| Court says EU states can withhold humanitarian visas. What's next for migrants? Posted: 08 Mar 2017 02:47 PM PST ![Court says EU states can withhold humanitarian visas. What's next for migrants?]( "Court says EU states can withhold humanitarian visas. What's next for migrants?") In the face of rising populism and anti-migrant sentiment across Europe, a ruling by the European Court of Justice that European states are not obliged to issue humanitarian visas has left conservatives cheering – and migrant rights groups disheartened. On Tuesday, the ECJ ruled that European Union law does not require member states to grant short-term humanitarian visas to people they expect to apply for asylum once they arrive in the EU. All that EU law covers, the Court wrote in its decision, is short-term transit stays of 90 days or less.
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| Trump’s ‘travel ban’ – the question of intent Posted: 08 Mar 2017 02:07 PM PST ![Trump's 'travel ban' – the question of intent]( "Trump's 'travel ban' – the question of intent") In a ruling this week, the Supreme Court decided that a jury's deliberations should not be kept secret, nor should its verdict be considered final, if even one juror shows any intent of bigotry toward a defendant. "It must become the heritage of our Nation to rise above racial classifications that are so inconsistent with our commitment to the equal dignity of all persons," wrote Justice Anthony Kennedy for the majority. The ruling could provide a foretaste of what the federal courts might decide about President Trump's second attempt at a temporary ban on new visas for nationals from Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Yemen, and Sudan.
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| Why Hawaii leads the latest legal challenge to Trump's travel ban Posted: 08 Mar 2017 12:58 PM PST ![Why Hawaii leads the latest legal challenge to Trump's travel ban]( "Why Hawaii leads the latest legal challenge to Trump's travel ban") Just a day after its unveiling, President Trump's revised immigration order is facing a legal challenge from the state of Hawaii, with more organizations and officials considering similar action. In a 40-page filing, the state's attorneys ask the federal district court in Hawaii to issue a temporary restraining order blocking the new executive order on immigration, which Mr. Trump signed Monday. Now, Hawaii, along with local imam Ismail Elshikh, has revamped the challenge and brought it against the second order.
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| Trump budget borrows from Coast Guard, TSA, to pay for wall Posted: 08 Mar 2017 12:57 PM PST ![Trump budget borrows from Coast Guard, TSA, to pay for wall]( "Trump budget borrows from Coast Guard, TSA, to pay for wall") Draft documents of the White House budget request indicate that President Trump intends to follow through on his campaign vows to build a wall on the border of the United States and Mexico. Overall, the Department of Homeland Security would get a 6 percent boost to its budget, to $43.8 billion, according to documents obtained by reporters.
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| Israel takes action against boycotters. Is that counterproductive? Posted: 08 Mar 2017 12:02 PM PST ![Israel takes action against boycotters. Is that counterproductive?]( "Israel takes action against boycotters. Is that counterproductive?") A law passed by parliament this week to bolster Israel's defenses against what it sees as a significant external threat – the boycott, divestment, and sanctions movement – is being criticized here as violating free speech and damaging democracy. Recommended: How much do you know about Israel? Sponsors of the bill say it is primarily designed to keep out foreign activists from the BDS movement, which has gained traction in the United States and Europe in recent years.
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| Is the man in the video really the son of slain Kim Jong-nam? Posted: 08 Mar 2017 11:55 AM PST ![Is the man in the video really the son of slain Kim Jong-nam?]( "Is the man in the video really the son of slain Kim Jong-nam?") A man claiming to be the son of Kim Jong-nam, the recently slain half brother of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, has surfaced in a 39-second video posted on YouTube Thursday. There is some confusion over whether the man, who identifies himself as Kim Han-sol, is who he says he is, though he does bear a strong resemblance to the Kim Han-sol interviewed in 2012 by former Finnish defense minister Elisabeth Rehn. In the video, posted by a channel belonging to Cheollima Civil Defense, a previously unknown organization, Mr. Kim speaks in English and offers a North Korean official's passport as proof of his identity, though the personal identification information is blacked out.
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| How a Syrian refugee lost his case against Facebook and fake news Posted: 08 Mar 2017 11:30 AM PST ![How a Syrian refugee lost his case against Facebook and fake news]( "How a Syrian refugee lost his case against Facebook and fake news") In 2015, Mr. Modamani was one of several asylum-seekers to take a selfie with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Later, his selfie began to appear in two types of common anti-migrant Facebook posts, one of which incorrectly identified him as one of several migrants who had attempted to set a homeless man on fire in December. Recommended: How well do you understand the conflict in Syria?
