A judge for Michigan’s Barry County Circuit Court on Monday dismissed a fracking lawsuit by Michigan Land Air Water Defense (MLAWD) against the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) . MLAWD sought a declaratory ruling nullifying the MDNR auctions of mineral rights within Barry and Allegan State Game Areas and the Yankee Springs Recreation Area. [...]

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie signed Assembly Bill 3371 into law on Monday, banning licensed therapists from providing sexual orientation conversion services to minors. New Jersey is now the second state to ban such practices following a similar ban in California last September. Christie publicly addressed the controversial issue , deferring to medical experts that [...]

Illinois Governor Pat Quinn on Sunday signed a gun safety bill that will require background checks for all gun purchases in the state as well as the reporting of all lost and stolen guns. The new law expands the state’s previous background check requirements, which covered gun purchases from licensed firearms dealers or those occurring [...]

Judge Ismail Baloch of the Pakistani anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Monday ordered investigators to produce former president Pervez Musharraf at the next hearing for the killing of Baloch leader Akbar Bugti, scheduled for September 10. Bugti was killed in a 2006 military operation ordered by Musharraf during his time as both president and army chief [...]

The Cairo Criminal Court on Monday reportedly ordered the release of former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak in a long-pending corruption case. His lawyer said that he could be released within days , which would the first time he was free in more than two years. It is unclear how Mubarak’s release will affect a divided [...]

Chinese writer, lawyer and human rights advocate Yang Maodong, commonly known by his pen-name Guo Feixiong , became the second leader of the New Citizens movement to be arrested on suspicion of disrupting the peace on Saturday. This follows the detainment of fellow New Citizens leader Xu Zhiyong in July, in what appears to be [...]

A Pakistani court in Islamabad on Saturday dismissed charges against a cleric who was arrested for allegedly framing a Christian girl, Rimsha Masih, accused of blasphemy. The district court held that the prosecution had not brought forward sufficient evidence to convict. The cleric, Khalid Chishti, accused the girl of burning pages from the Quran, but [...]

Egyptian Prime Minister Hazem el-Beblawi on Saturday proposed formally dissolving the non-governmental organization registration of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) in an effort to force the group underground. This proposal comes after Friday’s protest orchestrated by the MB, which ended a week marked by more than 800 casualties and more than 1000 arrests. Although the government [...]

The special electoral court of Madagascar on Saturday announced that it has removed President Andry Rajoelina , former president Didier Ratsiraka and Lalao Ravalomanana , the wife of former president Marc Ravalomanana , from the country’s list of presidential candidates. Lalao Ravalomanana, who has not lived permanently in the country since 2002, and Ratsiraka were [...]

A group of independent UN rights experts on Friday urged all parties involved in the Egyptian civil unrest to end the recent violence. The Coordination Committee , composed of six experts appointed by the UN Human Rights Council to oversee human rights concerns, violations and procedures, expressed their concern regarding the escalating violence in the [...]