The European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled in two judgments Thursday that under EU law a pregnant worker temporarily transferred or granted leave on account of her pregnancy is entitled to pay equivalent to the average earnings she received before her pregnancy. The ECJ also called for improvements at the workplace for the safety and [...]

US President Barack Obama signed legislation Friday imposing a new round of sanctions on Iran for failure to disband the nation’s uranium enrichment program. Under the new legislation, sanctions will be imposed against parties investing in Iran’s petroleum development and aiding in exporting the petroleum. Financial institutions that facilitate certain activities in Iran, including the [...]

The Chicago City Council on Friday unanimously approved an ordinance placing new regulations on handgun ownership within the city. Under the new ordinance , citizens possessing handguns must keep them inside their homes. The gun owners are not permitted to take their guns into the yard, garage or porch of the home. Additional requirements were [...]

A federal judge on Thursday ruled that former Guantanamo Bay detainee Ahmed Ghailani is not suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and is therefore fit to stand trial. The issue of Ghailani’s psychological state arose after he requested to be exempt from prison strip searches because it triggers his PTSD, which he allegedly acquired while [...]

An Argentine court on Friday commenced the trial of former Argentine dictator Jorge Rafael Videla , who is facing several human rights violations for his role in the nation’s “Dirty War” . Videla was tried and convicted in 1985 along with eight other junta leaders on abduction, torture and murder charges, but was pardoned in [...]

A South African court on Friday convicted former INTERPOL president and South African police chief Jackie Selebi on corruption charges but found him not guilty on charges of obstruction of justice. Selebi was charged with receiving $170,000 in bribes from convicted drug smuggler Glenn Agliotti , who was suspected of killing South African mining magnate [...]

Amnesty International (AI) on Friday urged the Chinese government to launch an independent investigation into the July 2009 Xinjiang riots , after receiving new testimony contradicting the current official version of events. AI claims that police officials committed several human rights violations during the riots, including arbitrary arrests, shootings to disperse peaceful protesters and the [...]

Kyrgyzstan’s new constitution came into effect on Thursday after election authorities released the final results of Sunday’s referendum on the charter . The new constitution will allow the interim government to establish a legitimate government through parliamentary elections in the fall. Final results from the referendum showed that the new constitution was adopted by 90.55 [...]

The Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) on Thursday filed eight Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests seeking information relating to the US government’s knowledge of the May Israeli raid on several Turkish ships bound for the blockaded Gaza Strip . Several governmental departments received the requests, including the Department of Defense (DOD), the Department of [...]

The US House of Representatives on Thursday approved a bill that would increase compensation for injured workers and victims’ families that have filed claims against BP as a result of the recent Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The bill marks the first piece of legislation passed by the House in response [...]