To make work-from-home (WFH) a legal right, two lawmakers of the Netherlands have proposed a legislation. If this law gets passed, the country will become one of the first in the world to have such legislation. This rule will allow remote working flexibility for several industries. Steven van Weyenberg, member, pro-European D-66 Party and Senna Maatoug, lawmaker, Green Party will introduce this legislation in parliament, Weyenberg told Bloomberg on Wednesday. The two leaders will submit the proposal before the house goes for summer recess on July 3. &nbsp;

“We have the green light for this new law, thanks to the support we received from both employees and employers’ unions. We are very hopeful it will pass before the summer,” said Weyenberg. &nbsp;

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WFH&nbsp;has been the new normal in pandemic times. Some of us may like it and some of us won't. But it does have its own pros and cons.

With monkeypox outbreak being declared as a pandemic by the World Health Network (WHN), work-from-home may guarantee some safety for several people. WHN is an independent coalition of scientists formed to tackle the COVID-19 threat. &nbsp;&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)&nbsp;

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To make work-from-home (WFH) a legal right, two lawmakers of the Netherlands have proposed a legislation. If this law gets passed, the country will become one of the first in the world to have such legislation.

To make work-from-home (WFH) a legal right, two lawmakers of the Netherlands have proposed a legislation. If this law gets passed, the country will become one of the first in the world to have such legislation. This rule will allow remote working flexibility for several industries. Steven van Weyenberg, member, pro-European D-66 Party and Senna Maatoug, lawmaker, Green Party will introduce this legislation in parliament, Weyenberg told Bloomberg on Wednesday. The two leaders will submit the proposal before the house goes for summer recess on July 3. “We have the green light for this new law, thanks to the support we received from both employees and employers’ unions. We are very hopeful it will pass before the summer,” said Weyenberg. WATCH WION LIVE HERE WFH has been the new normal in pandemic times. Some of us may like it and some of us won't. But it does have its own pros and cons. With monkeypox outbreak being declared as a pandemic by the World Health Network (WHN), work-from-home may guarantee some safety for several people. WHN is an independent coalition of scientists formed to tackle the COVID-19 threat. (With inputs from agencies) You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here. ×

In a first, Netherlands to propose legislation for making work-from-home legal

A day after decriminalising marijuana growth for commercial purposes Thailand plans to give away 1 million free cannabis plants on Friday but discouraged people from getting high as that is still against the law.

Thailand legalised medicinal marijuana in 2018 for medical use but is now banking on developing it as a cash crop and building a lucrative local industry.&nbsp;

"Don't use it and sit smiling at home and not get any work done. Those things are not our policies," Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said at the launch in northeastern Buriram province, where the first 1,000 plants were being distributed.&nbsp;

"We have erased the stigma, it's being washed away like removing a tattoo. Don't let it come back," he said, adding that cannabis should be used to improve health.

<img alt="campaign to give away 1 million free cannabis plants" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="523a905b-64ac-42ae-bd28-c42a5a6ad568" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/2022-06-10T095800Z_1_LYNXMPEI590B4_RTROPTP_4_THAILAND-CANNABIS.JPG" />

On Thursday, cannabis was de-listed from the country's narcotics list, allowing people to grow the plant if they register on a government app.&nbsp;

Authorities are however discouraging its recreational use, while smoking in public could lead to prison and fines.&nbsp; 
The psychoactive compound in marijuana, tetrahydrocannabinol or THC, is limited to 0.2% in cannabis extracts and products that can be sold in Thailand, which includes oils and candy.

Growing cannabis at home requires registration with the government's smartphone application, PlookGanja or "grow ganja".&nbsp;Anutin said more than 300,000 people had registered with the app, which had millions of downloads from people wanting to learn more about cannabis.&nbsp;

According to Thailand's corrections department, 3,000 people have been freed from prison after being held for cannabis-related crimes since the law changed this week.

[with inputs from agencies] 
&nbsp;

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A day after decriminalising marijuana growth for commercial purposes Thailand plans to give away 1 million free cannabis plants on Friday but discouraged people from getting high as that is still against the law.

A day after decriminalising marijuana growth for commercial purposes Thailand plans to give away 1 million free cannabis plants on Friday but discouraged people from getting high as that is still against the law. Thailand legalised medicinal marijuana in 2018 for medical use but is now banking on developing it as a cash crop and building a lucrative local industry. "Don't use it and sit smiling at home and not get any work done. Those things are not our policies," Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said at the launch in northeastern Buriram province, where the first 1,000 plants were being distributed. "We have erased the stigma, it's being washed away like removing a tattoo. Don't let it come back," he said, adding that cannabis should be used to improve health. On Thursday, cannabis was de-listed from the country's narcotics list, allowing people to grow the plant if they register on a government app. Authorities are however discouraging its recreational use, while smoking in public could lead to prison and fines. The psychoactive compound in marijuana, tetrahydrocannabinol or THC, is limited to 0.2% in cannabis extracts and products that can be sold in Thailand, which includes oils and candy. Growing cannabis at home requires registration with the government's smartphone application, PlookGanja or "grow ganja". Anutin said more than 300,000 people had registered with the app, which had millions of downloads from people wanting to learn more about cannabis. According to Thailand's corrections department, 3,000 people have been freed from prison after being held for cannabis-related crimes since the law changed this week. [with inputs from agencies] WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

Thailand giving away one million marijuana plants to develop as cash crop

Thailand becomes the first Asian country on Thursday to legalise the growing of marijuana and its consumption in food and drinks, with the aim of boosting its agriculture and tourism sectors, but smoking pot is still against the law.

"After COVID, the economy going down the drain, we really do need this," said Chokwan Kitty Chopaka, who owns a store selling cannabis gum sweets.

Shoppers queued up at outlets selling cannabis-infused drinks, sweets and other items as advocates of the plant welcomed the reform in a country that has long had a reputation for strict anti-drug laws.

Thailand, which has a tradition of using cannabis to relieve pain and fatigue, legalised medicinal marijuana in 2018.

The government, banking on the plant as a cash crop, plans to give away a million plants to encourage farmers to take up its cultivation. But authorities aim to head off an explosion of recreational use by limiting the strength of the cannabis products that are legal.

The possession and sale of cannabis extracts containing more than 0.2% of its psychoactive ingredient, tetrahydrocannabinol, is not allowed, which will rule out smokers of the drug known as "pot", "weed" and a host of other names, from getting "high".

Cannabis growers have to register on a government app called PlookGanja or grow ganja, another nickname for the spikey-leafed plant. Nearly 100,000 people have signed up on the app, said health ministry official Paisan Dankhum.

Those who break the law can still face jail and fines.

[with inputs from agencies]

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Thailand becomes the first Asian country on Thursday to legalise the growing of marijuana and its consumption in food and drinks, with the aim of boosting its agriculture and tourism sectors, but smoking pot is still against the law.

Thailand becomes the first Asian country on Thursday to legalise the growing of marijuana and its consumption in food and drinks, with the aim of boosting its agriculture and tourism sectors, but smoking pot is still against the law. "After COVID, the economy going down the drain, we really do need this," said Chokwan Kitty Chopaka, who owns a store selling cannabis gum sweets. Shoppers queued up at outlets selling cannabis-infused drinks, sweets and other items as advocates of the plant welcomed the reform in a country that has long had a reputation for strict anti-drug laws. Thailand, which has a tradition of using cannabis to relieve pain and fatigue, legalised medicinal marijuana in 2018. The government, banking on the plant as a cash crop, plans to give away a million plants to encourage farmers to take up its cultivation. But authorities aim to head off an explosion of recreational use by limiting the strength of the cannabis products that are legal. The possession and sale of cannabis extracts containing more than 0.2% of its psychoactive ingredient, tetrahydrocannabinol, is not allowed, which will rule out smokers of the drug known as "pot", "weed" and a host of other names, from getting "high". Cannabis growers have to register on a government app called PlookGanja or grow ganja, another nickname for the spikey-leafed plant. Nearly 100,000 people have signed up on the app, said health ministry official Paisan Dankhum. Those who break the law can still face jail and fines. [with inputs from agencies] WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

Thailand becomes first Asian country to legalise consumption of marijuana

The Central African Republic has become the world's second country to embrace bitcoin as legal cash, confirming reports that had been circulating for a few days.

The National Assembly passed and President Faustin Archange Touadera signed a bill authored by the minister of digital economy, Gourna Zacko, and the minister of finance and budget, Calixte Nganongo, according to a statement from his office.

The law provided a legal and regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies, as well as making Bitcoin (BTC) legal tender alongside the CFA franc.

"There’s a common narrative that sub-Saharan African countries are often one step behind when it comes to adapting to new technology," Finance Minister Herve Ndoba said last week, as quoted in Bloomberg.&nbsp;

"This time, we can actually say that our country is one step ahead."

The Central African Republic has a population of 4.83 million people, with roughly 11% having an internet connection.&nbsp;

El Salvador was the first country to recognise Bitcoin as legal cash less than a year ago.

Citizens of the Central American country were allowed to use the digital currency to pay for any good or service using a cyber wallet app, alongside the US dollar, which has been the official currency for the past two decades.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) slammed the introduction.

It warned of "significant dangers connected with bitcoin's use in financial stability, financial integrity, and consumer protection," as well as the risks of issuing bitcoin-backed bonds.

WATCH WION LIVE HERE 
 
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(With inputs from agencies)

The Central African Republic has become the world's second country to embrace bitcoin as legal cash, confirming reports that had been circulating for a few days.

The Central African Republic has become the world's second country to embrace bitcoin as legal cash, confirming reports that had been circulating for a few days. The National Assembly passed and President Faustin Archange Touadera signed a bill authored by the minister of digital economy, Gourna Zacko, and the minister of finance and budget, Calixte Nganongo, according to a statement from his office. The law provided a legal and regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies, as well as making Bitcoin (BTC) legal tender alongside the CFA franc. "There’s a common narrative that sub-Saharan African countries are often one step behind when it comes to adapting to new technology," Finance Minister Herve Ndoba said last week, as quoted in Bloomberg. "This time, we can actually say that our country is one step ahead." The Central African Republic has a population of 4.83 million people, with roughly 11% having an internet connection. El Salvador was the first country to recognise Bitcoin as legal cash less than a year ago. Citizens of the Central American country were allowed to use the digital currency to pay for any good or service using a cyber wallet app, alongside the US dollar, which has been the official currency for the past two decades. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) slammed the introduction. It warned of "significant dangers connected with bitcoin's use in financial stability, financial integrity, and consumer protection," as well as the risks of issuing bitcoin-backed bonds. WATCH WION LIVE HERE (With inputs from agencies)

Central African Republic adopts bitcoin as legal currency

The image stopped him cold. Josh Koskoff, a Connecticut lawyer, was scanning crime scene photos of the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting when he noticed “taped mags” on a classroom floor, two ammunition magazines crudely duct-taped together to speed reloading.

The gunman had dropped them during his rampage that killed 20 first graders and six educators in Newtown, Connecticut.

That photo was a “checkmate moment,” Koskoff said, in the novel legal strategy that ultimately resulted in the $73 million settlement last week for the families of nine Sandy Hook victims from insurers for Remington, the maker of the Bushmaster AR-15-style rifle used in the massacre. It was the largest payout so far in a mass-shooting-related case against a gun manufacturer.

