Politics

In response to a lawsuit filed by Washington State attorney Bob Ferguson in Seattle, U.S. federal judge James Robart on Saturday ordered the suspension of a January 27 executive order issued by U.S. President Donald J. Trump suspending entry to the U.S. by refugees and individuals from seven Muslim-majority countries. The Department of Homeland Security complied with the judge's ruling but the Department of Justice also requested an emergency stay so that enforcement of the executive order could resume. That stay was rejected early yesterday mo

At 9:00 p.m. U.S. east coast time yesterday (0200 today UTC), a U.S. federal judge in Brooklyn issued an emergency ruling halting deportation of individuals from the U.S. under the ban on individuals from seven majority-Muslim countries entering the United States that president Donald Trump had initiated by executive order on Friday. Another judge in Virginia issued a similar ruling shortly afterward. The American Civil Liberties Union filed suit on behalf of two Iraqis who had been detained at John F. Kennedy airport in New York. Judge Ann D

On Wednesday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel's cabinet announced Germany is to drop the 'lese majeste' law which protects foreign leaders from insult. This law is to come under effect in January 2018. German justice minister Heiko Maas called this law redundant and said, "the idea of lese majesty arose in an era long gone by. It no longer belongs in our criminal law". A year ago, German satirist Jan Böhmermann presented a poem on the Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. In the poem he said Erdoğan "kicks the Kurds, smacks the Christians,

On Wednesday night more than 1,000 protesters, most of them part of the LGBT community, staged a dance protest they called the "Queer Rager" outside the Leows Hotel in Philadelphia's Center City, where the U.S. Republican Party has arranged a retreat. Gay rights and health care featured amongst the issues raised. Protesters expressed concerns about traditional gay issues, but Republican U.S. President Donald Trump's impending repeal of the Affordable Care Act, law enforcement, climate change and other issues were also visible. Signs included "

At 12:00 p.m. local time (1700 UTC) on Friday, Donald Trump took the oath of office and was sworn in as the 45th president of the United States in the nation's capital, Washington, D.C. Both the Obamas, Bill and Hillary Clinton, and other previous presidents were present. Donald Trump and his wife Melania Trump were welcomed in the morning by outgoing president Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama. At 12:00 local time (17:00 GMT), Chief Justice John G. Roberts swore in Donald Trump as the new President of the United States. Donald Trump

Yesterday, the German Bundestag passed a law to legalise cannabis drug for medicinal purposes. The law is to come under effect in March. , German health minister Hermann Gröhe tweeted. Doctors can prescribe marijuana — cannabis — for patients suffering from multiple sclerosis, chronic pain, or loss of appetite or nausea from cancer's chemotherapy treatment. Christian Democrats (CDU) lawmaker Rainer Hayek said this law would still prevent recreational use of cannabis. The cost of cannabis is to be covered under health insurance. Patients can

On Monday, controversial Russian political artist Pyotr Pavlensky, currently in Paris, informed media that he and his family are to seek political asylum in France. Pavlensky said he and his partner Oksana Shalygina were falsely accused under Section 132 of the Criminal law for rape. The 32-year-old artist has been charged on several occasions. In the November 2015, Pavlensky set Russia's Federal Security Service's headquarters' door on fire in Moscow. Pavlensky called this an artwork named "Threat" and was sentenced to a prison term for vand

Yesterday afternoon United States President Barack Obama surprised his two-term vice president Joe Biden in the White House State Dining Room with the country's highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom with distinction. In a ceremony described by the press as highly emotional, Obama cited his choice of Biden as a running mate as one of the best of his career and described their few arguments as the sort that brothers would have and Biden himself as "a lion of American history." This made only the fourth time in U.S. history t

On Friday, the U.S. Congress completed the official counting of the electoral college votes, confirming Donald Trump's pending U.S. presidency under their own authority. In most years, this is a formality, but amid concerns about Trump's losing the popular vote by a considerable margin, Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, and allegations that some of the presidential electors who supported Trump may have been ineligible to serve, more eyes than usual have followed the confirmation process. The final count was 304 votes for T

A gunman shot Burundi environment minister Emmanuel Niyonkuru dead early on Sunday, local time (UTC+2). Police said they detained a woman accompanying Niyonkuru. The 54-year-old minister was returning home for the night in Bujumbura. Burundi has seen turbulence since President Pierre Nkurunziza sought a third term in early 2015, winning it in a disputed election. Protesters claim Nkurunziza violated a peace deal and the constitution. Since then around 450 have died. Nkurunziza tweeted his thoughts were with "the family and all Burundians". Al

On Thursday, the U.S. government expelled 35 diplomats suspected of being Russian spies, and sanctioned the G.R.U. and F.S.B. intelligence agencies. Also sanctioned are several G.S.U. officials and three companies that work with it. This is one of many actions the Obama administration has taken in response to a CIA report issued two weeks ago that concluded the Russian government hacked servers belonging to the U.S. Republican and Democratic parties. The CIA report said this was to turn the 2016 presidential election toward president-elect Don

Military health authorities on Wednesday announced the death of Gregorio Alvarez, military ruler of Uruguay from 1981–85. He was 91 years old. Alvarez was serving a 25-year term imposed in 2009 for 37 homicides, and other human rights violations. He was initially detained in 2007 suspected of kidnapping dissidents living in exile in Argentina. Hundreds vanished during his term. In 1972 his brother died at the hands of militants. The following year he participated in a coup, leading an assault on the national legislature. Then-President Juan M