Law

Beheading of 5 foreigners in Saudi Arabia triggers outcry from human rights campaigners
Human rights groups have condemned Saudi Arabia after the beheading of five foreigners this week. Experts warn 2015 will mark a dramatic increase in public executions, as 80 people have already been killed, compared to 88 in the whole of 2014. [...]
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Kiev in violation of heavy weaponry clause in E. Ukraine – OSCE
The OSCE has warned that a growing presence of heavy weaponry on the government controlled side of Donbass territory has put Ukrainian security forces in violation of the terms of the demarcation line, according to OSCE Deputy Chief Monitor Alexander Hug. “We can highlight that the security situation has gotten worse in the Donbass over the past few weeks,” Hug said at a briefing in Mariupo [...]
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NSA’s XKEYSCORE spy program is “as easy as typing a few words in Google”
The National Security Agency's infamous XKEYSCORE program, revealed by leaker Edward Snowden, makes searching the world's private communications as easy to use as Google, according to training documents published by the Intercept. XKEYSCORE was one of the first programs that the Guardian wrote about when Snowden began leaking NSA documents in 2013. [...]
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Russian rocket engines key to US “assured access to space” – space command chief
The US can't quit buying Russian RD-180 rocket engines for heavy lifting until it produces an engine with similar capabilities, chief of the US Space Command said. This follows frantic calls by Republican Senator John McCain to terminate the contract. “Why in the world would anyone think we would want to continue dependency on Russian rocket engines, which traces up to the corrupt mafia that [...]
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Snowden still on the lam 2 years after blowing whistle on illegal NSA activities
A lot has changed in the two years since Edward Snowden decided to let the world know about the NSA's illegal activities, ranging from the mass collection of surveillance data, to tapping German Chancellor Angela Merkel's mobile phones. Despite having his world turned upside down, Snowden says he has no regrets about the life changing decision he made on June 5, 2013. [...]
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TTIP will legalize cancer-causing chemicals banned by EU, trade union warns
Britain could be flooded with harmful chemicals currently banned in the European Union if the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) deal is signed next week, a trade union has warned. The GMB said chemicals that can cause cancerous tumors, birth defects and development disorders will be allowed in the EU after the controversial trade agreement is signed. [...]
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US releases video of Russian jet’s encounter with US warship in Black Sea
The US 6th Fleet has made public a video which is described as showing the Russian jet interaction with the USS Ross warship in the Black Sea on May 30. The video was shot aboard the sea vessel. “[USS] Ross continued on her mission after observing the aircraft return to base. [...]
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Fate of Freedom Act surveillance reform in Senate’s hands
The United States Senate on Tuesday will decide which direction to go next with regard to the USA Freedom Act, the supposed surveillance reform bill that already has passed the House and been endorsed by the president. According to its backers, passage of the Freedom Act would ensure that critical counterterrorism tools remain at the disposal of federal investigators but also rein in the Nation [...]
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House panel wants to cut taxpayer expenses on wealthy ex-presidents
After it was revealed that Bill and Hillary Clinton have earned $30 million in the last 16 months, the House Oversight panel backed a measure that would limit taxpayer dollars on expenses incurred by ex-presidents earning more than $400,000 a year. The measure, passed by a voice vote, would set presidential pensions at $200,000 a year, with another $200,000 set aside for office space and other [...]
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Show us the deal: Senators Warren, Manchin demand Obama disclose TPP
Two Senate Democrats have sponsored a bill demanding the White House reveal the terms of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) to the public at least two months before Congress could give President Obama fast-track authority. Joe Manchin of West Virginia joined Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts in proposing the two-page Trade Transparency Act, reports The Hill. If adopted, the bill would require [...]
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Texas officially prohibits cities from banning fracking
A new Texas law signed by Republican Governor Greg Abbott prohibits cities and towns from imposing local ordinances to prevent fracking and other potentially environmentally harmful oil and natural gas activities. In debating the law, Texas lawmakers emphasized the state’s successful development of oil and gas for more than 100 years. [...]