The settlement was also the latest in a half-dozen legal victories by the families that have renewed scrutiny of the gun industry and of the rising tide of misinformation that engulfed Sandy Hook. Left devastated nine years ago when the Senate failed to pass even modest gun control legislation after the massacre, the families have now won on two difficult fronts — against a gun manufacturer and against conspiracy theorists, including Alex Jones — through persistence, creative legal strategies and in the case of the conspiracists, the technological expertise of Lenny Pozner, a parent who foresaw the long-term danger of rampant social media falsehoods.

“We started to talk about ‘There &lt;em&gt;has&lt;/em&gt; to be a way to get something done,’” said David Wheeler, whose 6-year-old son, Ben, perished at Sandy Hook, recalling the days after their push for gun control failed in the Senate. He now senses that for the first time, “a lot of people believe we’ve changed things.”

At the heart of the legal strategy against Remington was the families’ claim that the manufacturer had illegally marketed the military-style Bushmaster to troubled young men like the Sandy Hook gunman, Adam Lanza, 20. Remington said the families lacked proof the gunman ever saw its advertising before he killed himself inside the bullet-riddled school.

Before the shooting, Lanza had spent hours a day playing Call of Duty, a video game in which players used the Bushmaster to wage war. Koskoff, the lawyer for the families, had played Call of Duty too, introduced to it by one of his sons — and he recognized the duct-taped magazines from a contemporaneous version of the game.

“Once I saw that in that first-grade classroom, that was it for me,” Koskoff said last week. “Remington may not have known him, but they’d been courting him for years.”

In a Connecticut defamation case the families brought against Jones, the Koskoff lawyers cited the same Connecticut trade practices law used in the Remington case, saying Infowars profited from broadcasting Sandy Hook falsehoods. Two defamation cases in Texas and one in Wisconsin employ a range of strategies. Nearly all the lawyers involved are parents themselves.

‘Paths Up the Mountain’

After the defeat in the Senate, some family members began thinking about how to hold the maker of the Bushmaster to account. Several got in touch with Koskoff, from a third-generation family firm in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

Koskoff cautioned the families that those who joined the lawsuit were in for an arduous fight with an uncertain outcome. The families of nine victims joined Soto v. Bushmaster; others declined for reasons ranging from their views on gun policy to family needs.

“A real advantage for us was our total ignorance about the law surrounding gun litigation and all the hurdles” that had dissuaded others, Koskoff said. So they forged ahead in the face of the formidable legal shield for the gun industry that Congress had passed in 2005, which protects firearms manufacturers from most liability after gun-related crimes. Wayne LaPierre, the National Rifle Association’s CEO at the time, hailed it as “the most significant piece of pro-gun legislation in 20 years.”

As the Koskoff team considered varying “paths up the mountain,” trying to find legal routes around the shield law, one partner, Alinor Sterling, explored a potential road in one of six exceptions to the legal immunity the legislation provides: Lawsuits against manufacturers can move forward if plaintiffs can prove that marketing of the guns violates state law.

The lawyers learned that sales of the Bushmaster had grown exponentially between 2005 and the 2012 shooting. In 2006, a New York-based private equity firm, Cerberus Capital Management, bought Bushmaster, a privately held manufacturer in Maine and one of the companies building the AR-15-style rifle. Cerberus acquired other American gun-makers, rolling them into a conglomerate that after several iterations took the name of the best-known company, Remington.

Remington’s leadership sought to turn the new entity into a firearms powerhouse, Koskoff said. Staid, technical ads for the Bushmaster were replaced by an aggressive marketing campaign targeting young men admiring of the military, known in the trade as “couch commandos.”

Flashy, militaristic pitches with macho slogans like “Forces of opposition, bow down,” “Clear the room” and “Consider your man card reissued” ran in men’s magazines, but also on online marketplaces and websites frequented by young men immersed in combat weaponry, Koskoff said. The Bushmaster appeared in combat video games like Call of Duty, which “is a virtual shooting range for potential future users,” Koskoff said.

In 2014, the families sued Remington on the grounds that Bushmaster’s marketing violated the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act, a consumer protection law.

“The gun conglomerate formed by Cerberus blew through two very well established lines by targeting younger users who could not be lawful purchasers, and people who presented an increased risk to public safety,” Koskoff said. “They never asked, ‘How can we market this weapon in a way that reduces the risk of dangerous use?’ It appears from all the evidence that they did the opposite.”

Years of litigation followed. Remington declared bankruptcy, emerged, then went bankrupt again, threatening to stall the suit indefinitely. The Connecticut Supreme Court affirmed the Sandy Hook lawyers’ strategy and Remington appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which declined to hear the case. The litigation also took bizarre turns. At one point, Remington requested school report cards and disciplinary records for the murdered children, drawing public outrage.

Koskoff was still exploring legal avenues for the case in the closing days of 2013 when the Connecticut State Police released thousands of photos and records from their investigation of the shooting.

When he saw the image of duct-taped magazines lying on the floor, the leg of a small desk chair at the edge of the frame, “the hair on my arms stood up,” he said. “I knew that without a single document I could make the case that there was a connection between the marketing of the gun in the game, this kid and the shooting.”

Years later, preparing to depose Remington executives, Koskoff asked a paralegal to create a PowerPoint slide with the classroom photo on the left, and an image of the taped magazines from Call of Duty on the right. They were nearly identical.

Sterling refined the marketing argument the families took to court.

A lawyer for Remington did not respond to requests for comment. The financial settlement will be paid by the defunct company’s four insurers: Liberty Mutual’s Ironshore; Chubb; James River Insurance Co.; and North American Capacity Insurance Co., a Swiss Re subsidiary.

The National Shooting Sports Foundation, the firearms industry’s trade association, issued a statement last week sidestepping the significance of Bushmaster’s marketing to young men. “The plaintiffs never produced any evidence that Bushmaster advertising had any bearing or influence over Nancy Lanza’s decision to legally purchase a Bushmaster rifle,” it said, “nor on the decision of murderer Adam Lanza to steal that rifle, kill his mother in her sleep and go on to commit the rest of his horrendous crimes.”

The Connecticut case could provide a legal road map for similar lawsuits. Sterling said she had received messages from lawyers across the country.

“I’ve been bringing cases against Remington since 1985,” one wrote. “You finally cracked the code.”

Battles for Truth in 3 States

As the Remington case crawled along, the families of 10 Sandy Hook victims and an FBI agent implicated in the conspiracy theories sued Jones in Texas and Connecticut in four separate lawsuits in 2018. By the end of last year, judges in all four suits ruled that Jones was liable by default because he has refused to turn over documents ordered by the courts, including financial records.

In trials beginning this spring, juries will decide how much Jones must pay the families in damages.

Pozner, the father of Noah Pozner, the youngest Sandy Hook victim, is a technology consultant who understood the online conspiracy world, and how social media algorithms hasten the spread of harmful content. He has devoted his life since the shooting to battling conspiracy theorists and the social platforms that enable them. His nonprofit, the HONR Network, has succeeded in getting hundreds of thousands of pieces of harmful content removed from Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and other platforms, and persuaded hosting companies to take down entire websites devoted to denying the shooting. Pozner’s efforts have made him a target. He has moved nearly a dozen times after hoaxers, his moniker for the Sandy Hook deniers, posted his address online. In 2017 a Florida woman, Lucy Richards, was jailed for threatening Pozner’s life.

Jones has repeatedly maligned Pozner and Noah’s mother, Veronique De La Rosa, on Infowars. For years Jones falsely claimed an interview De La Rosa gave to CNN’s Anderson Cooper in Newtown shortly after Noah’s death was faked before a studio “green screen.” Pozner had Jones’ shows making false claims about Noah and his family removed from YouTube. In a fury, Jones showed millions of viewers addresses and phone numbers linked to Pozner.

Last week, Wisconsin’s Supreme Court affirmed Pozner’s 2019 victory in a separate defamation lawsuit against James Fetzer, another conspiracy theorist who edited a 400-page book titled “Nobody Died at Sandy Hook.” The Wisconsin court dismissed Fetzer’s appeal Wednesday.

The Fetzer case showcased another novel legal strategy, this one devised by Genevieve and Jake Zimmerman, a husband-and-wife team who were Pozner’s pro bono lawyers. Seeking to prevent Fetzer from airing his Sandy Hook theories in a courtroom, they narrowed the case to four specific statements in Fetzer’s book falsely claiming that Pozner had forged Noah’s death certificate. Then the lawyers sought a judgment without a full trial.

Securing this summary judgment required Pozner to prove that Noah had actually lived and died, and that he was Noah’s father. The lawyers gathered records related to Noah’s birth, life and death. Pozner took a blood test, and his DNA matched a sample from Noah’s post-mortem.

Fetzer produced no evidence to support his false claims, and lost the summary judgment. In a process similar to what will happen in the Jones cases later this year, a jury convened to decide on damages. They awarded Pozner $450,000, which ballooned to more than $1 million following sanctions after Fetzer leaked Pozner’s sealed, videotaped deposition to other conspiracy theorists, fueling more abuse.

“We used the rules of evidence to detangle a conspiracy theory,” Zimmerman said. “It’s the same thing that happened with all the post-2020 election lawsuits. When the conspiracy theorists got to court, not a single one of their allegations survived scrutiny under the rules of evidence.”

Pozner and De La Rosa were also plaintiffs in the Remington suit. Last week, Pozner reflected on the string of successes.

“Of course the victories feel good, but they were very slow in coming,” Pozner said. “It’s a relief, but I’m kind of tired, you know?”

The image stopped him cold. Josh Koskoff, a Connecticut lawyer, was scanning crime scene photos of the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting when he noticed “taped mags” on a classroom floor, two ammunition magazines crudely duct-taped together to speed reloading.

