Lal Krishna Advani , former deputy Prime Minister of India, was charged along with seven Hindu leaders on Thursday with inciting a mob to destroy a mosque in Ayodhya in 1992. The destruction sparked riots that killed at least 2,000 people. Opponents called the charges "politically motivated" and also called for a permanent replacement temple [...]

Australia has abandoned mandatory detention for some illegal immigrants, one of the most criticized provisions of its immigration law, releasing dozens of children on Thursday. Australia's courts also paved the way for over 1,000 asylum-seekers to avoid deportation. Prime Minister John Howard announced the changes last month in response to criticism that the laws were [...]

Indonesia Thursday continued to characterize an international tribunal for the 1999 East Timor violence as "unnecessary" despite a UN report formally released Wednesday that called for international oversight . Rights groups have also called for Indonesia to go along with the UN's recommendation. Indonesia maintains that a Truth and Friendship Commission it established with its [...]

Police in Pakistan said Thursday that a key suspect wanted in connection with the abduction and murder of US journalist Daniel Pearl has been arrested. Mohammad Hashim, known as Arif, was arrested earlier in the week in the central Punjab town of Gujranwala. He is alleged to have coordinated the January 2002 meeting between the [...]

After debate earlier this week , Senate Republicans have moved up a bill to shield gun companies and dealers from liability lawsuits , placing it ahead of a defense bill for a possible vote on Friday. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) said the law is needed because, "frivolous suits threaten a domestic industry that [...]

The United States and five Asia-Pacific countries Thursday formally announced an agreement to fight global warming, but critics attacked the voluntary deal for its lack of emissions targets and claimed it undermined existing treaties. The Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate – which includes the US, China, India, South Korea, Australia, and now Japan [...]

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak confirmed that he would seek a fifth term in the upcoming September election, the first multi-candidate election in Egypt's recent history. Mubarak promised a transparent and fair election, which has been a contentious issue over the past year. The forgery trial of an opposition candidate regarding petition signatures was halted when [...]

The Irish Republican Army announced Thursday that it would end its "armed campaign" and instead make its fight for Northern Ireland a purely political one. The move was characterized by British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Irish Taoiseach Bertie Ahern as "a momentous and historic development" . The IRA has observed a cease-fire since 1997, [...]

Despite UN opposition , Zimbabwe continued its controversial demolition program on Wednesday, bulldozing a squatter township as riot police kept residents and observers out of the ruins. Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe says the UN report condemning "Operation Drive Out Trash" (sometimes translated as "Operation Restore Order"), which has left nearly 700,000 homeless, was biased against [...]

FBI Director Robert Mueller went before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday to argue that Congress should provide the FBI with the power to issue its own subpoenas, without court approval, so that it can expedite information collection in terrorism investigations. Mueller gave a recent example involving North Carolina State University where FBI agents lacking [...]