Memorandum for the heads of executive departments and agencies, Subject: Federal Benefits and Non-Discrimination, The White House, June 17, 2009 . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here. Federal Benefits and Non-Discrimination

The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) on Wednesday began the retrial of former Rwandan army officer Tharcisse Muvunyi . In August, the ICTR quashed Muvunyi's 25-year prison sentence, ruling that there was insufficient evidence for his conviction on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity. He now faces a retrial on a charge of [...]

US President Barack Obama proposed a broad series of financial regulatory reforms Wednesday intended to reestablish stability and confidence in the US financial system. The plan calls for the expansion of Federal Reserve regulatory powers to cover both bank and non-bank financial institutions, for the Reserve to oversee payment, clearance, and settlement systems of financial [...]

A US House of Representatives subcommittee questioned why a group of Chinese Muslims known as Uighurs is classified as a terrorist organization during a hearing Tuesday. The House Committee on Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights and Oversight heard testimony on why the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) militant group, which has been [...]

A federal judge said Tuesday that former Guantanamo Bay detainee Ahmed Ghailani can be represented by his military lawyers in civilian court, pending the approval of superior officers. US District Judge Lewis Kaplan, who said he expected the representation to be approved, asked the US Department of Defense to make their decision within a week [...]

Chinese authorities reaffirmed Tuesday that computer users will not be required to use controversial filtering software, according to media reports. An official from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) echoed earlier statements made by state media that, while the "Green Dam" filtering software must be packaged with new computers, users will not be [...]

The US State Department (DOS) on Tuesday added Chad, Eritrea, Malaysia, Niger, Swaziland, and Zimbabwe to its list of countries with the worst human trafficking records in the Trafficking in Persons Report 2009 . The countries join Burma, Cuba, Fiji, Iran, Kuwait, Mauritania, Niger, North Korea, Papau New Guinea, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and Syria as [...]

US Attorney General Eric Holder on Tuesday called for stricter federal hate crime laws , maintaining that the US Department of Justice (DOJ) is committed to working with Congress to pass such legislation. Addressing the Washington Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs , Holder cited recent crimes that took the lives of a [...]

US anti-terrorism laws are hindering Muslim charities and violating the constitutional rights of practicing Muslims, according to a report released Tuesday by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) . Entitled "Blocking Faith, Freezing Charity," the report alleges that current US laws and policies affect Muslims' right to practice their religion through charitable giving, violating constitutional [...]

Iraqi Interior Minister Jawad al-Bolani said Tuesday that more than 40 police officers face charges following an investigation that revealed abuses in the country's prisons and criminal justice system. Among the alleged abuses, police are believed to have arrested individuals without warrants . Additional allegations, including torture and bribery, were leveled by Ali al-Miyali, an [...]