UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged the US and nine other countries to ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty on Tuesday, saying that the ratification would "move us toward the larger goals of ridding the world of nuclear weapons and preventing their proliferation." UN diplomats said that US leadership is essential to finishing the deal, which will [...]

German Minister of Justice Brigitte Zypries on Tuesday proposed adding two new criminal offenses to Germany's anti-terrorism law in the wake of the September 4 arrest of three suspected Islamic militants who are accused of planning a series of car bombings. The first proposed offense, "preparing an act of violence," would criminalize actions in furtherance [...]

Protesters in Buenos Aires on Tuesday marked the one-year anniversary of the disappearance of Jorge Julio Lopez , who is believed to have been kidnapped after testifying against Miguel Etchecolatz in the latter's trial for crimes committed during Argentina's Dirty War . Lopez, 77, had testified that he was abducted in 1976 and held in [...]

Cambodian officials on Tuesday arrested former Khmer Rouge official Nuon Chea and escorted him to a hearing before the co-investigating judges of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) , the court established to try former Khmer Rouge leaders. At the hearing, the court charged Chea with crimes against humanity and war crimes [...]

Former Milberg Weiss partner William S. Lerach has agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy to obstruct justice charges in a plot in which Milberg Weiss allegedly paid up to $11.3 million in illegal kickbacks since 1984 to individuals to serve as lead plaintiffs in class action and shareholder derivative lawsuits. As part of the plea [...]

Giovanni Di Stefano : "On the 4th of September, 2007 the Iraqi High Tribunal Appeal Section refused the appeal of Al Majid et al, effectively condemning the indictees to death. On the 9th of September, 2007 I duly filed applications with President Talabani to commute the sentences of Ali Hassan al-Majid, Sultan Hashim Ahmed Hussein [...]

The US Senate voted Tuesday 57-42 against proceeding with debate on the District of Columbia House Voting Rights Act , killing the bill before it reached Senate consideration by falling three votes short of the 60 necessary to move forward. The bill, which easily passed in the House in April, would have made the District [...]

A US Marine Corps commanding officer ordered Tuesday that charges be dismissed against Marine Capt. Lucas McConnell for failing to report the killing of 24 Iraqi civilians at Haditha . McConnell was granted immunity from prosecution by Lt. Gen. James Mattis , commanding officer at Camp Pendleton , California, in exchange for his cooperation in [...]

France's National Assembly , the lower house of the French parliament, Tuesday debated a new immigration bill proposing tightened requirements for foreigners seeking to join immigrant relatives in France. The bill comes after a campaign promise by French President Nicolas Sarkozy to toughen the country's immigration policy, a move already begun by the introduction of [...]

Lawyers for Brent Wilkes , a defense contractor connected to disgraced former Congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham , have subpoenaed 13 members of Congress to testify at Wilkes' October 2 trial. All of the lawmakers, including former House Speaker Dennis Hastert , have said they will not comply with the orders, because according to House Rules [...]