The Commissioner of the UN International Independent Investigation into the assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri arrived in Beirut on Thurday to begin his inquiries. Commissioner Detlev Mehlis, a veteran German prosecutor, was authorized by the UN Security Council to make the investigation after Lebanon's own inquiry was found to be "seriously flawed." A [...]

Alleged Real IRA member Sean Gerard Hoey was formally charged Thursday with murdering 29 people in the 1998 Omagh bombing , the worst terrorist attack in Northern Ireland history. Hoey had been being held for earlier charges of possessing explosives and his alleged membership with the Real IRA. The only other conviction made in connection [...]

As the monthlong UN-sponsored Conference on Disarmament comes to a close this Friday, the US is being criticized for its stance on nuclear development and deployment. One US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the US would never limit its options during a time of war. According to observers, the meetings have been bogged [...]

In a 2002 FBI document made public Wednesday, an FBI agent wrote that a detainee held at Guantanamo Bay naval base claimed that military jailers flushed the Koran down the toilet, a claim paralleling one made in a recent Newsweek report which was later retracted after deadly riots in Afghanistan and backtracking by an anonymous [...]

Report 2005, Amnesty International, May 25, 2005 . Excerpt: During 2004, the human rights of ordinary men, women and children were disregarded or grossly abused in every corner of the globe. Economic interests, political hypocrisy and socially orchestrated discrimination continued to fan the flames of conflict around the world. The "war on terror" appeared more [...]

Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act, passed by the US House of Representatives on May, 24 2005 . Read the full text of the bill here. Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari has asked the UN Security Council to renew resolution 1546 , authorizing a US-led multinational force to remain in Iraq. Citing the latest wave of violence and the limited number of trained Iraqi security forces, Zebari has requested that the resolution be extended until the political transition is completed, or [...]

Hong Kong acting Chief Executive Donald Tsang tendered his resignation Wednesday, shortly after the Legislative Council passed a controversial amendment to the Chief Executive Election Ordinance that will cut short the term of the next chief executive. Tsang's resignation will allow him to campaign for the July election to replace Hong Kong's former leader, Tung [...]

Leading Wednesday's international brief, South Africa's Constitutional Court has issued a unanimous ruling ordering the South African Department of Justice to expedite the alternative sentencing of the 62 individuals currently sitting on death row. South Africa placed a moratorium on all executions in 1989 and abolished the death penalty in 1995. Part of that ruling [...]

After three hours of talks Wednesday, Iran agreed to maintain a suspension of its nuclear program while European Union foreign ministers agreed to come up with further proposals and give them to Iran in July or August of this year. The European group, including ministers from Britain, Germany, and France met with Iranian officials after [...]