The image stopped him cold. Josh Koskoff, a Connecticut lawyer, was scanning crime scene photos of the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting when he noticed “taped mags” on a classroom floor, two ammunition magazines crudely duct-taped together to speed reloading. The gunman had dropped them during his rampage that killed 20 first graders and six educators in Newtown, Connecticut. That photo was a “checkmate moment,” Koskoff said, in the novel legal strategy that ultimately resulted in the $73 million settlement last week for the families of nine Sandy Hook victims from insurers for Remington, the maker of the Bushmaster AR-15-style rifle used in the massacre. It was the largest payout so far in a mass-shooting-related case against a gun manufacturer. The settlement was also the latest in a half-dozen legal victories by the families that have renewed scrutiny of the gun industry and of the rising tide of misinformation that engulfed Sandy Hook. Left devastated nine years ago when the Senate failed to pass even modest gun control legislation after the massacre, the families have now won on two difficult fronts — against a gun manufacturer and against conspiracy theorists, including Alex Jones — through persistence, creative legal strategies and in the case of the conspiracists, the technological expertise of Lenny Pozner, a parent who foresaw the long-term danger of rampant social media falsehoods. “We started to talk about ‘There has to be a way to get something done,’” said David Wheeler, whose 6-year-old son, Ben, perished at Sandy Hook, recalling the days after their push for gun control failed in the Senate. He now senses that for the first time, “a lot of people believe we’ve changed things.” At the heart of the legal strategy against Remington was the families’ claim that the manufacturer had illegally marketed the military-style Bushmaster to troubled young men like the Sandy Hook gunman, Adam Lanza, 20. Remington said the families lacked proof the gunman ever saw its advertising before he killed himself inside the bullet-riddled school. Before the shooting, Lanza had spent hours a day playing Call of Duty, a video game in which players used the Bushmaster to wage war. Koskoff, the lawyer for the families, had played Call of Duty too, introduced to it by one of his sons — and he recognized the duct-taped magazines from a contemporaneous version of the game. “Once I saw that in that first-grade classroom, that was it for me,” Koskoff said last week. “Remington may not have known him, but they’d been courting him for years.” In a Connecticut defamation case the families brought against Jones, the Koskoff lawyers cited the same Connecticut trade practices law used in the Remington case, saying Infowars profited from broadcasting Sandy Hook falsehoods. Two defamation cases in Texas and one in Wisconsin employ a range of strategies. Nearly all the lawyers involved are parents themselves. ‘Paths Up the Mountain’ After the defeat in the Senate, some family members began thinking about how to hold the maker of the Bushmaster to account. Several got in touch with Koskoff, from a third-generation family firm in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Koskoff cautioned the families that those who joined the lawsuit were in for an arduous fight with an uncertain outcome. The families of nine victims joined Soto v. Bushmaster; others declined for reasons ranging from their views on gun policy to family needs. “A real advantage for us was our total ignorance about the law surrounding gun litigation and all the hurdles” that had dissuaded others, Koskoff said. So they forged ahead in the face of the formidable legal shield for the gun industry that Congress had passed in 2005, which protects firearms manufacturers from most liability after gun-related crimes. Wayne LaPierre, the National Rifle Association’s CEO at the time, hailed it as “the most significant piece of pro-gun legislation in 20 years.” As the Koskoff team considered varying “paths up the mountain,” trying to find legal routes around the shield law, one partner, Alinor Sterling, explored a potential road in one of six exceptions to the legal immunity the legislation provides: Lawsuits against manufacturers can move forward if plaintiffs can prove that marketing of the guns violates state law. The lawyers learned that sales of the Bushmaster had grown exponentially between 2005 and the 2012 shooting. In 2006, a New York-based private equity firm, Cerberus Capital Management, bought Bushmaster, a privately held manufacturer in Maine and one of the companies building the AR-15-style rifle. Cerberus acquired other American gun-makers, rolling them into a conglomerate that after several iterations took the name of the best-known company, Remington. Remington’s leadership sought to turn the new entity into a firearms powerhouse, Koskoff said. Staid, technical ads for the Bushmaster were replaced by an aggressive marketing campaign targeting young men admiring of the military, known in the trade as “couch commandos.” Flashy, militaristic pitches with macho slogans like “Forces of opposition, bow down,” “Clear the room” and “Consider your man card reissued” ran in men’s magazines, but also on online marketplaces and websites frequented by young men immersed in combat weaponry, Koskoff said. The Bushmaster appeared in combat video games like Call of Duty, which “is a virtual shooting range for potential future users,” Koskoff said. In 2014, the families sued Remington on the grounds that Bushmaster’s marketing violated the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act, a consumer protection law. “The gun conglomerate formed by Cerberus blew through two very well established lines by targeting younger users who could not be lawful purchasers, and people who presented an increased risk to public safety,” Koskoff said. “They never asked, ‘How can we market this weapon in a way that reduces the risk of dangerous use?’ It appears from all the evidence that they did the opposite.” Years of litigation followed. Remington declared bankruptcy, emerged, then went bankrupt again, threatening to stall the suit indefinitely. The Connecticut Supreme Court affirmed the Sandy Hook lawyers’ strategy and Remington appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which declined to hear the case. The litigation also took bizarre turns. At one point, Remington requested school report cards and disciplinary records for the murdered children, drawing public outrage. Koskoff was still exploring legal avenues for the case in the closing days of 2013 when the Connecticut State Police released thousands of photos and records from their investigation of the shooting. When he saw the image of duct-taped magazines lying on the floor, the leg of a small desk chair at the edge of the frame, “the hair on my arms stood up,” he said. “I knew that without a single document I could make the case that there was a connection between the marketing of the gun in the game, this kid and the shooting.” Years later, preparing to depose Remington executives, Koskoff asked a paralegal to create a PowerPoint slide with the classroom photo on the left, and an image of the taped magazines from Call of Duty on the right. They were nearly identical. Sterling refined the marketing argument the families took to court. A lawyer for Remington did not respond to requests for comment. The financial settlement will be paid by the defunct company’s four insurers: Liberty Mutual’s Ironshore; Chubb; James River Insurance Co.; and North American Capacity Insurance Co., a Swiss Re subsidiary. The National Shooting Sports Foundation, the firearms industry’s trade association, issued a statement last week sidestepping the significance of Bushmaster’s marketing to young men. “The plaintiffs never produced any evidence that Bushmaster advertising had any bearing or influence over Nancy Lanza’s decision to legally purchase a Bushmaster rifle,” it said, “nor on the decision of murderer Adam Lanza to steal that rifle, kill his mother in her sleep and go on to commit the rest of his horrendous crimes.” The Connecticut case could provide a legal road map for similar lawsuits. Sterling said she had received messages from lawyers across the country. “I’ve been bringing cases against Remington since 1985,” one wrote. “You finally cracked the code.” Battles for Truth in 3 States As the Remington case crawled along, the families of 10 Sandy Hook victims and an FBI agent implicated in the conspiracy theories sued Jones in Texas and Connecticut in four separate lawsuits in 2018. By the end of last year, judges in all four suits ruled that Jones was liable by default because he has refused to turn over documents ordered by the courts, including financial records. In trials beginning this spring, juries will decide how much Jones must pay the families in damages. Pozner, the father of Noah Pozner, the youngest Sandy Hook victim, is a technology consultant who understood the online conspiracy world, and how social media algorithms hasten the spread of harmful content. He has devoted his life since the shooting to battling conspiracy theorists and the social platforms that enable them. His nonprofit, the HONR Network, has succeeded in getting hundreds of thousands of pieces of harmful content removed from Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and other platforms, and persuaded hosting companies to take down entire websites devoted to denying the shooting. Pozner’s efforts have made him a target. He has moved nearly a dozen times after hoaxers, his moniker for the Sandy Hook deniers, posted his address online. In 2017 a Florida woman, Lucy Richards, was jailed for threatening Pozner’s life. Jones has repeatedly maligned Pozner and Noah’s mother, Veronique De La Rosa, on Infowars. For years Jones falsely claimed an interview De La Rosa gave to CNN’s Anderson Cooper in Newtown shortly after Noah’s death was faked before a studio “green screen.” Pozner had Jones’ shows making false claims about Noah and his family removed from YouTube. In a fury, Jones showed millions of viewers addresses and phone numbers linked to Pozner. Last week, Wisconsin’s Supreme Court affirmed Pozner’s 2019 victory in a separate defamation lawsuit against James Fetzer, another conspiracy theorist who edited a 400-page book titled “Nobody Died at Sandy Hook.” The Wisconsin court dismissed Fetzer’s appeal Wednesday. The Fetzer case showcased another novel legal strategy, this one devised by Genevieve and Jake Zimmerman, a husband-and-wife team who were Pozner’s pro bono lawyers. Seeking to prevent Fetzer from airing his Sandy Hook theories in a courtroom, they narrowed the case to four specific statements in Fetzer’s book falsely claiming that Pozner had forged Noah’s death certificate. Then the lawyers sought a judgment without a full trial. Securing this summary judgment required Pozner to prove that Noah had actually lived and died, and that he was Noah’s father. The lawyers gathered records related to Noah’s birth, life and death. Pozner took a blood test, and his DNA matched a sample from Noah’s post-mortem. Fetzer produced no evidence to support his false claims, and lost the summary judgment. In a process similar to what will happen in the Jones cases later this year, a jury convened to decide on damages. They awarded Pozner $450,000, which ballooned to more than $1 million following sanctions after Fetzer leaked Pozner’s sealed, videotaped deposition to other conspiracy theorists, fueling more abuse. “We used the rules of evidence to detangle a conspiracy theory,” Zimmerman said. “It’s the same thing that happened with all the post-2020 election lawsuits. When the conspiracy theorists got to court, not a single one of their allegations survived scrutiny under the rules of evidence.” Pozner and De La Rosa were also plaintiffs in the Remington suit. Last week, Pozner reflected on the string of successes. “Of course the victories feel good, but they were very slow in coming,” Pozner said. “It’s a relief, but I’m kind of tired, you know?”

How they did it: Sandy Hook families savor long-awaited legal wins

In a first, a same-sex couple in Taiwan adopted a child neither of them are related to after, after challenging local laws in court. Last week, Wang Chen-wei and Chen Chun-ju signed papers after a ruling that allowed both of them to register as parents.&nbsp;

In a report by The Guardian, Wang said, "I have everything now. I am married and just like heterosexual couples, we can have our own children. But we were born to have and enjoy all of this, we are not a charity case. We shouldn’t have had to fight for it.”

Taking to their Facebook handle, the couple wrote, "Gay adoptive families are forced to choose between children and spouses, and between adoption and marriage."

Both of them have been together for more than 16 years. The couple delayed their marriage to complete Wang’s adoption process. After this was done, the couple took the case to court so that Chen could be recognised as a parent.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/in-a-first-indian-couple-to-host-wedding-reception-in-metaverse-445432">Also read |&nbsp;In a first, Indian couple to host wedding reception in Metaverse</a>

Chu Chiajong, the director of the advocacy organisation Taiwan LGBT Family Rights Advocacy deemed the ruling as "brave."&nbsp;

“At the end of the day, someone finally acknowledged it’s all about a child’s best interests, not just about the rights of an LGBTI couple. Now their daughter’s ID shows both parents name on it. It means she finally is legally under the protection of both parents, of both dads," Chu said.&nbsp;

In 2019, Taiwan became the first place in Asia to legalise same-sex marriage. Lawmakers from the majority Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) backed the bill. It was passed 66 to 27.&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)

In a first, a same-sex couple in Taiwan adopted a child neither of them are related to after, after challenging local laws in court. Last week, Wang Chen-wei and Chen Chun-ju signed papers after a ruling that allowed both of them to register as parents.

In a first, a same-sex couple in Taiwan adopted a child neither of them are related to after, after challenging local laws in court. Last week, Wang Chen-wei and Chen Chun-ju signed papers after a ruling that allowed both of them to register as parents. In a report by The Guardian, Wang said, "I have everything now. I am married and just like heterosexual couples, we can have our own children. But we were born to have and enjoy all of this, we are not a charity case. We shouldn’t have had to fight for it.” Taking to their Facebook handle, the couple wrote, "Gay adoptive families are forced to choose between children and spouses, and between adoption and marriage." Both of them have been together for more than 16 years. The couple delayed their marriage to complete Wang’s adoption process. After this was done, the couple took the case to court so that Chen could be recognised as a parent. Also read | In a first, Indian couple to host wedding reception in Metaverse Chu Chiajong, the director of the advocacy organisation Taiwan LGBT Family Rights Advocacy deemed the ruling as "brave." “At the end of the day, someone finally acknowledged it’s all about a child’s best interests, not just about the rights of an LGBTI couple. Now their daughter’s ID shows both parents name on it. It means she finally is legally under the protection of both parents, of both dads," Chu said. In 2019, Taiwan became the first place in Asia to legalise same-sex marriage. Lawmakers from the majority Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) backed the bill. It was passed 66 to 27. (With inputs from agencies)

In a first, same sex couple in Taiwan legally adopts a child

Argentina will tweak legislation to help the country receive US&nbsp;donations of COVID-19 vaccinations, senior officials said on Friday, a move that could also help unlock deals that have proved tricky with drugmakers like Pfizer Inc. 
 
