The Netherlands filed a complaint against Russia on Friday in the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea alleging that the country has unlawfully detained Greenpeace activists it apprehended from a Dutch-registered ship. Specifically, the Netherlands have challenged the manner in which the ship was apprehended and asked for the release of all of [...]

Provincial police in eastern Afghanistan reported that at least five civilians were killed Friday night in a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) airstrike near Jalalabad. NATO spokesman Lt. Col. William Griffin confirmed that Afghan and Coalition forces carried out a precision strike in Behsud district of Nangarhar province, but stated that it was a response [...]

A UN independent rights expert on Thursday expressed “deep concern” about the Sudanese government’s detention of citizens and heavy media censorship. According to reports, at least 800 activists were arrested during a demonstration concerning the fuel subsidy cuts, which almost doubled the price of gasoline in Sudan. The Independent Expert on the situation of human [...]

A judge for the US District Court for the District of Arizona on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit challenging an Arizona law punishing doctors for knowingly performing abortions based on the race or sex of the fetus. Plaintiffs contended that their constituents have not been seeking the abortions they desire based on this law, which they [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) called on Libya Friday to suspend the death sentences of Ahmed Ibrahim and Walid Dabnoon, who were convicted of crimes related to the country’s uprising in June 2011. HRW contends that Ibrahim, a former official in the government of deposed president Muammar Gaddafi, and Dabnoon, a volunteer for pro-Gaddafi fighting forces [...]

An Italian Senate panel on Friday voted in favor of expelling former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi from his seat in parliament. Berlusconi, who was was convicted of tax fraud in 2012, chose not to appear to defend himself before the panel. The vote, which serves only as a recommendation to the Senate at large, was [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reversed a lower court ruling on Thursday, upholding five provisions of the modified Texas Election Code Section 13 covering volunteer deputy registrars (VDR’s). Voting for America and Project Vote were two of the four appellees that originally filed the lawsuit against Texas Secretary of State John [...]

California Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill Thursday allowing immigrants who are in the country illegally to obtain driver’s licenses in California. The physical licenses will carry a distinction stating the license may be used for driving but not as federal identification. Brown predicted California’s endorsement of driver’s licenses for undocumented immigrants will encourage other [...]

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on Thursday ordered Russia to compensate former chess master turned political activist, Garry Kasparov , for his unjustified arrest following a planned anti-government demonstration in Moscow in April 2007. According to an ECHR press release , the court found that the detention of Kasparov and eight fellow demonstrators [...]

A judge for the US District Court for the Southern District of New York on Thursday struck down a state law that criminalizes retailers for imposing surcharges on customers who pay by credit card. Under Section 518 , a retailer may give a “discount” to customers paying with cash but cannot tell customers that a [...]