Voice of the Faithful , a Catholic lay reform group with some 30,000 members nationwide, approved a resolution on Sunday at its first national meeting in three years calling for tougher laws against clergy sex abuse . Louisiana and Ohio currently have legislation pending that would extend the time period for reporting abuse. Catholic bishops [...]

Following the adoption of a peace treaty , the approval of a new constitution , and the installation of a new government , newly-reappointed Sudan President Omar Hassan al-Bashir has, as anticipated , lifted the country's state of emergency, except in Darfur and a region on the eastern border. The emergency law gave the government [...]

Relatives and survivors of the Srebrenica massacre mourned as more than six hundred coffins containing newly-identified remains recovered from mass graves were interred in the town cemetary Monday, the 10th anniversary of the beginning of the 1995 killings. As many as 50,000 attended the burials, including former American diplomat Richard Holbrooke , who helped negotiate [...]

The Israeli cabinet Sunday approved plans for enclosing Jerusalem by part of the security fence designed to keep out suicide bombers and prevent other terrorist attacks on Israel's civilian population. Palestinians in four Jerusalem neighborhoods that include some 55,000 people say that the new fencing will cut them off and will cause major delays in [...]

Although new legislation is not being brought forward immediately , UK Home Secretary Charles Clarke is likely to issue more control orders, and will present new anti-terrorism measures to the European Union next week, according to London's Sunday Times. The control orders, established under the 2005 Prevention of Terrorism Act , allow a wide range [...]

Luxembourg has voted Yes in Sunday's national referendum on the European constitution, supporting the beleaguered EU treaty by a wide margin of roughly 57%-43%, with all precincts reporting . This is the first European referendum victory for EU charter supporters since Dutch voters voted No in early June, and saves the job of Luxembourg Prime [...]

AP reported Sunday that military officials have released one of five US citizens detained without charge by US forces in Iraq. The family of Cyrus Kar , an Iranian born filmmaker and former Navy Seal, previously told reporters that US State Department officials had informed them that his release was pending. According to the Pentagon, [...]

The commanding officer of the US naval base at Guantanamo Bay was relieved of his duties Saturday and transferred to another base. Capt. Leslie J. McCoy , base commander since March 2003, was dismissed amid allegations of inappropriate management practices. According to a Navy press release , McCoy’s reassignment is not related to the Joint [...]

Some of the 55 delegates to the Iraqi constitutional drafting committee are expressing pessimism about their ability to overcome ideological differences in time to have a working document ready for review by National Assembly on August 15, countering earlier statements by the head of the committee . The committee was recently expanded by adding fifteen [...]

The Walt Disney Co. shareholder derivative lawsuit filed in May by nephew of founder Walt Disney and Disney shareholder Roy Disney was dropped Friday evening after the two sides came to agreement. Roy Disney and business partner Stanley Gold sued the company in May , claiming that the selection of new CEO Robert Iger as [...]