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Poroshenko signs laws praising Ukraine nationalists as “freedom fighters”
Ukrainian nationalists accused of having links to Nazi Germany have been legalized, praised as freedom fighters and granted social benefits in legislation signed by president Poroshenko as part of so-called "de-communisation" package of laws. Such paramilitary groups as Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), as well as other underground groups that [...]
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Vatican officially recognizes Palestine, while Israel fumes
The Vatican has become the latest country to recognize the state of Palestine, after a new treaty was finalized on Wednesday. Unsurprisingly Israel has hit out at the move, saying that it damages prospects for peace in the region. The treaty, which was agreed, though has yet to be formally signed states the Vatican has switched its diplomatic allegiance from the Palestinian Liberation Organizat [...]
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Berkeley to vote on “right to know” law on cellphone radiation risks
The city council of Berkeley, California, will vote on a cellphone 'right to know' law on Tuesday, which would require phone retailers to include a notice informing customers of the recommended distance a phone should be kept away from the body. The proposed language includes the following warning: "If you carry or use your phone in a pants or shirt pocket or tucked into a bra when the phone is [...]
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NSA ‘asked’ Germany’s BND to spy on Siemens over alleged links with Russian intel
The NSA has reportedly sought the help of Germany's intelligence agency in spying on Munich-based Siemens over the company's suspected business with Russian intelligence, Bild am Sonntag newspaper revealed. Siemens has denied any connection with Russia. The revelation came from an unknown US intelligence source speaking to Germany’s Bild am Sonntag, and is the latest report in a spy scandal i [...]
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Snowden says Australia watching its citizens “all the time,” slams new metadata laws
NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden accused Australia of undertaking mass surveillance of its citizens and passing laws on the collection of metadata that he says do not protect society from acts of terrorism. Snowden, addressing the Progress 2015 conference in Melbourne via satellite link, criticized Australia's new metadata laws, which allow the government and intelligence agencies to keep a con [...]
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White House psychologist implicated in CIA torture now helping FBI
Before the dust has had a chance to settle on the report detailing the American Psychologists Association's complicity in the CIA torture program, the psychologist found to have violated the ethics code now appears to be helping the FBI do the same thing. In late April, a 60-page report entitled 'All the President’s Psychologists' pointed to Susan Brandon as the White House architect behind t [...]
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Record number of Americans living abroad renounce citizenship
A record number of Americans gave up their US citizenship in the first quarter of 2015, according to IRS data. This is blamed on the taxation of income earned outside the US, along with laws expanding offshore bank account and asset reporting. A total of 1,335 people renounced US citizenship during the first three months of the year, topping the previous record by 18 percent, according to data [...]
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‘No big deal’: Senior Iranian commander says Tehran ready for war with US
A top commander warned that Iran is ready for an all-out war with US, alleging that aggression against Tehran "will mobilize the Muslim world" against it. The remarks follow Secretary of State John Kerry's claims that military force was still an option. [...]
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Pentagon employees used govt credit cards for “gambling, escorts,” audit reveals
A new audit by the US Department of Defense has reportedly revealed that Pentagon employees have been using their government credit cards to gamble and pay for other adult activities, including escort services. The 'Government Travel Charge Transactions' audit, conducted by the Office of the Inspector General, found that civilian and military employees have been using their cards at casinos and [...]
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US-led airstrikes kill 52 Syrian civilians in a day, not 1 ISIS fighter – monitor
US-led airstrikes have killed 52 Syrian civilians in one day, a monitoring group reports. There was fighting in the vicinity, but the strike allegedly failed to kill even a single Islamist fighter. "Airstrikes by the coalition early on Friday on the village of Birmahle in Aleppo province killed 52 civilians," the head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP. [...]
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Supreme Court to rule on lethal injection drugs after Oklahoma botched executions
The US Supreme Court is hearing arguments on lethal injections for the first time in nearly a decade, following a botched execution in Oklahoma and amid a nationwide shortage of the drugs used in the procedure. On Wednesday, the state of Oklahoma and lawyers for three death row inmates there presented their arguments to the Supreme Court, where the nine justices appeared to be sharply split bet [...]
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