The US Environmental Protection Agency proposed tougher standards for US air quality Thursday, recommending reducing the amount of ground-level ozone from 0.08 parts per million (ppm) to between 0.07 and 0.075 ppm. The EPA is also seeking comments about the possibility of leaving the level at 0.08 ppm, or reducing it to as low as [...]

Ugandan Minister of Internal Affairs Ruhakana Ruganda told IRIN News Thursday that Uganda intends to "engage" the International Criminal Court (ICC) in an effort to obtain review of charges against leaders of Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) . Ruganda said that while the Ugandan government does not condone impunity for violators of human rights, the [...]

South Korean President Roh Moo-Hyun filed a petition at the Constitutional Court of South Korea Thursday, challenging a ruling by the National Election Commission that Roh violated election neutrality laws for the second time in a month by repeating criticism of the opposition Grand National Party (GNP) . Presidential spokesperson Cheon Ho-Seon said that Roh [...]

Australian Prime Minister John Howard said in an interview with Sky News Thursday that his government will not commit to making changes called for in an official report on eliminating discrimination against same-sex couples . The Australian Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission report released Thursday recommends legislative changes to 58 federal laws to end [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) Wednesday called for Iran to stop using the death penalty for juveniles convicted of serious crimes. HRW said that Iran has executed offenders who committed crimes when they were as young as 15. With at least 17 juvenile offenders executed since the beginning of 2004, eight times more than any other [...]

The US, France, and the UK circulated a draft UN Security Council resolution Wednesday seeking to postpone plans for Kosovo's independence for 120 days to facilitate further discussions with Serbia and Russia, which oppose independence. Kosovar Prime Minister Agim Ceku nonetheless urged the international community to quickly adopt a UN-supervised independence plan for Kosovo , [...]

Pakistani Foreign Minister Khurshid M. Kasuri has said that President Pervez Musharraf will not resort to martial law in the midst of continuing anti-government agitation by lawyers and opposition groups because it is "unconstitutional." In an interview with PBS Tuesday, Kasuri reiterated Musharraf's pledge to "work within the confines of the constitution" despite protests against [...]

The US Supreme Court handed down decisions in three cases Thursday, including Rita v. United States , where the Court held that a prison sentence falling within the federal sentencing guidelines may be presumed to be a reasonable sentence on appeal, but the presumption of reasonableness is not binding. Victor Rita was convicted of obstructing [...]

Thai prosecutors formally filed corruption charges against former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his wife Pojamarn at the Supreme Court of Justice Thursday, charging the exiled Thaksin with abuse of power for personal gain, conflict of interest violations, and also dereliction of duty for personal gain. The charges stem from a 2003 land purchase [...]

The Supreme Assembly of Tajikistan voted unanimously Wednesday to approve an amnesty proposed by President Emomali Rahmon , paving the way for Rahmon to reduce the sentences of hundreds of Islamic militants imprisoned for fighting against the government during the 1992-1997 Tajikistani Civil War . The amnesty will not reduce the sentences of militants convicted [...]