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| Small town mayor offers different window on Texas transgender debate Posted: 08 Mar 2017 11:02 AM PST ![Small town mayor offers different window on Texas transgender debate]( "Small town mayor offers different window on Texas transgender debate") Small town mayor Jess Herbst wasn't sure whether to expect pitchforks and torches when the next council meeting rolled around. The packed meeting – 15 to 20 people – was the first since news of her transition from Jeff to Jess Herbst, pitching a reluctant New Hope, Texas, front and center in the zeitgeist surrounding the transgender rights movement. A little over a month ago, Ms. Herbst shocked the town of about 700 when she revealed in a note to the town that she was transitioning from male to female.
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| Not just another Women's Day: feminist one-day strike brings 'edge' to movement Posted: 08 Mar 2017 10:44 AM PST ![Not just another Women's Day: feminist one-day strike brings 'edge' to movement]( "Not just another Women's Day: feminist one-day strike brings 'edge' to movement") International Women's Day on March 8 has sometimes been the occasion for department stores to offer promotional deals on perfume or lingerie. Fueling the movement is "a sense of alarm around the world" about impending attacks on women's rights by conservative populist leaders, says Nisha Varia, a women's rights advocate with Human Rights Watch in New York.
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| Who are the 13 women depicted in the International Women’s Day Google Doodle? Posted: 08 Mar 2017 09:43 AM PST ![Who are the 13 women depicted in the International Women's Day Google Doodle?]( "Who are the 13 women depicted in the International Women's Day Google Doodle?") International Women's Day first began in the early 1900s, when 15,000 women in New York City marched in a garment workers' strike to demand better pay, shorter working days, the right to vote, and an end to child labor.
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| How Homeland Security plans to end the scourge of DDoS attacks Posted: 08 Mar 2017 08:48 AM PST ![How Homeland Security plans to end the scourge of DDoS attacks]( "How Homeland Security plans to end the scourge of DDoS attacks") In late October, in Surprise, Ariz., more than 100 phone calls bombarded the police department's emergency dispatch line. Calls also overwhelmed the nearby city of Peoria's 911 system and departments across California and Texas.
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| Why the US has slipped in a global ranking to No. 7 Posted: 08 Mar 2017 08:33 AM PST ![Why the US has slipped in a global ranking to No. 7]( "Why the US has slipped in a global ranking to No. 7") The United States is only the seventh best country in the world, according to a joint rankings and analysis project from US News & World Report, Y&R's BAV Consulting, and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. For many survey respondents, it boiled down to the November US presidential election. More than 70 percent of survey respondents said they had lost respect for US leadership as a result of the cutthroat electoral process.
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| Having denounced N. Korea, China offers tougher words for US antimissile deployment Posted: 08 Mar 2017 07:17 AM PST ![Having denounced N. Korea, China offers tougher words for US antimissile deployment]( "Having denounced N. Korea, China offers tougher words for US antimissile deployment") Less than 48 hours after North Korea launched four ballistic missiles into the sea off Japan's northwest coast on Monday, the United States began the long-planned deployment of a missile defense system in South Korea. Beijing denounced the North's latest test launch by issuing its usual condemnations about reckless provocations. Beijing is particularly eager to de-escalate tensions on the Korean peninsula that it sees gaining a worrisome momentum.
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| Where 'A Day Without a Woman' marches will be held in the US today Posted: 08 Mar 2017 07:06 AM PST ![Where 'A Day Without a Woman' marches will be held in the US today]( "Where 'A Day Without a Woman' marches will be held in the US today") This Wednesday, the United States may find out. Coming off the heels of the Jan. 21 Women's Marches, which by some estimates drew more than 3 million participants across the US, organizers are urging women to strike in protest against misogyny, inequality, and oppression. The strike, which marks the first major action by organizers of the Women's March, was inspired in part by recent "Day Without an Immigrant" protests, which took place last month.
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| Another day of flowers and speeches, but where is Russia's women's movement? Posted: 08 Mar 2017 04:00 AM PST ![Another day of flowers and speeches, but where is Russia's women's movement?]( "Another day of flowers and speeches, but where is Russia's women's movement?") A day off work is seldom controversial in Russia. "Who needs this holiday?" says Alyona Doletskaya, former editor of the Russian edition of Vogue. Recommended: Sochi, Soviets, and czars: How much do you know about Russia?