A government decree will soften legal clauses around negligence, remove a reference to 'fraudulent maneuvers' and create a fund to compensate people harmed by a vaccine. 
 
The prior language had hampered negotiations with vaccine firms, and the changes could help Argentina step up its vaccine programme as it faces cases and deaths among the highest in the world. 
 
"This regulation will facilitate and favour the possibility of accessing more vaccines," Health Minister Carla Vizzotti said late on Friday, adding it would allow better access via the WHO/Gavi-led COVAX programme and from donations, especially from the United States. 
 
The United States recently announced donations of Pfizer and Johnson &amp; Johnson vaccines to Peru and Colombia respectively. 
 
Argentina, currently facing a second wave of COVID-19, has recorded some 4.5 million cases of the virus and 95,382 deaths. 
 
Its vaccine programme has been largely built around Russia's Sputnik V vaccine, China's Sinopharm and the AstraZeneca vaccine developed with Oxford University. 
 
Vilma Ibarra, legal and technical secretary with the presidency office, said the decree was a 'result of conversations and concessions with the laboratories that supply the vaccines' over legal obstacles. 
 
"We arrived at a text that we understand facilitates and contains the possibility of acquiring vaccines for children and expanding the spectrum of vaccines for the general population," Ibarra said. 
 
Argentine authorities have carried out 21.6 million inoculations with some 4.3 million people having received two doses. The South American county has a population of around 45 million people. 
 
(With inputs from agencies)

Argentina will tweak legislation to help the country receive US donations of COVID-19 vaccinations, senior officials said on Friday, a move that could also help unlock deals that have proved tricky with drugmakers like Pfizer Inc.

Argentina will tweak legislation to help the country receive US donations of COVID-19 vaccinations, senior officials said on Friday, a move that could also help unlock deals that have proved tricky with drugmakers like Pfizer Inc. A government decree will soften legal clauses around negligence, remove a reference to 'fraudulent maneuvers' and create a fund to compensate people harmed by a vaccine. The prior language had hampered negotiations with vaccine firms, and the changes could help Argentina step up its vaccine programme as it faces cases and deaths among the highest in the world. "This regulation will facilitate and favour the possibility of accessing more vaccines," Health Minister Carla Vizzotti said late on Friday, adding it would allow better access via the WHO/Gavi-led COVAX programme and from donations, especially from the United States. The United States recently announced donations of Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson vaccines to Peru and Colombia respectively. Argentina, currently facing a second wave of COVID-19, has recorded some 4.5 million cases of the virus and 95,382 deaths. Its vaccine programme has been largely built around Russia's Sputnik V vaccine, China's Sinopharm and the AstraZeneca vaccine developed with Oxford University. Vilma Ibarra, legal and technical secretary with the presidency office, said the decree was a 'result of conversations and concessions with the laboratories that supply the vaccines' over legal obstacles. "We arrived at a text that we understand facilitates and contains the possibility of acquiring vaccines for children and expanding the spectrum of vaccines for the general population," Ibarra said. Argentine authorities have carried out 21.6 million inoculations with some 4.3 million people having received two doses. The South American county has a population of around 45 million people. (With inputs from agencies)

Argentina opens door to US vaccine donations with legal tweak

El&nbsp;Salvador's President Nayib Bukele said in a national address on Thursday that a recently passed law making bitcoin&nbsp;legal&nbsp;tender&nbsp;will take effect on&nbsp;Sept. 7, noting that its use will be optional.

El&nbsp;Salvador's Congress already approved Bukele's proposal to embrace the cryptocurrency, making&nbsp;El&nbsp;Salvador&nbsp;the first country in the world to adopt&nbsp;bitcoin&nbsp;as&nbsp;legal&nbsp;tender.

"The use of&nbsp;bitcoin&nbsp;will be optional, nobody will receive&nbsp;bitcoin&nbsp;if they don't want it... If someone receives a payment in&nbsp;bitcoin&nbsp;they can choose to automatically receive it in dollars," said Bukele.

Salaries and pensions will continue to be paid in U.S. dollars, said Bukele, without specifying if that included salaries paid to state workers and private sector employees.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/covid-19-delta-variant-is-infecting-vaccinated-people-says-israel-393811">Also Read |&nbsp;COVID-19: Delta variant is infecting vaccinated people, says Israel</a>

Earlier in the day, Athena&nbsp;Bitcoin&nbsp;said it plans to invest over $1 million to install some 1,500 cryptocurrency ATMs in&nbsp;El&nbsp;Salvador, especially where residents receive remittances from abroad.

According to Athena&nbsp;Bitcoin's website, the ATMs can be used to buy&nbsp;bitcoins or sell them for cash.

"One of the reasons we passed the&nbsp;bitcoin&nbsp;law is precisely to help people who send remittances," said Bukele, adding the high costs of commissions traditionally associated with sending money home would be&nbsp;eliminated by using the cryptocurrency.

El&nbsp;Salvador&nbsp;relies heavily on money sent back from workers abroad. World Bank data showed remittances to the country made up nearly $6 billion or around a fifth of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2019, one of the highest ratios in the world.

Less than 1% of the volume of global cross-border remittances are currently in cryptocurrency, according to Kenneth Suchoski, U.S payments and fintech analyst at Autonomous Research. But in the future crypto is expected to account for a larger slice of the more than $500 billion in global annual remittances.

El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele said in a national address on Thursday that a recently passed law making bitcoin legal tender will take effect on Sept. 7, noting that its use will be optional.

El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele said in a national address on Thursday that a recently passed law making bitcoin legal tender will take effect on Sept. 7, noting that its use will be optional. El Salvador's Congress already approved Bukele's proposal to embrace the cryptocurrency, making El Salvador the first country in the world to adopt bitcoin as legal tender. "The use of bitcoin will be optional, nobody will receive bitcoin if they don't want it... If someone receives a payment in bitcoin they can choose to automatically receive it in dollars," said Bukele. Salaries and pensions will continue to be paid in U.S. dollars, said Bukele, without specifying if that included salaries paid to state workers and private sector employees. Also Read | COVID-19: Delta variant is infecting vaccinated people, says Israel Earlier in the day, Athena Bitcoin said it plans to invest over $1 million to install some 1,500 cryptocurrency ATMs in El Salvador, especially where residents receive remittances from abroad. According to Athena Bitcoin's website, the ATMs can be used to buy bitcoins or sell them for cash. "One of the reasons we passed the bitcoin law is precisely to help people who send remittances," said Bukele, adding the high costs of commissions traditionally associated with sending money home would be eliminated by using the cryptocurrency. El Salvador relies heavily on money sent back from workers abroad. World Bank data showed remittances to the country made up nearly $6 billion or around a fifth of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2019, one of the highest ratios in the world. Less than 1% of the volume of global cross-border remittances are currently in cryptocurrency, according to Kenneth Suchoski, U.S payments and fintech analyst at Autonomous Research. But in the future crypto is expected to account for a larger slice of the more than $500 billion in global annual remittances.

Bitcoin to become legal tender in El Salvador from September

El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele said on Saturday that he will send a bill to Congress next week to make bitcoin legal tender in the country. 
 
"In the short term, this will generate jobs and help provide financial inclusion to thousands outside the formal economy," Bukele said in a video shown at the Bitcoin 2021 conference in Miami. 
 
Strike, a mobile payments app that launched in El Salvador in March, said in a statement that it welcomed the legislation and was working with the country to make using bitcoin technology a success. 
 
“This is the shot heard 'round the world for bitcoin," Strike founder and CEO Jack Mallers was quoted as saying at the Miami conference. 
 
"Adopting a natively digital currency as legal tender provides El Salvador the most secure, efficient and globally integrated open payments network in the world," Mallers said. 
 
(With inputs from agencies)

El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele said on Saturday that he will send a bill to Congress next week to make bitcoin legal tender in the country. "In the short term, this will generate jobs and help provide financial inclusion to thousands outside the formal economy," Bukele said in a video shown at the Bitcoin 2021 conference in Miami.

El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele said on Saturday that he will send a bill to Congress next week to make bitcoin legal tender in the country. "In the short term, this will generate jobs and help provide financial inclusion to thousands outside the formal economy," Bukele said in a video shown at the Bitcoin 2021 conference in Miami. Strike, a mobile payments app that launched in El Salvador in March, said in a statement that it welcomed the legislation and was working with the country to make using bitcoin technology a success. “This is the shot heard 'round the world for bitcoin," Strike founder and CEO Jack Mallers was quoted as saying at the Miami conference. "Adopting a natively digital currency as legal tender provides El Salvador the most secure, efficient and globally integrated open payments network in the world," Mallers said. (With inputs from agencies)

El Salvador's president says will send bill to make bitcoin legal tender

If President Joe Biden gets his way, it will soon be far easier to immigrate to the United States. There will be shorter, simpler forms and applicants will have to jump through fewer security hoops. Foreigners will have better opportunities to join their families and more chances to secure work visas.

A 46-page draft blueprint obtained by The New York Times maps out the Biden administration’s plans to significantly expand the legal immigration system, including methodically reversing the efforts to dismantle it by former President Donald Trump, who reduced the flow of foreign workers, families and refugees, erecting procedural barriers tougher to cross than his “big, beautiful wall.”

Because of Trump’s immigration policies, the average time it takes to approve employer-sponsored green cards has doubled. The backlog for citizenship applications is up 80% since 2014, to more than 900,000 cases. Approval for the U-visa program, which grants legal status for immigrants willing to help the police, has gone from five months to roughly five years.

In almost every case over the past four years, immigrating to the United States has become harder, more expensive and takes longer.

And while Biden made clear during his presidential campaign that he intended to undo much of his predecessor’s immigration legacy, the blueprint offers new details about how far-reaching the effort will be — not only rolling back Trump’s policies, but addressing backlogs and delays that plagued prior presidents.

The blueprint, dated May 3 and titled “D.H.S. Plan to Restore Trust in Our Legal Immigration System,” lists scores of initiatives intended to reopen the country to more immigrants, making good on the president’s promise to ensure America embraces its “character as a nation of opportunity and of welcome.”

“There are significant changes that need to be made to really open up all avenues of legal immigration,” said Felicia Escobar Carrillo, the chief of staff at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, of the efforts to reverse Trump’s agenda. “In the same way that they took a broad-stroke approach to closing off avenues, I think we want to take a broad approach toward opening up the legal avenues that have always been available but that they tried to put roadblocks up on.”

Since taking office four months ago, Biden has struggled with a historic surge in migration by Central American children and teenagers that has prompted some Republicans to accuse the president of flinging open the nation’s borders to people trying to enter the country illegally, a charge the White House rejects.

In fact, Biden does want to open the country to more immigrants. His ambition, as reflected in the blueprint, is to rebuild and expand the opportunities for foreigners to enter the United States — but to do so legally.

