European Union politicians on Tuesday approved a plan allowing nations to ban genetically modified organisms (GMOs) on their soil. The plan, a compromise reached in June, gives national governments the final say in deciding on the use of EU-approved GMOs. Parliament’s Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety approved the new rule by a [...]
A South Korean court sentenced the captain of the ferry Sewol to 36 years in jail after being found guilty of negligence. He was acquitted of homicide for which prosecutors had sought the death penalty. The Sewol ferry capsized in April, killing 304 passengers, on a routine voyage to the island of Jeju. It was [...]
Five Pennsylvania state legislators and the mayors of two cities filed a lawsuit in the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania on Monday asking it to strike down a state law passed last month allowing advocacy groups to sue municipalities over local gun laws. The law, commonly known as Act 192 , includes language granting the right [...]
US Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor on Monday issued an order blocking gay marriage in Kansas after Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt asked the US Supreme Court for an injunction. The delay temporarily prevents the issuance of licenses to same-sex couples in Kansas and will remain in effect until there is a further order either [...]
The EU Court of Justice on Tuesday affirmed a German court decision to ban unemployment benefits of a Romanian immigrant who did not seek employment in Germany. Pursuant to the 2004 EU directive on freedom of movement , EU citizens must have sufficient resources to support themselves after three months of living in the new [...]
An appeals court in Italy on Monday overturned a 2012 conviction of manslaughter against six scientists and a government official for being negligent in their evaluation of the dangers posed by a 2009 earthquake that killed more than 300 people in the town of L’Aquila. Judge Fabrizia Ida Francabandera said that no crime had been [...]
US President Barack Obama on Monday said that he strongly supports the concept of net neutrality , the idea that providers should treat all Internet data equally and not give preferential treatment. Specifically, net neutrality is aimed at curbing large companies who could use their power to enter into exclusive agreements with Internet service providers [...]
A group of six school districts, seven parents and two advocacy groups filed a lawsuit Monday against the Pennsylvania Department of Education and others accusing them of not providing students an adequate education and discriminating against students because of their locality. The petitioners claim that the Department of Education has violated the Education Clause (Article [...]
The US Supreme Court heard oral arguments in two cases Monday. In T-Mobile South, LLC v. City of Roswell the court heard arguments on what it means to satisfy the “in writing” requirement of the Telecommunications Act . The court will determine whether a state or local government document determining that an application to place, [...]
Amnesty International (AI) on Monday urged accountability for torture in the Philippines, noting that five years after the enactment of the Anti-Torture Act of 2009 , there have still been no convictions. Salil Shetty, AI’s Secretary General, says that the law, considered at the time a huge reform for the state, is at “risk becoming [...]
