Indiana and Wisconsin each asked the US Supreme Court on Tuesday to determine if same-sex marriage should be legal in all 50 states. These petitions bring the total number of same-sex marriage cases before the court to seven. The main questions asked in these cases are whether states can refuse to allow same-sex marriages and [...]
A judge for the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida on Tuesday resentenced convicted terrorist Jose Padilla to 21 years in prison. Judge Marcia Cooke resentenced Padilla after the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit ruled in 2011 that Padilla’s 17-year sentence was too lenient and ordered a new sentencing [...]
Gambia’s National Assembly passed a bill on Monday that imposes life imprisonment for some homosexual acts. The bill amends the criminal code to bring life sentences for “aggravated homosexuality,” which encompasses repeat offenders, those living with HIV/AIDS, and where a minor is involved. The bill will become law pending the signature of President Yahya Jammeh [...]
Three UN human rights experts urged the Australian state of Tasmania on Tuesday not to adopt legislation against protests that disrupt businesses. The experts expressed concern that the new law would silence legitimate and lawful protests. The government argues the proposed bill is necessary to protect businesses from disruption by protesters. The bill prohibits protests [...]
The Federal court of Australia has upheld a ruling allowing US-based genetic testing company Myriad Genetics to retain its patent for genetic material (DNA and RNA) it has isolated from human cells. Patient advocacy group Cancer Voices Australia (CVA) appealed a February 2013 court ruling that approved the patentability of nucleic acids that the company [...]
A senior UN human rights official said on Monday that the death toll in Ukraine has risen above 3,000, and pleaded for peace to spare more bloodshed. Ivan Simonovic , the UN Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, stated that the confirmed deaths due to the fighting that began in April was now at 2,729, and [...]
The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit heard oral arguments Monday in three cases involving same-sex marriage in Idaho, Nevada and Hawaii . The three-judge panel consists of judges Stephen Reinhardt , appointed by Jimmy Carter, and Marsha Berzon and Ronald Gould , appointed by Bill Clinton. Reinhardt has a particularly noteworthy history [...]
The UN General Assembly on Monday met to discuss “the responsibility to protect” adopted by world leaders in 2005, with UN officials stressing the urgency of this responsibility as crises rage around the world. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon addressed the assembly , saying that the world now faces a number of conflicts that involve acts that [...]
Amnesty International (AI) said Sunday that both Ukrainian militia and separatist forces may be responsible for war crimes , with all sides of the conflict showing disregard for civilian lives. AI Secretary General Salil Shetty called on the involved parties to stop all violations of the laws of war and respect their international obligations. Evidence [...]
Soldiers from the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) have been sexually exploiting and assaulting Somali women, Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported Monday. The abuses have allegedly occurred on two AMISOM military bases in the Somalian city of Mogadishu. According to the report, Ugandan and Burundian soldiers have used their positions of power to sexually [...]
