry of Investment approved an investment law Wednesday aimed at protecting business deals from legal disputes or political changes and addressing investor complaints about bureaucracy. The new law unifies the investment requirements and affects various industries, including mining and local producers. Supporters of the bill hope the new legislation will boost [...]
With the European Games approaching in Baku, Azerbaijan, this June, human rights groups on Wednesday urged the host nation to release political prisoners held on “trumped up” charges. The European Games are seen as an attempt to soften the authoritarian image of Azerbaijan under President Ilham Aliyev. Human Rights Watch (HRW) argued that the Azerbaijan [...]
The US Supreme Court on Wednesday heard oral arguments for King v. Burwell . The court is asked to rule on whether the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) may adopt regulations to extend tax-credit subsidies to coverage purchased through the federal health insurance exchange established under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) . If [...]
Serbian war crimes prosecutors said Tuesday that five people have been charged with committing a wartime massacre during the Balkan conflict of the 1990s, with 10 more still under investigation in Bosnia. The massacre occurred in 1993, when the five allegedly abducted 20 people from a train in eastern Bosnia and robbed and killed them. [...]
The US Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled in Alabama Department of Revenue v. CSX Transporation, Inc. that Alabama should be able to justify its decision to assess on railroads a fuel tax that it does not assess on motor carriers. The 7-2 ruling against CSX Transportation Inc. reversed the decision of the US Court of [...]
The Slovenian Parliament passed legislation granting same-sex marriage and adoption rights Tuesday amid public opposition from conservative and religious groups. Although thousands of people from conservative groups and the Catholic Church rallied to oppose the lawmakers’ action, the legislation was passed by a vote of 51-28. The new laws will expand on Slovenia’s previous policy [...]
The General Court of the European Union on Wednesday annulled a portion of the European Central Bank’s (ECB) Eurosystem Oversight Policy Framework requiring financial institutions clearing trades in euros to be located in the Eurozone. The UK brought the action before the General Court, contending that the ECB lacked the authority to impose a location [...]
A federal judge in Brazil has ordered the deportation of former leftist Italian guerrilla Cesare Battisti , annulling a work visa granted by the Brazilian government in 2011. Battisti, a former member of the Armed Proletarians for Communism, was convicted of committing four murders during the 1970s. He escaped from prison in Italy in 1981 [...]
An Egyptian court on Wednesday upheld a 10-year prison sentence for two police officers who were convicted for torturing activist Khaled Said to death in 2010. Eye witnesses provided evidence that the officers beat the 28-year-old outside of a cafe in Alexandria. Said’s killing is seen to be one of the triggering factors beginning the [...]
The French Court of Cassation on Wednesday approved the extradition of Mukhtar Ablyazov , Kazakhstan’s former energy minister accused of misappropriating USD $6 billion from BTA Bank . The court upheld the extradition requests from Russia and Ukraine, which both house BTA Bank branches, partly because France does not have an extradition agreement with Kazakhstan. [...]
