The Grand National Assembly of Turkey announced Friday that its Commission on the Constitution approved a draft amendment to the Turkish Constitution which would give the president greater power. If the National Assembly approves the bill, which it is set to discuss in January, a referendum would have to approve the amendment as well, before [...]

The White House on Thursday announced that sanctions would be enacted against Russia as a response to Russia’s involvement in hacking during the recent election and for the treatment of US diplomats in Russia. The White House alleged that Russia intentionally tried to interfere with the US election in favor of one of the candidates, [...]

Murray Energy Corporation , the largest privately owned coal company in the US, filed a lawsuit last Thursday in an attempt to block new regulations promulgated by the Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) . The lawsuit was filed two days after the agency announced its decision on the new rule. In its [...]

North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un ordered the executions of 340 people in the five years that he has been in power, according to a report from the Institute for National Security Strategy , a South Korean think tank. About 140 of those executed are believed to have been senior officials in the North Korean [...]

Lt. Governor Brian Calley of Michigan signed a measure Wednesday prohibiting local regulation of shopping bags. The measure refers to the bags as “auxiliary containers” and defines the term to encompass containers made of plastic, cloth, paper, etc. The bill will not allow local governments to regulate, prohibit, or impose a fee on the containers. [...]

Colombian Congress approved a measure Wednesday granting amnesty to low-level Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrillas who have not committed atrocious crimes. The measure will also create a special procedural system for FARC fighters accused of offenses outside the boundaries of amnesty. The new law is part of a peace deal between the Colombian [...]

JURIST Guest Columnist Larry Catá Backer, of Pennsylvania State University discusses consequences of President elect Trump’s rejection of the TTP … The Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) and its European twin, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), mean to provide a basis for the organization and management of global trade that to some extent supplements [...]

Yasin Aktay, spokesman for Turkey’s ruling party said on Wednesday that the government is pushing for a Syrian cease-fire to be in place by 2017. Aktay confirmed that talks between Russia and Turkey are ongoing and that “Turkey’s insistence is … to bring the sides together and for a cease-fire to come about as we [...]

Former Argentine President, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner , was indicted Tuesday on allegations of corruption. Fernandez and three others are accused of illicit association and fraudulent administration in connection with the use of funds meant for public works. The allegations go back as far as 2003 when Fernandez’s husband was President. Nearly $3 billion dollars [...]

The Manhattan US Attorney Tuesday announced charges against three foreign nationals for insider trading, wire fraud, intentional damage, unlawful access, and related conspiracy acts. The defendants are Iat Hong and Chin Hung of Macau, and Bo Zheng of China. Iat Hong was arrested on Christmas Day in Hong Kong. The charges stem from cyber attacks [...]