Human Rights Watch (HRW) stated on Sunday that the Islamic State of Iraq , a suspected al Qaeda branch, had committed crimes against humanity during the July 29 bombings in Iraq. The Islamic State of Iraq claimed responsibility for a series of car bombs implemented to aid a prison raid. The July 29 bombings killed [...]

Independent UN experts on Friday called for the repeal of recently passed legislation in Uganda limiting the size of public demonstrations. Known as the Public Order Management Bill, passed on Tuesday , Uganda now prohibits protests of more than three people without prior police authorization. Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, Margaret [...]

A federal judge for the US District Court for the Southern District of New York on Friday denied Apple‘s request for a temporary suspension of the court’s July ruling that Apple violated the Sherman Act and various state statutes in an e-book price-fixing conspiracy. Despite Apple’s continued denial of the charges, US District Judge Denise [...]

The International Trade Commission (ITC) on Friday ruled that Samsung infringed two patents of Apple . The two patents involves the detection of users’ finger movements on smartphone touchscreens and the way its plugs detect when other devices have been plugged in. The ITC, however, rejected four other patent infringement claims against Samsung. With the [...]

President Barack Obama on Friday gave a speech proposing a four-step reform to increase the credibility and legitimacy of the National Security Agency (NSA) and Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) . The first step will reform Section 215 of the Patriot Act , which involves the collection of telephone records, giving the public “additional confidence [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Thursday urged the Philippine government to act to bring the killers of three local journalists to justice and stop further violence. On July 30 unknown assailants shot and killed Richard Kho, 47, and Bonifacio Loreto Jr., 59, both columnists for the weekly tabloid Aksyon Ngayon, in Quezon City, Metro Manila. [...]

The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on Friday criticized Vietnam for resuming the death penalty . In July 2011 the country decided to stop using firing squads in favor of lethal injections, but was unable to procure the necessary drugs largely due to EU export restrictions. In May it amended [...]

JPMorgan Chase & Co. disclosed in its quarterly filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday that it is being investigated by both the civil and criminal divisions of the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California (EDC) over sales of mortgage-backed securities to investors in the run-up to the sub-prime mortgage [...]

The Oklahoma Coalition for Reproductive Justice (OCRJ) filed a lawsuit in the Oklahoma County District Court on Thursday to block enforcement of HB 2226 , a state law limiting the availability of “morning-after” emergency contraceptives. Specifically, the law forbids pharmacists from dispensing emergency contraceptives to women younger than 17 unless they have a prescription. Pharmacists [...]

The Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ) on Thursday asked a judge for the US District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin to stay a challenge to the state’s new abortion law , pending an appeal to the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit . The DOJ appealed the injunction earlier this week. [...]