Divided into seven sections, the document offers detailed policy proposals that would help more foreigners move to the United States, including high-skilled workers, trafficking victims, the families of Americans living abroad, American Indians born in Canada, refugees, asylum-seekers and farmworkers. Immigrants who apply online could pay less in fees or even secure a waiver in an attempt to “reduce barriers” to immigration. And regulations would be overhauled to “encourage full participation by immigrants in our civic life.”

Even with a more restrictive and slower immigration system, about 1 million people obtained green cards in 2019, the last full year before the pandemic. Most had been waiting for years. In the final year of the Obama administration, 1.2 million people received green cards.

But if Biden accomplishes everything in the document, he will have gone further than just reversing the downward trend. He will have significantly increased opportunities for foreigners around the globe to come to the United States, embracing robust immigration even as a divisive, decadeslong political debate continues to rage over such a policy.

Most of the changes could be put into practice without passage of Biden’s proposed overhaul of the nation’s immigration laws, which would provide a pathway to citizenship for millions of people living in the United States illegally but has stalled in a bitterly divided Congress. While surveys show that most Americans support increased immigration, many Republican voters have eagerly backed Trump’s more restrictive policies.

White House officials declined to comment directly on the Homeland Security Department’s blueprint, saying that such documents go through many drafts and that decisions about specific steps to address legal immigration remain in flux. But they said the president remained committed to significantly rolling back the restrictions imposed by his predecessor.

That effort will take time and has not yet caught the public’s attention like the surge of crossings at the southwest border. But conservative activists who have for years demanded lower levels of legal immigration are vowing a fight to stop Biden and extract a political price for his actions.

“They just want to shovel people in here,” said Kenneth T. Cuccinelli II, a former Virginia attorney general who served as the acting head of Citizenship and Immigration Services under Trump. “They are not running an immigration system for the benefit of America, and certainly not for the benefit of ordinary Americans. ”

Most research has shown that legal immigration to the United States has benefits for the country’s economy, especially at a time when the country’s population growth is slowing. But Cuccinelli and others who favor severe restrictions on immigration say it is obvious to them that letting foreigners compete for jobs — especially when the country is still recovering from an economic downturn like the one created by the pandemic — will hurt the prospects for American citizens.

“The No. 1 job for the immigration services is to make sure that immigration does not hurt Americans,” said Roy Beck, the founder of NumbersUSA, a group dedicated to far lower levels of legal immigration.

Motivated by that belief, Cuccinelli set in motion a transformation of the government’s legal immigration system during the Trump administration — changing his agency from one that confers benefits on foreigners into a “vetting agency,” in part by issuing numerous restrictions on offering asylum for immigrants and trying to raise fees.

The increased vetting, as well as travel restrictions imposed during the pandemic, helped contribute to the result the Trump administration had sought: The influx of immigrants slowed significantly, as winning legal approval to enter the United States became much harder.

With fewer immigrants coming through the pipeline, there has been less money to finance Citizenship and Immigration Services, which is supported almost entirely by fees paid by immigrants. Restoring the agency to full capacity is at the heart of Biden’s effort to expand legal immigration, according to the document and interviews with administration officials.

A central element of the blueprint is addressing backlogs in the immigration system.

The administration is planning to fast-track immigration applications by expanding virtual interviews and electronic filing, as well as limiting the requests for evidence from applicants. Biden has tapped Cass R. Sunstein, a former Obama administration official and legal scholar at Harvard Law School, to remake the immigration system so it is “more effective and less burdensome” than it has been in decades by “reducing paperwork and other administrative requirements.”

Biden wants to restore opportunities for foreign employees through the existing H-1B visa program, which is intended for workers with special skills. The administration also intends to create new pathways for foreign entrepreneurs who wish to “start-up businesses and create jobs for U.S. workers,” according to the document.

Officials are working on a regulation that could allow migrants to win asylum in the United States if they are victims of domestic violence or their relatives were persecuted. During the Trump era, Attorney General William Barr moved to end asylum protection for those who said they deserved it for those reasons.

Biden is also aiming to expand immigration opportunities for LGBTQ refugees from countries where they are persecuted or where same-sex marriages are not recognized.

In addition, he wants to revamp a program that provides a pathway to citizenship for immigrants living in the country illegally who help law enforcement by cooperating with police or testifying in court.

The waiting list for the U-Visa program has ballooned, leaving crime victims and survivors of domestic abuse vulnerable to abusers who may threaten to report them for deportation if they continue to talk to the police, said Leslye E. Orloff, director of the national immigrant women’s advocacy project at American University.

The Biden administration is considering extending protections to immigrants who cooperate even before they make it on the official waiting list for the visa, according to the document.

“They’re recognizing that there’s danger for these victims,” Orloff said.

Critics say the Biden administration is ignoring the negative consequences of their efforts. The H-1B program has been attacked as a loophole for tech companies to import cheap foreign workers to compete for jobs. Granting asylum to the victims of domestic abuse could open the door to accepting millions of additional people. And some Republicans say Biden should not loosen vetting of foreigners, though officials insist they will continue to screen for terrorists and other threats.

As the Biden administration pushes forward with the changes, officials appear willing to use emergency rules and presidential memos to avoid the lengthy regulatory process, in much the same way that Trump put his own agenda in place. But that could make Biden’s immigration legacy subject to a similar reversal by a Republican president in the future.

“The question looming over all of this work is how do you do this in a way that isn’t easily so capsized next time around,” said Doug Rand, a founder of Boundless Immigration, a technology company in Seattle that helps immigrants obtain green cards and citizenship.

Change could not come soon enough for Jenn Hawk, 37, who is living with her Argentine husband in Poland, where he works, even though her autistic son is in the Washington area with his father.

Because of delays in processing her husband’s immigration application, she is faced with a choice: stay in Poland with the man she married, or go back to the United States alone to be with her 10-year-old son.

Hawk filed to sponsor her husband’s immigration to the United States in October of 2020, spending $575 on the application. But they are facing a delay of more than 1 1/2 years before they can even submit their financial and medical information, let alone get an interview with an immigration officer.

“I just want to go home,” Hawk said. “It seems like they’re doing everything in their power to restrict that from being a possibility.”

If President Joe Biden gets his way, it will soon be far easier to immigrate to the United States. There will be shorter, simpler forms and applicants will have to jump through fewer security hoops.

If President Joe Biden gets his way, it will soon be far easier to immigrate to the United States. There will be shorter, simpler forms and applicants will have to jump through fewer security hoops. Foreigners will have better opportunities to join their families and more chances to secure work visas. A 46-page draft blueprint obtained by The New York Times maps out the Biden administration’s plans to significantly expand the legal immigration system, including methodically reversing the efforts to dismantle it by former President Donald Trump, who reduced the flow of foreign workers, families and refugees, erecting procedural barriers tougher to cross than his “big, beautiful wall.” Because of Trump’s immigration policies, the average time it takes to approve employer-sponsored green cards has doubled. The backlog for citizenship applications is up 80% since 2014, to more than 900,000 cases. Approval for the U-visa program, which grants legal status for immigrants willing to help the police, has gone from five months to roughly five years. In almost every case over the past four years, immigrating to the United States has become harder, more expensive and takes longer. And while Biden made clear during his presidential campaign that he intended to undo much of his predecessor’s immigration legacy, the blueprint offers new details about how far-reaching the effort will be — not only rolling back Trump’s policies, but addressing backlogs and delays that plagued prior presidents. The blueprint, dated May 3 and titled “D.H.S. Plan to Restore Trust in Our Legal Immigration System,” lists scores of initiatives intended to reopen the country to more immigrants, making good on the president’s promise to ensure America embraces its “character as a nation of opportunity and of welcome.” “There are significant changes that need to be made to really open up all avenues of legal immigration,” said Felicia Escobar Carrillo, the chief of staff at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, of the efforts to reverse Trump’s agenda. “In the same way that they took a broad-stroke approach to closing off avenues, I think we want to take a broad approach toward opening up the legal avenues that have always been available but that they tried to put roadblocks up on.” Since taking office four months ago, Biden has struggled with a historic surge in migration by Central American children and teenagers that has prompted some Republicans to accuse the president of flinging open the nation’s borders to people trying to enter the country illegally, a charge the White House rejects. In fact, Biden does want to open the country to more immigrants. His ambition, as reflected in the blueprint, is to rebuild and expand the opportunities for foreigners to enter the United States — but to do so legally. Divided into seven sections, the document offers detailed policy proposals that would help more foreigners move to the United States, including high-skilled workers, trafficking victims, the families of Americans living abroad, American Indians born in Canada, refugees, asylum-seekers and farmworkers. Immigrants who apply online could pay less in fees or even secure a waiver in an attempt to “reduce barriers” to immigration. And regulations would be overhauled to “encourage full participation by immigrants in our civic life.” Even with a more restrictive and slower immigration system, about 1 million people obtained green cards in 2019, the last full year before the pandemic. Most had been waiting for years. In the final year of the Obama administration, 1.2 million people received green cards. But if Biden accomplishes everything in the document, he will have gone further than just reversing the downward trend. He will have significantly increased opportunities for foreigners around the globe to come to the United States, embracing robust immigration even as a divisive, decadeslong political debate continues to rage over such a policy. Most of the changes could be put into practice without passage of Biden’s proposed overhaul of the nation’s immigration laws, which would provide a pathway to citizenship for millions of people living in the United States illegally but has stalled in a bitterly divided Congress. While surveys show that most Americans support increased immigration, many Republican voters have eagerly backed Trump’s more restrictive policies. White House officials declined to comment directly on the Homeland Security Department’s blueprint, saying that such documents go through many drafts and that decisions about specific steps to address legal immigration remain in flux. But they said the president remained committed to significantly rolling back the restrictions imposed by his predecessor. That effort will take time and has not yet caught the public’s attention like the surge of crossings at the southwest border. But conservative activists who have for years demanded lower levels of legal immigration are vowing a fight to stop Biden and extract a political price for his actions. “They just want to shovel people in here,” said Kenneth T. Cuccinelli II, a former Virginia attorney general who served as the acting head of Citizenship and Immigration Services under Trump. “They are not running an immigration system for the benefit of America, and certainly not for the benefit of ordinary Americans. ” Most research has shown that legal immigration to the United States has benefits for the country’s economy, especially at a time when the country’s population growth is slowing. But Cuccinelli and others who favor severe restrictions on immigration say it is obvious to them that letting foreigners compete for jobs — especially when the country is still recovering from an economic downturn like the one created by the pandemic — will hurt the prospects for American citizens. “The No. 1 job for the immigration services is to make sure that immigration does not hurt Americans,” said Roy Beck, the founder of NumbersUSA, a group dedicated to far lower levels of legal immigration. Motivated by that belief, Cuccinelli set in motion a transformation of the government’s legal immigration system during the Trump administration — changing his agency from one that confers benefits on foreigners into a “vetting agency,” in part by issuing numerous restrictions on offering asylum for immigrants and trying to raise fees. The increased vetting, as well as travel restrictions imposed during the pandemic, helped contribute to the result the Trump administration had sought: The influx of immigrants slowed significantly, as winning legal approval to enter the United States became much harder. With fewer immigrants coming through the pipeline, there has been less money to finance Citizenship and Immigration Services, which is supported almost entirely by fees paid by immigrants. Restoring the agency to full capacity is at the heart of Biden’s effort to expand legal immigration, according to the document and interviews with administration officials. A central element of the blueprint is addressing backlogs in the immigration system. The administration is planning to fast-track immigration applications by expanding virtual interviews and electronic filing, as well as limiting the requests for evidence from applicants. Biden has tapped Cass R. Sunstein, a former Obama administration official and legal scholar at Harvard Law School, to remake the immigration system so it is “more effective and less burdensome” than it has been in decades by “reducing paperwork and other administrative requirements.” Biden wants to restore opportunities for foreign employees through the existing H-1B visa program, which is intended for workers with special skills. The administration also intends to create new pathways for foreign entrepreneurs who wish to “start-up businesses and create jobs for U.S. workers,” according to the document. Officials are working on a regulation that could allow migrants to win asylum in the United States if they are victims of domestic violence or their relatives were persecuted. During the Trump era, Attorney General William Barr moved to end asylum protection for those who said they deserved it for those reasons. Biden is also aiming to expand immigration opportunities for LGBTQ refugees from countries where they are persecuted or where same-sex marriages are not recognized. In addition, he wants to revamp a program that provides a pathway to citizenship for immigrants living in the country illegally who help law enforcement by cooperating with police or testifying in court. The waiting list for the U-Visa program has ballooned, leaving crime victims and survivors of domestic abuse vulnerable to abusers who may threaten to report them for deportation if they continue to talk to the police, said Leslye E. Orloff, director of the national immigrant women’s advocacy project at American University. The Biden administration is considering extending protections to immigrants who cooperate even before they make it on the official waiting list for the visa, according to the document. “They’re recognizing that there’s danger for these victims,” Orloff said. Critics say the Biden administration is ignoring the negative consequences of their efforts. The H-1B program has been attacked as a loophole for tech companies to import cheap foreign workers to compete for jobs. Granting asylum to the victims of domestic abuse could open the door to accepting millions of additional people. And some Republicans say Biden should not loosen vetting of foreigners, though officials insist they will continue to screen for terrorists and other threats. As the Biden administration pushes forward with the changes, officials appear willing to use emergency rules and presidential memos to avoid the lengthy regulatory process, in much the same way that Trump put his own agenda in place. But that could make Biden’s immigration legacy subject to a similar reversal by a Republican president in the future. “The question looming over all of this work is how do you do this in a way that isn’t easily so capsized next time around,” said Doug Rand, a founder of Boundless Immigration, a technology company in Seattle that helps immigrants obtain green cards and citizenship. Change could not come soon enough for Jenn Hawk, 37, who is living with her Argentine husband in Poland, where he works, even though her autistic son is in the Washington area with his father. Because of delays in processing her husband’s immigration application, she is faced with a choice: stay in Poland with the man she married, or go back to the United States alone to be with her 10-year-old son. Hawk filed to sponsor her husband’s immigration to the United States in October of 2020, spending $575 on the application. But they are facing a delay of more than 1 1/2 years before they can even submit their financial and medical information, let alone get an interview with an immigration officer. “I just want to go home,” Hawk said. “It seems like they’re doing everything in their power to restrict that from being a possibility.”

