Thailand's Constitution Drafting Assembly approved a final draft of a new constitution Friday, paving the way for an August 19 constitutional referendum and possible general elections in December. The 100-member body, appointed by the military, unanimously approved the 309-article draft presented by the 35-member Constitutional Drafting Committee in April. The new constitution is part of [...]

The Constitutional Court of Turkey ruled Thursday in favor of the constitutionality of proposed changes to the electoral system that would allow for the president to be elected by popular vote. The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) backed the reforms as a way to end a deadlock over the election of the next president; [...]

Former US Army germ-warfare researcher Dr. Steven J. Hatfill , named a "person of interest" by the FBI in its investigations of anthrax mailings shortly after the 2001 Sept. 11 attacks , has filed a motion to force journalists to reveal their sources after newspapers printed details about the investigation. Hatfill is seeking the information [...]

A Court in London sentenced Younis Tsouli and two accomplices to prison Thursday for collaborating on websites that advocated terrorism. Tsouli, along with Tariq al-Daourm and Waseem Mughal, used the sites to promote terrorist actions and distribute information on how to construct bombs and poisons. Tsouli, who labeled himself "the jihadist James Bond," received a [...]

Former Australian High Court chief justice Sir Gerard Brennan Wednesday denounced anti-terrorism laws being used to detain an Indian doctor believed to be connected to last week's attempted terror attacks in London and Glasgow. Dr. Mohammed Haneef has been held in Australian police custody since Sunday, when he was stopped as he was about to [...]

Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra told Japan's Kyodo News Thursday that he will not return to Thailand to face charges of corruption unless he can be sure that his trial would be fair. Thai officials have ordered Thaksin and his wife to return to the country by July 23, and have said if they [...]

The government of Turkmenistan published a law defining the president's powers and duties for the first time in Turkmenistani history Wednesday. The law, printed in the official state newspaper, gives the president the power to appoint the Cabinet and leaders of the armed forces. With the approval of the legislative Halk Maslahaty , the president [...]

The trial of former police chaplain Christian Von Wernich began Thursday in Argentina , where the Roman Catholic priest is alleged to have been involved in human rights abuses including torture and murder during Argentina's "dirty war" from the late 1970's to early 1980s. Von Wernich has been accused of visiting detention centers and pressuring [...]

The Turkish criminal justice system continues to tolerate and condone the use of torture and ill-treatment by police and investigators despite the government's official "zero tolerance for torture" policy, according to a report released Thursday by Amnesty International . The report found that the an institutionalized culture that violates human rights with impunity is a [...]

Prosecutors at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) Thursday filed an urgent motion seeking to move the trial of former Bosnian army commander Rasim Delic out of the international court at The Hague. The move comes in response to an order limiting the number of witnesses allowed to be called. Prosecutors wish [...]