Many jurisdictions are currently debating legislation that would ban the burqa. Last month, the Spanish Senate [official website, in Spanish] approved a motion [JURIST report] calling on the government to ban the use of full face veils in public places. In May, the Quebec legislature began hearings [CBC report] on a bill that would ban full face veils for public servants, while Australian lawmakers voted to end further discussion [JURIST report] on a bill that would have banned wearing the burqa. Also in May, European Parliament [official website] Vice President Silvana Koch-Mehrin [official website, in German] expressed her support for a continent-wide burqa ban [JURIST report]. In April, the Belgian House of Representatives voted 136-0 to approve [JURIST report] a bill that would ban the burqa and other full face veils in public.

We are implementing ... a permission and examination and approval system to handle online information services involving ideological security and public interests. We are also establishing a robust series of management procedures ... to handle harmful information and prevent the infiltration of harmful information from overseas ... On major news websites and key commercial websites, we are implementing a system to require real-name identification of forum moderators and a function that successfully removes "anonymous comments" on news stories. We are also exploring an identity authentication system for users of online bulletin boards.

HRIC's revelation comes on the heels of a June announcement that Google will continue to operate its google.cn Internet search engine in mainland China, ending a four-month period during which the site simply redirected to the uncensored google.hk [search websites; JURIST report] after the company threatened in January to pull out of China entirely [JURIST report]. Earlier last month, the Chinese government defended [JURIST report] its Internet censorship laws in a report [materials] on Internet usage in the country. In February, the government announced new regulations [JURIST report] further restricting Internet use by requiring Chinese citizens to submit identity cards and meet with regulars before registering a website, prompting many to register sites overseas to avoid regulation.

Al-Megrahi was convicted in 2001 of the Pan Am bombing and sentenced to 27 years in prison, which he subsequently appealed. In November 2008, the Scottish High Court of Judiciary [official website] denied al-Megrahi's request to be released [JURIST report] on bail during the appeals process. In March 2008, lawyers for al-Megrahi were denied access to a "missing document," that they had sought in appealing his conviction [JURIST reports]. The Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission (SCCRC) [official website] granted an appeal [JURIST report] in al-Megrahi's case in June 2007 and referred it the High Court after the commission identified six grounds for a possible "miscarriage of justice" [press release, PDF] in his trial and conviction. In 2003, Libya made its final compensation payment [JURIST report] to a US fund for victims' families in November 2008 after agreeing to accept responsibility for the 1988 airline bombing over Lockerbie, Scotland that killed all 259 on board [memorial website] including 180 Americans.

The nominee lacks the experience and intellectual rigor that you develop from [the] full-time practice of law and serving as a judge. She's had neither of those experiences and I think it showed in her testimony. ... [H]er testimony lacked the clarity and strict intellectual honesty that I think we should look for in a nomination to the Supreme Court.

Kagan's confirmation hearings concluded two weeks ago [JURIST report]. During the hearings, Kagan addressed the effect of political bias on the court and stressed the importance of not bringing politics to the bench. "Every judge has to do what he or she thinks the law requires. But on the other hand, there's no question that the court is served best and our country is served best when people trust the court as an entirely non-political body." Kagan later discussed the balancing test she deems necessary in resolving First Amendment [Cornell LII backgrounder] lawsuits. Kagan's confirmation hearings began late last month [JURIST report] with Democratic and Republican senators offering contrasting interpretations of Kagan's judicial philosophy and lack of experience on the bench. Obama nominated Kagan [JURIST report] in May to replace Justice John Paul Stevens, who announced his retirement [JURIST report] in April. Kagan became the first woman confirmed as Solicitor General [JURIST report] in 2009.

1. The submission of evidence by operators demonstrating that they have the ability to respond effectively to a potential oil spill in the Gulf, given the unprecedented commitment of available oil spill response resources that are now being dedicated to the BP oil spill;

2. The assessment of wild well intervention and blowout containment resources to determine the strategies and methods by which they can be made more readily available should another blowout occur; and

3. The collection and analysis of key evidence regarding the potential causes of the April 20, 2010 explosion and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon offshore drilling rig, including information collected by the Presidential Commission and other investigations.

Last week, the Obama administration filed a brief asking the court to reinstate the original offshore drilling ban [JURIST report] after a district judge issued a preliminary injunction against the moratorium [opinion, PDF; JURIST report], saying it was necessary because the ban caused irreparable harm to both the plaintiffs - small oil companies affected by the ban - and the public. The US Department of Justice [official website] contended that the district judge abused his discretion [JURIST report] in issuing the injunction and that another deepwater spill could overwhelm the ongoing efforts to clean up the spill with catastrophic results. More than 120 million gallons of oil have leaked already from the rig's broken pipe and has now surpassed the Exxon Valdez oil spill [JURIST news archive] as the worst in US history.

