An Italian appeals court in Milan on Thursday reduced the sentences for three former aides to Silvio Berlusconi for their roles in procuring prostitutes for the former prime minister while he was in office. The convictions against former TV executive Emilio Fede and talent agent Dario Mora were modified from forcing women into prostitution to [...]

An anti-terrorism court in Pakistan on Wednesday issued arrest warrants for opposition leader and former cricketer Imran Khan and cleric Tahir ul-Qadri in connection with protests in September. Thousands of protesters led by the two leaders marched in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif over allegations of corruption [...]

The Bangladesh International Crimes Tribunal on Thursday convicted opposition politician MA Zahid Hossain Khokon to death for his role in killings and other war crimes perpetrated during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War . The Tribunal found the accused guilty of the offenses of “murder, torture, deportation, rape, confinement, abduction and other inhumane acts” within the [...]

A judge for the US District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan on Wednesday struck down a Michigan law limiting the benefits received by same-sex partners in local government and public schools. Judge David Lawson blocked the law more than a year ago with an injunction. Seven months after hearing oral arguments, he deemed [...]

Romani children are continuing to be placed in special needs schools by Czech authorities, despite a European Court of Human Rights decision , Amnesty International (AI) reported Thursday. The case was decided over seven years ago, and involved a group of primary-school Roma children who were placed in schools for children with mild mental-disabilities in [...]

The US Supreme Court on Wednesday issued an lifted a stay on issuing same-sex marriage licenses in Kansas. Justice Sonia Sotomayor issued an order blocking same-sex marriage in Kansas earlier this week, after Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt asked the court for an injunction. Kansas, in an attempt to protect state’s rights, made heavy use [...]

The UN Security Council on Wednesday unanimously adopted a resolution renewing its international call to fight piracy off the coast of Somalia. Working under Chapter VII of the UN Charter , resolution 2184 (2014) calls on all able states to provide military forces to repress piracy in the region. The Security Council also continued an [...]

The head of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) on Wednesday expressed concern that the legalization of marijuana by some US states is not compatible with existing international drug conventions. UNODC executive director Yury Fedotov stated that the UNODC is following the legalization trend and plans to address the issue with the US [...]

The US and China on Wednesday announced a negotiated agreement to reduce greenhouse gas output. Leaders of both countries negotiated secretly to arrive at the following pledge: The US seeks to reduce emissions by a quarter or more by 2025, while China will implement greater use of zero-emission energy sources by 2030. This agreement marks [...]

The US Supreme Court hear oral arguments in two cases Wednesday. In Alabama Legislative Black Caucus v. Alabama the court heard arguments on Alabama’s redistricting plans. The question before the court is “Whether Alabama’s legislative redistricting plans unconstitutionally classify black voters by race by intentionally packing them in districts designed to maintain supermajority percentages produced [...]