Carla del Ponte, chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia , told the UN Security Council Thursday that Serbia and other European countries are contributing to a "dysfunctional" situation as the UN-backed war crimes tribunal struggles to arrest two top fugitives from the Bosnian war. Del Ponte blamed Serbia and NATO [...]

The unicameral Latvian parliament Thursday overwhelmingly passed a constitutional amendment defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman, effectively blocking the recognition of same-sex marriage . The amendment infuriatedLatvian gay rights activists who are considering taking their case to the European Court of Human Rights. Latvia , a recent member to the [...]

Survivors of the May 2005 Andijan uprising have filed a lawsuit in Germany under that country's universal jurisdiction laws , accusing Uzbek Interior Minister Zokirjon Almatov of torture and crimes against humanity, the New York-based Human Rights Watch said Thursday. Troops under Almatov's command fired on the thousands of protesters gathered after rebels stormed a [...]

The NAACP announced its opposition to the US Supreme Court nomination of Judge Samuel Alito in a news conference Thursday, citing his conservative record as a threat to civil rights. The Black Leadership Forum and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund joined NAACP leaders in opposition at the news conference. Though the NAACP [...]

The Illinois Supreme Court on Thursday reversed a $10.1 billion judgment against Philip Morris USA in a case where the tobacco company had been found liable for defrauding customers into believing that light cigarettes were safer than regular ones. The state high court ordered the lower court to dismiss the case, holding that the US [...]

The Parliament of New South Wales passed laws in an emergency session Thursday allowing Sydney police to "lockdown" parts of the city if necessary in order to stop racial unrest. The new legislation also increases jail sentences for rioting and affray and expands police power, providing the authority to stop and search people and vehicles, [...]

AP is reporting that the White House has agreed to accept the McCain Amendment that would ban the cruel and inhumane treatment of terror detainees, according to congressional officials. The White House has previously threatened to veto any legislation to which the amendment was attached and called for an exemption for CIA operatives. 2:36 PM [...]

A federal judge on Wednesday dismissed with prejudice a lawsuit brought by an Idaho county against local employers who allegedly hired illegal immigrants which sought to recover medical, school and other costs the county said it spent on the workers. Canyon County sued four businesses and the director of the nonprofit Idaho Migrant Council under [...]

UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Ibrahim Gambari told the UN Security Council Wednesday that the human rights situation in Iraq requires urgent action . Gambari expressed concern over the "increasingly disturbing reports" of abuses occurring in Iraqi detention facilities. US forces first discovered 173 badly malnourished, beaten and possibly tortured detainees in November, and earlier [...]

The US House committee investigating the government's actions in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina issued a subpoena Wednesday commanding Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to turn over internal records on the Pentagon's efforts to stabilize public safety, mobilize active duty forces in the region and send supplies to victims. The subpoena was issued due to the [...]