Antonio Guterres , the new UN High Commissioner for Refugees and former Portuguese prime minister, said Tuesday that international awareness of internal refugee issues was increasing and that countries had started to act to set and fulfil obligations towards them. There are around twenty to twenty-five million internally displaced people (IDPs) worldwide, yet only nine [...]

Pfc. Lynndie England Tuesday apologized for posing for pictures with humiliated Iraqi prisoners, saying that she had been used by her then-boyfriend Spc. Charles Graner . As the sentencing phase of her trial following her Monday conviction on six of seven abuse-related charges got under way at Fort Hood Texas, a military jury of officers [...]

In Tuesday's environmental law news, the European Commission has approved a plan to add international airline flights to the European Union's carbon dioxide (CO2) emission trading scheme (ETS) . The ETS sets an overall cap on CO2 emissions, and participating industries can buy and sell emission allowances as needed. Previously, domestic European flights were included, [...]

The Pentagon announced Tuesday that David Hicks , the only Australian held at the US terror suspect detention camp at Guantanamo Bay , will go to trial before a special military commission on November 18, about a month later than earlier expected . Hicks was captured in Afghanistan in 2001, and is accused of fighting [...]

The embattled chief of the New Orleans Police Department resigned his position Tuesday on the same day he announced the establishment of a special tribunal to contend with the nearly 250 New Orleans police officers who went missing from their posts in the wake of Hurricane Katrina . Police Superintendant Eddie Compass said a panel [...]

Leading Tuesday's states brief, the Washington Supreme Court heard oral arguments today on whether the 1.4% motor vehicle excise tax approved by voters in November 2002 for the financing of Seattle's Monorail Project is illegal. Currently, Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels and the city council have dropped support for the monorail, but a proposal for a [...]

The Mississippi Legislature convened for a special session Tuesday to begin work in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina . Gov. Haley Barbour addressed lawmakers at the session and challenged them to help rebuild coastal areas devastated by Katrina. One of the most contentious aspects of the rebuilding effort is the legal question of whether formerly [...]

The European Commission Tuesday withdrew 68 pieces of pending legislation as part of its initiative to cut back on regulatory restrictions on EU businesses. A review committee led by EU Enterprise and Industry Commissioner Guenter Verheugen reviewed 183 legislative proposals currently pending in the European Parliament. Some of the more notable measures to be cut [...]

White House spokesperson Scott McClellan said Tuesday that President Bush is close to completing the process of picking the next Supreme Court nominee. According to McClellan, the President has met with 50 Senators, including all but one member of the US Senate Judiciary Committee . He is currently expected to announce his choice to replace [...]

The trial of 16 former Parmalat directors and executives, including the company's founder and former chairman Calisto Tanzi , is set to open in Milan Wednesday, nearly two years after massive accounting fraud was uncovered at the Italian dairy giant. The 16 are accused of artificially boosting Parmalat's stock prices, misleading regulators and falsifying accounting [...]