Tuesday's arrests come amid controversy surrounding last month's advancement [JURIST report] through the Italian senate of a hotly contested bill that would impose new constraints on wiretapping operations. The bill [materials, in Italian] would criminalize the reporting of wiretap investigations by the media and would require a panel of judges to approve new wiretaps, something opponents of the bill claim would impair government efforts to combat organized crime. Last month, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) [official website] released a report detailing the globalization of organized crime [text, PDF; JURIST report] and its threat to international security. At a conference in May, Antonia Maria Costa, Executive Director of the UNODC called for international efforts to fight organized crime, warning [JURIST report] about the inadequacy of current checks and saying that criminal organizations are gaining economic strength [press release].

In March, US President Barack Obama [official website], during a surprise visit to the country, urged the Afghan government to reduce corruption [JURIST report] and institute an effective judicial system. Obama called on Afghan President Hamid Karzai [official website; JURIST news archive] to take steps to promote good governance [CBS/AP report], end cronyism, and curtail the opium trade [GlobalSecurity backgrounder]. Last November, Karzai pledged to fight corruption [JURIST report] in his government during his inaugural address [text, PDF]. In his speech Karzai announced that he would organize a conference to research the sources of the corruption and bribery and find ways to combat it.

The Afghan government and its international supporters have ignored the need to protect women in programs to reintegrate insurgent fighters and have not guaranteed that women's rights will be included in potential talks with the Taliban[.] ... Afghan women shouldn't have to give up their rights so the government can cut a deal with the Taliban[.] ... It would be a tragic betrayal to snatch away the progress made by and for women and girls over the past nine years.

Women's rights in Afghanistan faced significant opposition under the Taliban, which ruled the country from 1996-2001. This rights situation has been ameliorated since the US-led invasion, but continues to face opposition from Afghan government officials and militants. In August 2009, HRW criticized the Shia Personal Status Law as violating the Afghan Constitution and severely undermining women's rights, despite an announcement the previous month [JURIST reports] that provisions requiring a wife to submit to sex with her husband and to obtain his permission before leaving the home were removed. In April 2009, 300 Afghan women protested the law [JURIST report] and were confronted by 1,000 counter-protesters, some of whom threw stones and gravel at the women. Earlier that month, the Taliban claimed responsibility for killing Sitara Achakzai [JURIST report], an Afghan politician and women's rights advocate, outside her home. In 2006, Safia Hana Jan, another women's rights advocate and director of the Afghan Ministry of Women's Affairs in Kandahar [GlobalSecurity backgrounder], was killed by armed gunmen [JURIST report] after she publicly criticized the Taliban.

This case raises important issues concerning the Crown prerogative over foreign affairs. As the Supreme Court of Canada ruled in an earlier case involving Mr. Khadr, 'it would not be appropriate for the Court to give direction as to the diplomatic steps necessary to address the breaches of Mr. Khadr's Charter rights.' Omar Khadr faces very serious charges, including murder, attempted murder, conspiracy, material support for terrorism, and spying.

Khadr has been held at Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive] since his 2002 capture by US forces in Afghanistan when he was 15 years old. He is facing murder and terrorism charges [JURIST report] for allegedly throwing a grenade that killed one US soldier and injured another, although he has repeatedly denied the accusations. Khadr sought judicial review from the Federal Court following the Supreme Court's decision in January that Canadian government could continue to refuse to request his repatriation [JURIST reports] from Guantanamo, even though the judges unanimously agreed that the government had breached Khadr's Charter rights. According to the ruling, Canadian officials questioned Khadr even though they knew he was being indefinitely detained and with knowledge that he was subjected to three weeks sleep deprivation by US authorities. In May, a UN official called on the US and Canada to respect international conventions [JURIST report] and release Khadr into Canadian custody. The UN claimed that since Khadr was 15 when he was captured, his detention would fall in line with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child [text], which has been ratified by Canada, but not the US.

Half of the world's poorest people live in states that are at risk of, or experiencing, violent conflict. Conventional arms, especially small arms, light weapons and associated ammunition, are used for the majority of grave human rights violations. Now is the time for an Arms Trade Treaty that really protects people, not just states.

In May, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon [official website] urged Central African nations to adopt a legally binding instrument [JURIST report] to combat illicit arms trafficking. In March, UN officials warned that arms trafficking was interfering with development [UN News Centre report] in Central Africa's security and justice by increasing cross-border crime. Also in March, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) [official website] reported [text] that Africa suffers the most casualties as a result of the global illicit arms trade market. In April, US President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev [official profiles] signed the New START treaty [JURIST report], pledging to reduce their countries' nuclear warheads by about 30 percent. The treaty agreement was reached [JURIST report] in February, and is the first nuclear arms control agreement between the two nations in nearly 20 years.