California Governor Jerry Brown was a presented with a bill on Tuesday to ban sterilization of female inmates in California after the California Senate unanimously voted to pass the law. The bill bans any form of sterilization in a correctional facility for the purposes of birth control unless there is a medical necessity and there [...]

The Mexican Attorney General for Environmental Protection (PROFEPA) on Monday filed a criminal complaint against copper mining companies Buena Vista del Cobre, SA de CV and Minera Mexico following a massive acid spill on August 6 near the US border with Mexico. The spill has affected drinking water for thousands of people in the region, [...]

The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights expressed concern Tuesday that the prosecution and sentencing of lese-majeste cases by Thailand’s ruling military junta threaten citizens’ rights of free expression. According to the press release, 13 new cases have been opened for investigation under lese-majeste laws, which prohibit speech that is defamatory to [...]

The lawyer representing Anwar Ibrahim , the leader of Malaysia’s strongest governmental opposition group , was charged with sedition on Tuesday because of a written statement he issued acting as Anwar’s legal counsel. N Suredran, was released on bail after being charged with violating Malaysia’s Sedition Act . Suredran, currently representing Anwar in his appeal [...]

A judge for the US District Court for the District of Minnesota on Monday approved a settlement for $62.5 million between Wells Fargo & Co and large institutional clients who lost money in an investment program known as securities lending. US District Judge Donovan Frank also awarded attorneys fees to the plaintiffs. The final settlement [...]

A Somali police official on Monday reported that security forces arrested Somali pirate Mohamed Garfanji. Garfanji, second-in-command of Somalia’s pirate industry, was arrested on Sunday for possessing illegal arms and other charges related to piracy. The Somali government implemented an ongoing disarmament campaign in Mogadishu, where Garfanji was arrested. The UN Security Council has also [...]

Groups supporting same-sex marriage on Monday urged the US Supreme Court not to put a hold on a lower court ruling that would allow same-sex couples in Virginia to marry. After the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit declined to stay its decision declaring Virginia’s voter-approved same-sex marriage ban to be unconstitutional last [...]

A Florida coalition on Monday asked a judge to reject a newly proposed map of the state’s congressional districts. The coalition, which includes the League of Women Voters of Florida , is suing to change the districts and called the new map “brazenly partisan.” The map was passed by the Florida Legislature last week after [...]

Kenya’s Anti-Terrorism Police Unit (ATPU) has carried out a series of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances in violation of international human rights laws, Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported Monday. Based on interview research conducted between November 2013 and June 2014, terrorism suspects were badly mistreated, killed, beaten, abducted and detained without access to families or [...]

Missouri Governor Jay Nixon on Monday issued an executive order authorizing the Missouri National Guard to provide assistance in the city of Ferguson following a period of civil unrest that prompted the governor to declare a state of emergency on Saturday. The order was issued in an effort to protect the public peace within the [...]