Biden aims to rebuild and expand legal immigration

Gucci&nbsp;and&nbsp;Facebook&nbsp;have&nbsp;filed a&nbsp;joint&nbsp;lawsuit&nbsp;in California&nbsp;against&nbsp;an individual, who&nbsp;allegedly used the US&nbsp;group's social media platforms to sell fake&nbsp;Gucci&nbsp;products, the two companies said on Tuesday.

The initiative, a first of its kind for both&nbsp;Gucci&nbsp;and&nbsp;Facebook, is the latest example of an Internet giant joining forces with a luxury label to fight the proliferation of counterfeit goods being sold via social media.

Amazon has&nbsp;filed similar&nbsp;lawsuits over the past year with Valentino and Ferragamo.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="Apple to roll out new privacy update; Facebook, Google protest">Apple to roll out new privacy update; Facebook, Google protest</a>

In a statement,&nbsp;Gucci&nbsp;- the profit engine of French group Kering - and&nbsp;Facebook&nbsp;alleged&nbsp;the unidentified defendant used multiple&nbsp;Facebook&nbsp;and Instagram accounts to promote her international online counterfeit business.

Online sales of luxury handbags, shoes and garments have boomed over the past year as the coronavirus pandemic forced retailers to temporarily close their stores.

Groups like&nbsp;Facebook&nbsp;are keen to make a bigger push into the luxury market and "social commerce", but to do so they need to show that their platforms are not a conduit for counterfeiting and are safe for brands, some of which are reluctant to sell their products through third-party players.

"More than one million pieces of content were removed from&nbsp;Facebook&nbsp;and Instagram in the first half of 2020, based on thousands of reports of counterfeit content from brand owners, including&nbsp;Gucci," the statement said.

It added that in 2020 alone the actions of&nbsp;Gucci's in-house intellectual property team had resulted in four million on-line counterfeit product listings being taken down, the seizure of 4,100,000 counterfeit products, and 45,000 websites, including social media accounts, being disabled.

Gucci and Facebook have filed a joint lawsuit in California against an individual, who allegedly used the US group's social media platforms to sell fake Gucci products, the two companies said on Tuesday.

Gucci and Facebook have filed a joint lawsuit in California against an individual, who allegedly used the US group's social media platforms to sell fake Gucci products, the two companies said on Tuesday. The initiative, a first of its kind for both Gucci and Facebook, is the latest example of an Internet giant joining forces with a luxury label to fight the proliferation of counterfeit goods being sold via social media. Amazon has filed similar lawsuits over the past year with Valentino and Ferragamo. Also read: Apple to roll out new privacy update; Facebook, Google protest In a statement, Gucci - the profit engine of French group Kering - and Facebook alleged the unidentified defendant used multiple Facebook and Instagram accounts to promote her international online counterfeit business. Online sales of luxury handbags, shoes and garments have boomed over the past year as the coronavirus pandemic forced retailers to temporarily close their stores. Groups like Facebook are keen to make a bigger push into the luxury market and "social commerce", but to do so they need to show that their platforms are not a conduit for counterfeiting and are safe for brands, some of which are reluctant to sell their products through third-party players. "More than one million pieces of content were removed from Facebook and Instagram in the first half of 2020, based on thousands of reports of counterfeit content from brand owners, including Gucci," the statement said. It added that in 2020 alone the actions of Gucci's in-house intellectual property team had resulted in four million on-line counterfeit product listings being taken down, the seizure of 4,100,000 counterfeit products, and 45,000 websites, including social media accounts, being disabled.

Gucci, Facebook file joint lawsuit against alleged counterfeiter

The U.S. Supreme Court's consideration of a major gun rights case could end in a misfire, with the justices on Monday (December 2) debating whether to dismiss a challenge backed by the powerful National Rifle Association to a New York City handgun ordinance.

U.S. Supreme Court justices debate whether to dismiss major gun case

The ducks on a small French smallholding may carry on quacking, a French court ruled on Tuesday (November 19), rejecting a neighbour's complaint that the birds' racket was making their life a misery.

'The ducks have won': French court says they may keep on quacking

Newly-elected Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi on Saturday stressed the need for improving the quality of lawyers offering legal aid.

Addressing a felicitation programme organised by the Bar Council of India, Gogoi, while acknowledging the depth of legal aid, said: "In India, 67 per cent of prisoners are undertrials, out of these undertrials, almost 47 per cent are between 18-30 years, which means a large population of youth are undertrials. Quality of lawyers who are offering legal aid needs to be improved."

He also advocated for the improvement of facilities for lawyers and said that the lawyer to population ratio in India needs to grow.

"What is the lawyer population in India? About 13-14 lakh lawyers, that is not much. In the United States, there is 1 lawyer for every 200 people but in India, it is one lawyer for every 1800 people. Lawyer-population ratio has to grow," he said.

Gogoi took over as the 46th Chief Justice of India on October 3. He was administered the oath of office by President Ram Nath Kovind at a function held in Rashtrapati Bhawan.

Newly-elected Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi on Saturday stressed the need for improving the quality of lawyers offering legal aid. Addressing a felicitation programme organised by the Bar Council of India, Gogoi, while acknowledging the depth of legal aid, said: "In India, 67 per cent of prisoners are undertrials, out of these undertrials, almost 47 per cent are between 18-30 years, which means a large population of youth are undertrials.

Newly-elected Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi on Saturday stressed the need for improving the quality of lawyers offering legal aid. Addressing a felicitation programme organised by the Bar Council of India, Gogoi, while acknowledging the depth of legal aid, said: "In India, 67 per cent of prisoners are undertrials, out of these undertrials, almost 47 per cent are between 18-30 years, which means a large population of youth are undertrials. Quality of lawyers who are offering legal aid needs to be improved." He also advocated for the improvement of facilities for lawyers and said that the lawyer to population ratio in India needs to grow. "What is the lawyer population in India? About 13-14 lakh lawyers, that is not much. In the United States, there is 1 lawyer for every 200 people but in India, it is one lawyer for every 1800 people. Lawyer-population ratio has to grow," he said. Gogoi took over as the 46th Chief Justice of India on October 3. He was administered the oath of office by President Ram Nath Kovind at a function held in Rashtrapati Bhawan.

Quality of lawyers offering legal aid needs improvement: CJI Gogoi

India has asked the UN to focus on how to differentiate between legal and illegal migration as it risks hurting immigrants who follow the law and may benefit criminal human trafficking networks.

India’s Deputy Permanent Representative Tanmaya Lal, addressing an intergovernmental conference to adopt a global compact for safe, orderly and regular migration at UN General Assembly, said that migration has become a complex and divisive issue, and may imply different things to different groups at different times.

He said that the global compact on migration, which is being negotiated, was more focussed on illegal immigration in some countries.

“This is unfortunate, since this negative narrative is not at all helpful and, in fact, hurts the genuine interests and concerns of regular, legal migrants whose ongoing contribution to both their host and origin countries is well-documented but risks being ignored,” he told UN General Assembly.

“Undoubtedly, there is also a small percentage of illegal or undocumented migrants across countries. In many instances, such illegal migration is based on criminal networks engaged in human trafficking,” he said at a session of the intergovernmental negotiations on the global compact on migration that is to be adopted in December in Marrakesh, Morocco.

At the same time, Lal said it needs to be stressed and made clear that this category of migrants cannot be treated at par under national laws with the legal migrants.

A number of organisations, some international leaders and, even, some of the UN bodies had made attempts to remove distinctions between legal and illegal immigrants and refugees.

“Any such attempts to blur any sort of distinction of legal status between regular and the numerically far fewer irregular migrants can only disadvantage the larger interests of regular migrants and even incentivise irregular migration. Surely, that is not our intention here?” he added.

Asserting that a more humane treatment of irregular migrants was essential, Lal said “it was also important to not let the focus on regular migrants and their contributions be diluted in the Global Compact that we are working on”.

He urged the member States to “rework” and “rearrange” the narrative in the draft Global Compact to highlight the overwhelming positive contribution of international migration upfront in the document and adequate space in the text be provided.

“The current draft provides much greater attention than necessary to the discussion on what rights the irregular migrants should be entitled to. It must, instead, focus more on how to facilitate regular migration. This needs to be corrected,” Lal said.

