Dutch ban on face coverings takes effect but lacks willing enforcement
The Netherlands’ Partial Ban on Face-Covering Clothing Act went into effect on Thursday but is expected to be rendered ineffective as both Dutch police and transport companies have expressed reluctance to enforce the law. Commonly referred to as a “burqa ban,” the Act prohibits the wearing of full-face helmets, ski masks, balaclavas, niqabs and burqas [...]
Supreme Court rules Alaskan river not under purview of National Park Service
The US Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that rivers that pass through national parks in Alaska are not federally owned and therefore not subject to the jurisdiction of the National Park Service (NPS). John Sturgeon, a resident of Alaska and avid moose hunter, was stopped by Park Service rangers for piloting his hovercraft along a section [...]
US President Donald Trump signed the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act on Tuesday. The bill, which passed by the House and Senate with strong bipartisan support, works to expand national parks and creates new national monuments. In his signing statement, Trump highlighted the bill’s creation of a committee to make a [...]
Senate approves over 1.3 million acres for conservation lands, rivers, national monuments
The US Senate voted 92-8 Tuesday to approve legislation setting aside nearly two million acres of public land for conservation—a bipartisan package of more than 100 public lands, natural resources and water bills. The bill designates 1.3 million acres in western states with the most stringent classification of “wilderness,” prohibiting any development or motor vehicles. [...]
Germany cabinet approves bill requiring social networks to remove hate speech
The cabinet of German Chancellor Angela Merkel approved draft legislation on Wednesday that would impose fines on social media websites for failing to delete users' entries that violate German hate speech laws. The fines ...
UN rights chief urges international community to target hate speech
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein marked the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination Tuesday by making a statement emphasizing the importance of curtailing hate speech. Highlighting the racially motivated...
Netherlands proposes law empowering government to block telecommunications mergers
The Netherlands has proposed new legislation that will empower its government to block or undo mergers in the telecommunications sector. According to a statement from the Netherlands Ministry of Economic Affairs [official website, in...
Dutch justice minister resigns amid accusations of connection to drug trafficker
The Minister of Security and Justice for the Netherlands resigned Friday, making him the third member of the Dutch government to resign amid a scandal involving a USD $2.1 million deal made between prosecutors and a drug trafficker. Ard van...
The UK government said Monday it will use its terrorism laws to ban a neo-Nazi group, marking the first time such a step has been taken. The move would make it a crime to be a...
Netherlands court finds right wing party leader Geert Wilders guilty of hate speech
The Dutch disctrict court of Haarlem said Friday that Geert Wilders, the leader of the Dutch right wing political party, Party for Freedom , has been convicted of inciting discrimination. The incident in...
