Executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Yvo de Boer said Wednesday that it is unlikely a new climate change treaty will be concluded until 2011. After the Copenhagen summit (COP15) in December...
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday called for a renewed international commitment to eradicate all forms of slavery . Ban's comments took place on the International Day of Remembrance of Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic...
The Russian State Duma on Wednesday approved a bill to ban pre-trial detention for suspects accused of economic crimes. The legislation would allow those charged with financial...
The Hebei Province People's High Court in northern China on Wednesday upheld a life sentence for former vice president of China's Supreme People's Court (SPC) Huang Songyou. Huang was convicted ...
Human rights group Amnesty International (AI) on Wednesday urged Cuban authorities to "revoke laws that restrict freedom of expression, assembly and association and to release all dissidents unfairly detained by the authorities." AI called on...
Myanmar's military junta on Tuesday unveiled the first of five laws that will set the stage for the country's first election in 20 years. The Union Election Commission Law, the first of the five laws enacted [Al...
Utah Governor Gary Herbert (R) signed a bill into law on Monday that would allow a woman to be charged with criminal homicide if she arranges for an illegal abortion. Bill HB 462 ...
The Supreme Court of Oklahoma ruled Tuesday that a state law imposing broad restrictions on abortion violates the state constitution. The law required women seeking an abortion to have an ultrasound within...
An Iranian appeals court on Wednesday upheld the death sentence for a 20-year-old student who took part in anti-government protests in December. Mohammad Amin Valian was convicted of Moharebeh, which means waging war...
Maryland Attorney General Douglas Gansler said Wednesday that the state of Maryland and its agencies should recognize same-sex marriages performed lawfully in other states. Gansler's opinion, issued in response to a legislator's...