A number of organisations, some international leaders and, even, some of the UN bodies had made attempts to remove distinctions between legal and illegal immigrants and refugees.

India has asked the UN to focus on how to differentiate between legal and illegal migration as it risks hurting immigrants who follow the law and may benefit criminal human trafficking networks. India’s Deputy Permanent Representative Tanmaya Lal, addressing an intergovernmental conference to adopt a global compact for safe, orderly and regular migration at UN General Assembly, said that migration has become a complex and divisive issue, and may imply different things to different groups at different times. He said that the global compact on migration, which is being negotiated, was more focussed on illegal immigration in some countries. “This is unfortunate, since this negative narrative is not at all helpful and, in fact, hurts the genuine interests and concerns of regular, legal migrants whose ongoing contribution to both their host and origin countries is well-documented but risks being ignored,” he told UN General Assembly. “Undoubtedly, there is also a small percentage of illegal or undocumented migrants across countries. In many instances, such illegal migration is based on criminal networks engaged in human trafficking,” he said at a session of the intergovernmental negotiations on the global compact on migration that is to be adopted in December in Marrakesh, Morocco. At the same time, Lal said it needs to be stressed and made clear that this category of migrants cannot be treated at par under national laws with the legal migrants. A number of organisations, some international leaders and, even, some of the UN bodies had made attempts to remove distinctions between legal and illegal immigrants and refugees. “Any such attempts to blur any sort of distinction of legal status between regular and the numerically far fewer irregular migrants can only disadvantage the larger interests of regular migrants and even incentivise irregular migration. Surely, that is not our intention here?” he added. Asserting that a more humane treatment of irregular migrants was essential, Lal said “it was also important to not let the focus on regular migrants and their contributions be diluted in the Global Compact that we are working on”. He urged the member States to “rework” and “rearrange” the narrative in the draft Global Compact to highlight the overwhelming positive contribution of international migration upfront in the document and adequate space in the text be provided. “The current draft provides much greater attention than necessary to the discussion on what rights the irregular migrants should be entitled to. It must, instead, focus more on how to facilitate regular migration. This needs to be corrected,” Lal said.

Need to differentiate between legal, illegal migration: India

The much-anticipated first draft of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) was published on Sunday where almost 1.9 crore Assam residents have been tagged as &quot;legal&quot;.&nbsp;

Out of the total population of around 3.29 crore in Assam, 1.9 crore have been declared legal while the rest await further stages of verification.&nbsp;

&quot;This is a part draft. It contains 1.9 crore persons, who have been verified till now. The rest of the names are under various stages of verification. As soon as the verification is done, we will come out with another draft,&quot;&nbsp;Registrar General of India (RGI) Sailesh said.&nbsp;

More names will soon be announced, assured NRC State Coordinator Prateek Hajela addressing those whose names have not been included in the list.&nbsp;

&quot;It is a tedious process to verify the names. So there is a possibility that some names within a single family may not be there in the first draft,&quot; said Hajela.

&quot;There is no need to panic as rest of the documents are under verification,&quot; he said.

The next draft will reportedly be out in April and will be completed by 2018 itself, as per guidelines of the supreme court, the Registrar General of India said.

The applications kicked off in May 2015 with a total of 6.5 documents turned in by 69.27 lack residents of Assam.&nbsp;

&quot;The process of accepting complaints will start once the final draft is published as rest of the names are likely to appear in that,&quot; Hajela said.

People can check their names in the first draft at NRC sewa kendras across Assam from 8 am on January 1. They can also check for information online and through SMS services.

The RGI informed that the groundwork for this mammoth exercise began in December 2013 and 40 hearings have taken place in the Supreme Court over the last three years.

Assam, which faced influx from Bangladesh since the early 20th century, is the only state with an NRC, first prepared in 1951.

The state had about 80 lakh residents when the NRC was prepared for the first time.&nbsp;

There have been continuous problems over illegal immigrants living in Assam and issues of identification have been debated multiple times.&nbsp;

A six-year agitation demanding identification and deportation of illegal immigrants was launched by the AASU in 1979.

(With PTI inputs)

The next draft will reportedly be out in April and will be completed by 2018 itself, as per guidelines of the supreme court

The much-anticipated first draft of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) was published on Sunday where almost 1.9 crore Assam residents have been tagged as "legal". Out of the total population of around 3.29 crore in Assam, 1.9 crore have been declared legal while the rest await further stages of verification. "This is a part draft. It contains 1.9 crore persons, who have been verified till now. The rest of the names are under various stages of verification. As soon as the verification is done, we will come out with another draft," Registrar General of India (RGI) Sailesh said. More names will soon be announced, assured NRC State Coordinator Prateek Hajela addressing those whose names have not been included in the list. "It is a tedious process to verify the names. So there is a possibility that some names within a single family may not be there in the first draft," said Hajela. "There is no need to panic as rest of the documents are under verification," he said. The next draft will reportedly be out in April and will be completed by 2018 itself, as per guidelines of the supreme court, the Registrar General of India said. The applications kicked off in May 2015 with a total of 6.5 documents turned in by 69.27 lack residents of Assam. "The process of accepting complaints will start once the final draft is published as rest of the names are likely to appear in that," Hajela said. People can check their names in the first draft at NRC sewa kendras across Assam from 8 am on January 1. They can also check for information online and through SMS services. The RGI informed that the groundwork for this mammoth exercise began in December 2013 and 40 hearings have taken place in the Supreme Court over the last three years. Assam, which faced influx from Bangladesh since the early 20th century, is the only state with an NRC, first prepared in 1951. The state had about 80 lakh residents when the NRC was prepared for the first time. There have been continuous problems over illegal immigrants living in Assam and issues of identification have been debated multiple times. A six-year agitation demanding identification and deportation of illegal immigrants was launched by the AASU in 1979. (With PTI inputs)

Assam releases first draft with 1.9 crore names as 'legal' residents

A court in Bangladesh on Thursday allowed police to detain two men over the attack claimed by militant group Islamic State on a cafe in the capital, Dhaka, that killed 20 hostages, mostly foreigners. 
 
The case has drawn criticism from human rights groups who say the suspects were illegally detained and denied access to a lawyer. A lawyer for one of the two men, Hasnat Karim, said his client was innocent and demanded his immediate release.&nbsp; 
 
Karim, who holds dual British and Bangladeshi citizenship, and Tahmid Hasib Khan, a student of Toronto University, were dining separately with family and friends when gunmen stormed the Holey Artisan Bakery on the evening of July 1. 
 
The suspected Islamist militants singled out non-Muslims and foreigners, killing Italians, Japanese, an American and an Indian before security forces stormed the eatery to end the 12-hour siege. Two police also died in the operation. 
 
On Thursday, a Dhaka court remanded the men in custody for eight days for interrogation, with police official Masudur Rahman telling reporters they had been arrested on Wednesday night &quot;from two different places&quot;.&nbsp; 
 
Unknown location 
 
The police assertion of arrests at different sites appeared to run counter to relatives&#39; statements that the men were held at unknown locations after the attack. 
 
&quot;The authorities have finally admitted that Mr Karim is in their custody,&quot; his London-based lawyer, Rodney Dixon, told Reuters in a statement. 
 
&quot;They have had more than sufficient time to make any inquiries. There is clearly no evidence to charge him and he should be let go without any further delay.&quot; 
 
Rights group Amnesty International has criticised the detention of the men as having denied them their fundamental right to legal representation. 
 
The formal arrests take to seven the tally for the cafe attack, which the government blames on local militants, along with another, on July 26, in which police killed nine militants believed to be plotting a similar assault. 
 
The government has dismissed suggestions that Islamic State has a presence in Bangladesh, even though &#39;selfies&#39; of some of the attackers posing with an automatic rifle were posted on the jihadi group&#39;s propaganda outlets during the siege. 
 
In the past year, al Qaeda and Islamic State have made competing claims over the killings of liberals and religious minorities in the mostly Muslim nation of 160 million. 
 
Karim and Khan were among 32 survivors rescued by police and taken into custody for questioning. Police released the others soon after, but the two men&#39;s families said they had not returned. 
 
Karim, a 47-year-old engineer, was at the cafe with his family to celebrate his daughter&#39;s 13th birthday. 
 
Relatives of Khan, 22, told the New York Times that the student, who has epilepsy, had been beaten and denied medical attention after being held. 
 
Khan&#39;s father, reached by telephone, declined to comment. 
 
(Reuters)

Amnesty International has criticised the detention of the men as having denied them their fundamental right to legal representation

A court in Bangladesh on Thursday allowed police to detain two men over the attack claimed by militant group Islamic State on a cafe in the capital, Dhaka, that killed 20 hostages, mostly foreigners. The case has drawn criticism from human rights groups who say the suspects were illegally detained and denied access to a lawyer. A lawyer for one of the two men, Hasnat Karim, said his client was innocent and demanded his immediate release. Karim, who holds dual British and Bangladeshi citizenship, and Tahmid Hasib Khan, a student of Toronto University, were dining separately with family and friends when gunmen stormed the Holey Artisan Bakery on the evening of July 1. The suspected Islamist militants singled out non-Muslims and foreigners, killing Italians, Japanese, an American and an Indian before security forces stormed the eatery to end the 12-hour siege. Two police also died in the operation. On Thursday, a Dhaka court remanded the men in custody for eight days for interrogation, with police official Masudur Rahman telling reporters they had been arrested on Wednesday night "from two different places". Unknown location The police assertion of arrests at different sites appeared to run counter to relatives' statements that the men were held at unknown locations after the attack. "The authorities have finally admitted that Mr Karim is in their custody," his London-based lawyer, Rodney Dixon, told Reuters in a statement. "They have had more than sufficient time to make any inquiries. There is clearly no evidence to charge him and he should be let go without any further delay." Rights group Amnesty International has criticised the detention of the men as having denied them their fundamental right to legal representation. The formal arrests take to seven the tally for the cafe attack, which the government blames on local militants, along with another, on July 26, in which police killed nine militants believed to be plotting a similar assault. The government has dismissed suggestions that Islamic State has a presence in Bangladesh, even though 'selfies' of some of the attackers posing with an automatic rifle were posted on the jihadi group's propaganda outlets during the siege. In the past year, al Qaeda and Islamic State have made competing claims over the killings of liberals and religious minorities in the mostly Muslim nation of 160 million. Karim and Khan were among 32 survivors rescued by police and taken into custody for questioning. Police released the others soon after, but the two men's families said they had not returned. Karim, a 47-year-old engineer, was at the cafe with his family to celebrate his daughter's 13th birthday. Relatives of Khan, 22, told the New York Times that the student, who has epilepsy, had been beaten and denied medical attention after being held. Khan's father, reached by telephone, declined to comment. (Reuters)

Bangladesh detains two over July cafe attack that killed 20 hostages

Toronto&#39;s Archbishop joined several other prominent clergymen who say they will bless same-sex marriages in defiance of a narrow vote by the Anglican Church of Canada not to authorise gay unions. 
 
More than 200 delegates attending the six-day General Synod 2016 narrowly rejected the resolution Monday night after hearing from more than 60 speakers, most of them in favour of gay marriage. 
 
Archbishop Colin Johnson yesterday said that he wanted his gay and lesbian colleagues &quot;to share the joy&quot;. 
 
