An Iraqi taxi driver testifying Tuesday at a court-martial of seven British soldiers for the alleged murder of an Iraqi civilian said he was also beaten by the troops. Through translated testimony, Athar Finnijan Saddam told jurors that he was carrying passengers in southern Iraq in May 2003 when the soldiers stopped him, dragged him [...]

UN negotiators involved in reform talks ahead of the 2005 World Summit continued talks late into the morning Tuesday in hopes of having at least some proposals finalized ahead of the summit, which begins Wednesday. Hopes of producing a comprehensive reform proposal on a variety of issues first suggested by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan [...]

The Senate Judiciary Committee wasted no time in asking for the thoughts of Chief Justice nominee John Roberts on abortion and the 1973 high court decision in Roe v. Wade during Tuesday's round of confirmation hearings. In the morning session Roberts followed the precedent of other Supreme Court nominees in declining to prejudge cases that [...]

Former New Orleans mayor and current President and CEO of the National Urban League Marc Morial has called for a Hurricane Katrina victim's compensation fund, similar to the one created in the wake of the 9/11 attacks . Speaking at the University of Pennsylvania Monday, Morial also called for a "Victims Bill of Rights," asking [...]

A federal judge has ruled that correction officers in Fresno California violated the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations by not properly informing twelve Mexican defendants of their right to contact the Mexican Consulate after their arrests on drug charges. The jail officials gave the defendants hand-outs in Spanish and English that told them of their [...]

A blue-ribbon California civil justice commission comprised of lawyers, judges, and academic, business, labor and community leaders has called for interpreters to be made available in civil as well as criminal cases in California courts. The California Commission on Access to Justice issued a report Tuesday saying there is a "dire and unmet need for [...]

The European Court of Justice ruled Tuesday that the European Union can require member states to criminally prosecute companies that violate EU environmental laws. The decision was made in response to a 2001 lawsuit brought by the European Commission against the 25 EU governments for not writing the criminal prosecution of environmental violators into legislation [...]

Nepali police Tuesday detained at least 250 pro-democracy activists – including a former deputy prime minister – for defying a ban on demonstrations in the Kathmandu city center. Protestors from seven major political parties took to the streets to condemn the February seizure of power by King Gyanendra . Organizers insist that the number arrested [...]

The president of Australia's Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) , a national independent statutory government body, cautioned Tuesday that the country's proposed new anti-terrorism measures could violate human rights and said the legislation needed a time limit to ensuring periodic review of the terror law. John von Doussa said Australia must be careful [...]

Sunni Arab negotiators Tuesday requested that the UN guarantee a fair referendum on the draft Iraqi constitution , while expressing frustration and rejecting the latest version of the charter. Sunni negotiator Hussein al Falluji said he and others had spoken with Ashraf Qazi, UN Special Envoy to Iraq, to ask for an assurance that the [...]