Displaced people in Somalia face the risk of physical abuse and rape, according to a Human Rights Watch (HRW) report released Wednesday. HRW noted that the threat of beatings and rape from internal security forces was significant and called for the practices to end. According to HRW, “Instead of finding a safe haven from fighting [...]

The US Supreme Court heard oral arguments Wednesday in United States v. Windsor , the second of two cases the court heard this week on same-sex marriage . In Wednesday’s argument, the court considered the validity of Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) , a federal law that recognizes only opposite-sex marriages [...]

Apple on Tuesday requested that the US District Court for the Northern District of California grant a new trial on damages in its ongoing patent infringement dispute against Samsung Electronics . Judge Lucy Koh earlier this month reduced the jury’s damages award by $450 million because she found that the jury calculated damages for 14 [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit on Tuesday upheld the constitutionality of a Florida city commission’s pre-meeting prayers, in turn rejecting an atheist group’s argument that such a public forum practice illegally promoted Christianity. Although the group, Atheists of Florida, Inc. (AOF) , argued that opening the meetings of the Lakeland City [...]

Son of ousted Kyrgyz president Kurmanbek Bakiyev, Maxim Bakiyev, was sentenced to 25 years on Wednesday by a Kyrgyz court. He was convicted of entering into several energy agreements that cost Kyrgyzstan hundreds of millions of dollars and found guilty of illegally privatizing public land surrounding a resort. Maxim Bakiyev is currently being held in [...]

UK authorities’ appeal to deport radical Islamist cleric Abu Qatada to Jordan was dismissed on Wednesday after the Court of Appeal accepted arguments that Qatada would face testimony officials obtained via torture. Qatada is wanted in Jordan on in absentia convictions of organizing and encouraging bomb attacks in 1999 and 2000. Qatada has successfully fought [...]

An Egyptian appeals court on Wednesday overturned the November 22 decree by Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi which dismissed Prosecutor-General Abdel-Meguid Mahmoud. Morsi had removed Mahmoud from office following the acquittal of some who had been charged with murdering protesters against the rule of then-president Hosni Mubarak during the uprising which brought Morsi to power. The [...]

Egyptian authorities on Tuesday extradited two former Libyan officials from the regime of Muammar Gaddafi , ex-Cairo ambassador Ali Maria, and another ex-official, Mohammed Ibrahim Gadhafi, back to their home country. Both were arrested on corruption charges a week ago with Gaddafi’s cousin Ahmed Qaddaf al-Dam, who was arrested at his home in central Cairo [...]

Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell signed into law Monday legislation requiring voters in the state present photo identification prior to voting. The governor signed two bills which established the new ID standards for elections. SB 1256 requires that voters present a photo ID that lists their address, such as a driver’s license, passport or workplace photo [...]

WE REALLY NEED YOUR HELP. Our spring fund drive ends on March 31 – that’s only four and half days away! Our goal for this drive is $15,000 but we’re only 17% of the way there. We can hit 25% of our goal if we raise another $1,200 or 50% if we raise $4,800. These [...]