Johnson said blessing same-sex marriages at the discretion of the bishop and with agreement of local clergy was a logical step in the evolution of the church that he said he would be considering in the coming weeks. 
 
&quot;I am advised that this option would not contravene the marriage canon,&quot; Johnson said. &quot;I am confident it would be supported by the majority, even if not all of our bishops, clergy, laity and the wider community.&quot; 
 
Same-sex marriage has been legal in Canada since 2005, and Monday&#39;s vote puts the Anglican Church, the third largest in Canada, out of step with most Canadians, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who recently took part in a gay pride parade in Toronto.&nbsp;In order for the resolution to have passed, it required two-thirds support from each of three orders--the lay, clergy and bishops. 
 
Meghan Kilty, the director of communications for the Anglican Church of Canada, said yesterday that 155 delegates voted in favour of the resolution and 68 against it, with three members abstaining from the vote. The result was one vote short of what was needed to pass the measure. 
 
Bishop John Chapman in Ottawa, Ontario, said in a statement that he planned to proceed immediately with such unions in his diocese, although no one would be forced to officiate at such a ceremony. 
 
&quot;It is time my friends,&quot; Chapman said. &quot;It is past time.&quot; 
 
&quot;Take heart,&quot; said Rev. Melissa Skelton, bishop of New Westminster, British Columbia. &quot;This is not over.&quot; 
 
The General Synod is held every three years, and the vote was the culmination of work that began when the last General Synod, the church&#39;s legislative body, asked a panel to come up with a draft motion. 
 
About 1.6 million Canadians identify themselves as Anglican, according to Statistics Canada. 
 
The US Episcopal Church, the Anglican body in the United States, is alone among Anglican bodies in approving gay marriage and has faced a backlash for its support of same-sex unions. 
 
(PTI)

Same-sex marriage has been legal in Canada since 2005, and the Anglican Church's opposition to it is out of step with most Canadians

Toronto's Archbishop joined several other prominent clergymen who say they will bless same-sex marriages in defiance of a narrow vote by the Anglican Church of Canada not to authorise gay unions. More than 200 delegates attending the six-day General Synod 2016 narrowly rejected the resolution Monday night after hearing from more than 60 speakers, most of them in favour of gay marriage. Archbishop Colin Johnson yesterday said that he wanted his gay and lesbian colleagues "to share the joy". Johnson said blessing same-sex marriages at the discretion of the bishop and with agreement of local clergy was a logical step in the evolution of the church that he said he would be considering in the coming weeks. "I am advised that this option would not contravene the marriage canon," Johnson said. "I am confident it would be supported by the majority, even if not all of our bishops, clergy, laity and the wider community." Same-sex marriage has been legal in Canada since 2005, and Monday's vote puts the Anglican Church, the third largest in Canada, out of step with most Canadians, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who recently took part in a gay pride parade in Toronto. In order for the resolution to have passed, it required two-thirds support from each of three orders--the lay, clergy and bishops. Meghan Kilty, the director of communications for the Anglican Church of Canada, said yesterday that 155 delegates voted in favour of the resolution and 68 against it, with three members abstaining from the vote. The result was one vote short of what was needed to pass the measure. Bishop John Chapman in Ottawa, Ontario, said in a statement that he planned to proceed immediately with such unions in his diocese, although no one would be forced to officiate at such a ceremony. "It is time my friends," Chapman said. "It is past time." "Take heart," said Rev. Melissa Skelton, bishop of New Westminster, British Columbia. "This is not over." The General Synod is held every three years, and the vote was the culmination of work that began when the last General Synod, the church's legislative body, asked a panel to come up with a draft motion. About 1.6 million Canadians identify themselves as Anglican, according to Statistics Canada. The US Episcopal Church, the Anglican body in the United States, is alone among Anglican bodies in approving gay marriage and has faced a backlash for its support of same-sex unions. (PTI)

Toronto Archbishop blesses same-sex marriage, despite Church's vote

Prime Minister Najib Razak&#39;s government threw its support in parliament this week behind an Islamic penal code that includes amputations and stoning, shocking some of his allies and stoking fears of further strains in the multi-ethnic country.

Critics believe the scandal-tainted prime minister is using &#39;hudud&#39;, the Islamic law, to shore up the backing of Muslim Malay voters and fend off attacks on his leadership ahead of critical by-elections next month and a general election in 2018.

The government on Thursday unexpectedly submitted to parliament a hudud bill that had been proposed by the Islamist group Parti Islam se-Malaysia&#39;s (PAS).

Although debate on the law was deferred to October by PAS leader Abdul Hadi Awang, its submission to parliament brought criticism from leaders across the political spectrum, including allies of the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition, who represent the ethnic Chinese and Indian communities.

Najib sought to ease tensions with his allies on Friday, saying the bill was &quot;misunderstood&quot;.

&quot;It&#39;s not hudud, but what we refer to as enhanced punishment,&quot; he told a news conference after meeting leaders of his ruling United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) party.

&quot;It applies only to certain offences and this comes under the jurisdiction of the Syariah court and is only applicable to the Muslims. It has nothing to do with non-Muslims.&quot; 
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<h5>Many fear such a move would open doors for other states to bring in the Islamic penal code. Hudud stipulates ancient religious punishments for Muslims who violate the law.</h5>
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He added that the punishments would be limited and canings meted out under the law would not injure or draw blood.

Earlier in the day, the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA), a key party in the BN coalition, called the submission of the hudud bill to parliament &quot;unconstitutional&quot;.

&quot;As we repeatedly pointed out, the implementation of Hudud law is against the spirit of the Federal Constitution, and would ruin the inter-ethnic relationship in the country,&quot; MCA President Liow Tiong Lai said.

Arguments for and against the introduction of hudud have divided Malaysia for years. Most of the Southeast Asian country&#39;s states implement sharia, the Islamic legal system, but its reach is restricted by federal law.

Still, the hudud bill appears doomed as the UMNO-led coalition lacks the two-thirds majority needed to pass it into law.

The Islamist party PAS is pushing for a constitutional amendment that would allow hudud to be implemented in Kelantan, a northern state where nightclubs are banned and there are separate public benches for men and women. 
 
&nbsp;

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Even bad coffee is better than no coffee at all. David Lynch <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/amwriting?src=hash">#amwriting</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/writing?src=hash">#writing</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/writingtip?src=hash">#writingtip</a> <a href="https://t.co/ho15a54eLB">pic.twitter.com/ho15a54eLB</a>
&mdash; The UnNovelist (@TheUnNovelist) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheUnNovelist/status/736501099331489792">May 28, 2016</a></blockquote>

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Many fear such a move would open doors for other states to bring in the Islamic penal code. Hudud stipulates ancient religious punishments for Muslims who violate the law.

&nbsp;

EYEING POLLS

Critics say that Najib, with an eye on by-elections for two parliamentary seats on June 18, is seeking to appease the majority Muslim votebank with his stand on hudud and to deflect attention from a multi-billion-dollar scandal at the state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

They allege Najib was a beneficiary of 1MDB&#39;s funds, after about $680 million was deposited in his bank account before a 2013 election. Najib has denied any wrongdoing.

Some political heavyweights in Najib&#39;s party have questioned whether he can lead them to victory in the 2018 general election. However, he has consolidated power by sacking dissenters within UMNO, which has ruled Malaysia since 1957, and using a controversial and repressive colonial-era sedition law to silence other critics.

Najib seized on the resounding victory of a coalition partner in a Borneo state election earlier month as evidence that he and his government remain popular. The by-elections in peninsula Malaysia are likely to be a closer contest.

&quot;Najib did not want the 1MDB global scandal to become the issue in both by-elections,&quot; said Lim Kit Siang, parliamentary leader of the Democratic Action Party, adding that Najib has ensured the focus will now be on hudud.

People freak out as government decides to base legal code on religion instead of independent moral and intellectual principles

Prime Minister Najib Razak's government threw its support in parliament this week behind an Islamic penal code that includes amputations and stoning, shocking some of his allies and stoking fears of further strains in the multi-ethnic country. Critics believe the scandal-tainted prime minister is using 'hudud', the Islamic law, to shore up the backing of Muslim Malay voters and fend off attacks on his leadership ahead of critical by-elections next month and a general election in 2018. The government on Thursday unexpectedly submitted to parliament a hudud bill that had been proposed by the Islamist group Parti Islam se-Malaysia's (PAS). Although debate on the law was deferred to October by PAS leader Abdul Hadi Awang, its submission to parliament brought criticism from leaders across the political spectrum, including allies of the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition, who represent the ethnic Chinese and Indian communities. Najib sought to ease tensions with his allies on Friday, saying the bill was "misunderstood". "It's not hudud, but what we refer to as enhanced punishment," he told a news conference after meeting leaders of his ruling United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) party. "It applies only to certain offences and this comes under the jurisdiction of the Syariah court and is only applicable to the Muslims. It has nothing to do with non-Muslims." Many fear such a move would open doors for other states to bring in the Islamic penal code. Hudud stipulates ancient religious punishments for Muslims who violate the law. He added that the punishments would be limited and canings meted out under the law would not injure or draw blood. Earlier in the day, the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA), a key party in the BN coalition, called the submission of the hudud bill to parliament "unconstitutional". "As we repeatedly pointed out, the implementation of Hudud law is against the spirit of the Federal Constitution, and would ruin the inter-ethnic relationship in the country," MCA President Liow Tiong Lai said. Arguments for and against the introduction of hudud have divided Malaysia for years. Most of the Southeast Asian country's states implement sharia, the Islamic legal system, but its reach is restricted by federal law. Still, the hudud bill appears doomed as the UMNO-led coalition lacks the two-thirds majority needed to pass it into law. The Islamist party PAS is pushing for a constitutional amendment that would allow hudud to be implemented in Kelantan, a northern state where nightclubs are banned and there are separate public benches for men and women. Even bad coffee is better than no coffee at all. David Lynch #amwriting #writing #writingtip pic.twitter.com/ho15a54eLB — The UnNovelist (@TheUnNovelist) May 28, 2016 Many fear such a move would open doors for other states to bring in the Islamic penal code. Hudud stipulates ancient religious punishments for Muslims who violate the law. EYEING POLLS Critics say that Najib, with an eye on by-elections for two parliamentary seats on June 18, is seeking to appease the majority Muslim votebank with his stand on hudud and to deflect attention from a multi-billion-dollar scandal at the state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB). They allege Najib was a beneficiary of 1MDB's funds, after about $680 million was deposited in his bank account before a 2013 election. Najib has denied any wrongdoing. Some political heavyweights in Najib's party have questioned whether he can lead them to victory in the 2018 general election. However, he has consolidated power by sacking dissenters within UMNO, which has ruled Malaysia since 1957, and using a controversial and repressive colonial-era sedition law to silence other critics. Najib seized on the resounding victory of a coalition partner in a Borneo state election earlier month as evidence that he and his government remain popular. The by-elections in peninsula Malaysia are likely to be a closer contest. "Najib did not want the 1MDB global scandal to become the issue in both by-elections," said Lim Kit Siang, parliamentary leader of the Democratic Action Party, adding that Najib has ensured the focus will now be on hudud.

Outrage in multi-ethnic Malaysia as government backs Islamic law

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