A contentious draft Iraqi oil law approved Tuesday by Iraq's cabinet stalled on its way to parliament Wednesday after Sunni and Kurd politicians and Shiite lawmakers associated with radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr objected to its terms and the process of pushing it forward for legislative approval. Critics pointed out that the draft had been approved [...]

A Malaysian judge Wednesday rejected a bid by former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to sue former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad for defamation in connection with renewed allegations that Anwar is a homosexual. Mahathir dismissed Anwar from office in 1998 in the midst of disagreements over financial policy and had him charged with corruption and [...]

Andrew Wood, Pitt Law '08, files from Manila: The Philippines is a fascinating place to spend the summer. The country is confronted with a constant and complex problem of migration, an issue that the government is struggling to solve. Well-educated Filipinos are flocking out of the country to seek better wages than they can find [...]

In his first statement to the UK House of Commons Tuesday, new British Prime Minister Gordon Brown laid out a series of proposed constitutional reforms he said were designed to make British government more accountable to the people. The changes, yet to be set out in formal legislation, include giving members of parliament the final [...]

Legal Arizona Workers Act, signed into law by Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, July 2, 2007 . Read the full text of the bill . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

An Act to repeal section 546.720, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof one new section relating to administration of the death penalty, with penalty provisions (HB 820), signed into law by Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt, June 30, 2007 . Read the full text of the bill. Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

The interim government of Thailand has proposed an internal security bill that would allow the military to remain a political force even after the election of a civilian-run government, according to critics Tuesday. The proposal would transform the army chief into the head of Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC) and would grant the ISOC the [...]

The government of Thailand announced Tuesday it was abandoning a law that allowed the cabinet to censor political or controversial Internet sites based solely on the Minister of Communication's discretion. Now Internet websites can now only be censored by court order. The country's ban on popular video-sharing website YouTube will remain. In April, Thailand banned [...]

International participants promised more than $360 million in aid to help build up Afghanistan's ailing judicial system at a conference of UN members and Afghan leaders that concluded in Rome Tuesday. Despite the pledge, judiciary problems were overshadowed by concerns over civilian casualties caused by NATO troops in the region operating against Taliban guerrillas. NATO [...]

Federal prosecutors disclosed Tuesday that they will seek the death penalty if a conviction is secured against former US soldier Steven D. Green , the alleged key player in the Mahmudiya rape-murder case . Green is believed to have masterminded the rape and murder of a 14-year-old Iraqi girl and the murder of her family [...]