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| Why North Korea wants a nuclear weapon Posted: 07 Mar 2017 03:37 PM PST ![Why North Korea wants a nuclear weapon]( "Why North Korea wants a nuclear weapon") North Korea's successful launch of four ballistic missiles into the waters off northwest Japan on Monday was just a dry run of a nuclear attack against US military bases in Japan, state media in Pyongyang said on Tuesday. It's doubtful that North Korea could carry out that threat. Recommended: Kim 101: How well do you know North Korea's leaders?
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| Did WikiLeaks just unmask CIA cyberoperations? Posted: 07 Mar 2017 03:30 PM PST ![Did WikiLeaks just unmask CIA cyberoperations?]( "Did WikiLeaks just unmask CIA cyberoperations?") Nearly four years after Edward Snowden leaked top-secret details exposing National Security Agency surveillance programs, the US intelligence community is facing another crisis that could change the face of modern espionage.
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| China’s source of creative growth Posted: 07 Mar 2017 03:01 PM PST ![China's source of creative growth]( "China's source of creative growth") China's premier, Li Keqiang, offered a simple solution this week for his country's biggest problem, which is that the world's second-largest economy is growing at its lowest rate in a quarter century. "Having reached the current stage of development, China can now advance only through reform and innovation," he told the National People's Congress on Sunday. An official plan called "Made in China 2025" sets out an industrial strategy that appears to call for attaining even more technology from advanced economies.
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| Neglected under ISIS, schools in eastern Mosul overflow with students once again Posted: 07 Mar 2017 09:21 AM PST ![Neglected under ISIS, schools in eastern Mosul overflow with students once again]( "Neglected under ISIS, schools in eastern Mosul overflow with students once again") The melodic chanting of schoolchildren is punctuated by mortar fire shot from a nearby military base, as the battle to liberate western Mosul rages just across the Tigris River. Recommended: How much do you know about the Islamic State? Students – also often locked as safely as possible behind closed doors – slowly gave in to despair as opportunities disappeared.
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| British security services say they thwarted 13 terror attacks in four years Posted: 07 Mar 2017 08:23 AM PST ![British security services say they thwarted 13 terror attacks in four years]( "British security services say they thwarted 13 terror attacks in four years") Speaking in Manchester on Monday, Mark Rowley, assistant commissioner for London's Metropolitan Police, announced a new initiative to boost public contributions to police investigations. Action Counters Terrorism plans to use podcasts and advertising to encourage the public to report their suspicions to the police. Mr. Rowley said 13 attacks had been thwarted in less than four years, mostly thanks to information from the public.
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| Amid rising tensions, Iran tests Russian-built missile system Posted: 07 Mar 2017 08:01 AM PST ![Amid rising tensions, Iran tests Russian-built missile system]( "Amid rising tensions, Iran tests Russian-built missile system") Iran says it has successfully tested a Russian-made long-range missile, stoking anxieties as tensions between the nation and the United States continue to climb. A report Saturday from the official IRNA news agency claimed that Iran officials had successfully launched an S-300 System missile from in the nation's central desert during military tests. Recommended: How much do you know about Iran?
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| French conservatives in tailspin as François Fillon's candidacy sinks Posted: 07 Mar 2017 07:15 AM PST ![French conservatives in tailspin as François Fillon's candidacy sinks]( "French conservatives in tailspin as François Fillon's candidacy sinks") The French Republicans' house of cards is tumbling down. Conservative François Fillon, who once seemed a sure bet to take the presidency in this spring's election, is seeing his candidacy collapse under nepotistic boondoggles charges. Mr. Fillon led the polls until January, when accusations he arranged publicly funded jobs for his wife and two of his children surfaced.
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| Love your Bible as you do your cellphone, Pope Francis tells pilgrims Posted: 07 Mar 2017 06:57 AM PST ![Love your Bible as you do your cellphone, Pope Francis tells pilgrims]( "Love your Bible as you do your cellphone, Pope Francis tells pilgrims") On Sunday, Pope Francis asked a crowd of pilgrims assembled in St. Peter's Square to consider precisely that question. How Christians treat their possessions speaks volumes to what they care about, Francis suggested. Recommended: How much do you know about Pope Francis?
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