Greece agreed to the main terms of a draft bill for a bailout on Tuesday that would provide about $95 billion to the country. There are many provisions in the bill some describe as “harsh” such as the selling of state owned property, cuts to benefits across the board, pension cuts, and cuts to military [...]

The Parliament of Iraq on Tuesday unanimously approved Prime Minister Haider Al Abadi’s reform plan to cut spending and eliminate many top political positions. The reform plan came after citizen protests against corruption and poor governance throughout the country and will restart a corruption investigation program. Iraq’s cabinet approved the proposal on Sunday, but was [...]

Scotland banned the growing of Genetically Modified (GM) crops in an effort to preserve its “clean, green status” announced Rural Affairs Secretary Richard Lochhead on Sunday. The government seeks to use the recent European Union (EU) rules which allowed countries to “opt-out” of growing crops authorized by the EU. Lochhead stated that there is “no [...]

A former general in China’s People’s Liberation Army, Gu Junshan, on Monday was sentenced by a Chinese military court to death with a two year reprieve for corruption charges. Gu is one of the first to face trial under the president’s recent efforts against corruption in the military. The court’s sentence will most likely be [...]

A judge for the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled on Friday that New York City’s regulation of the banking industry through the Responsible Banking Act is unconstitutional. The Act was passed by New York’s City Council in 2012 over a veto of then-mayor Bloomberg and required lenders to [...]

The US District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee , on Monday, lifted a temporary restraining order which limited the state in enforcing new abortion laws regarding licensing standards for clinics. The new laws require all abortion clinics performing 50 or more abortions annually to procure additional licensing requiring building and safety standards. Two [...]

Despite widespread irregularity and violence, Haiti on Sunday held its first parliamentary election in four years. Haiti’s parliament dissolved in January following canceled elections in 2011 and 2014. Around 50 of 1,500 voting centers were affected by violence or bureaucratic problems, ranging from varying poll start times to gangs accosting voters by throwing bottles. The [...]

JURIST Guest Columnist Nancy Marcus of Indiana Tech Law School discusses religious freedom in the US… In a recent battle between reproductive rights and religious freedom, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Stormans, Inc. v. Wiesman rejected claims brought by a pharmacy owner and two pharmacists seeking exemptions from regulations requiring [...]

Germany’s acting top federal prosecutor on Monday dropped a much-criticized treason investigation into two prominent journalists working for Netzpolitik.org . In July, Netzpolitik, a blog on digital rights issues, announced that two of its journalists, Andre Meister and Markus Beckedahl , were being investigated for suspicion of treason. The investigation was opened after Germany’s domestic [...]

A UK court on Monday dismissed a Spanish extradition request for Rwanda National Intelligence and Security Services head Karenzi Karake. Karake had been detained since his June arrest at a London airport, and the court ordered his release. A European Arrest Warrant for Karake was issued in 2008 by Spanish High Court Judge Fernando Andreu [...]