Colombia's Congress approved legislation giving same-sex couples who have cohabited for over a period of two years similar rights as regular common law marriages Thursday, which will guarantee equal rights in areas such as welfare benefits and property inheritance. The measure, opposed by the Roman Catholic church but supported by Colombian President Alvaro Uribe , [...]

Rights complaints by Muslims in the US rose 25 percent in 2006, according to an annual report on civil rights released Thursday by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) . The group attributed the jump to a rise in anti-Muslim bias, particularly seen in cases involving delays in immigration proceedings. The majority of reported complaints [...]

The Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB) Friday announced it is investigating allegations made by Russian businessman Andrei Lugovoy that the deceased former KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko and alleged coup plotter Boris Berezovsky spied for Great Britain. Lugovoy, who is currently sought by Britain's Crown Prosecution Service (CRS) for the polonium poisoning death [...]

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said Thursday that it has filed suit against the heads of a technology company and two lawyers who assisted the company in an illegal "pump and dump" penny stock scheme. Arizona lawyer David Stocker and Texas lawyer Phillip Offill Jr, the latter a former SEC enforcement officer, are [...]

Japanese district courts in Kochi and Sapporo Friday rejected the claims of two groups of Japanese abandoned in China as children after World War II, ruling that the current Japanese government was not obligated to compensate the so-called "war orphans" because Japan had no obligation to to assist their repatriation and assimilation back in Japan. [...]

The US military announced Thursday that charges against Lt. Col. William H. Steele, the former commander of the 451st Military Police Detachment in charge of the detention facility at Camp Cropper in Iraq, has been referred to a court-martial on charges of aiding the enemy, unauthorized possession of classified information, disobeying orders, and various counts [...]

The US Department of Justice Office of Inspector General (OIG) and Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) confirmed in a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee Thursday that an ongoing DOJ internal investigation into politicized hiring decisions has expanded to include an alleged March meeting between former US DOJ aide Monica Goodling and Attorney General Alberto [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled Thursday that Javaid Iqbal, who alleges he was detained "solely because of race, religion, and national origin" following the September 11 terrorist attacks and subjected to mistreatment during detention, can proceed with civil lawsuits against former Attorney General John Ashcroft, FBI Director Robert Mueller, and [...]

A five-member team of UN investigators concluded in a confidential report to the UN Security Council disclosed Thursday by the New York Times that former Liberian President Charles Taylor may retain control over large sums of personal assets located in Nigeria and Liberia. Taylor claims he is indigent, and refused to participate in the start [...]

A federal jury convicted former Ku Klux Klan (KKK) member James Ford Seale Thursday of two counts of kidnapping resulting in death and one count conspiracy for Seale's role in the kidnapping and death of two 19-year old teens in Mississippi in 1964. Seale, who was previously arrested on suspicion of kidnapping Henry Dee and [...]