The parliament of Turkey voted Thursday to delay the implementation of the country's new penal code until June 1. The reforms, passed in September as part of Turkey's efforts to join the European Union , were scheduled to take effect Friday, but legislators voted on the delay to allow the government more time to make [...]

Minority shareholders of embattled Russian oil company Yukos have begun to coordinate their efforts to ensure that losses incurred after Russia's dismantling of the oil company will be recouped. Shipston Group, a Bahamas-based investment fund, is coordinating the efforts and Shipston's manager said Thursday that the minority shareholders are seeking to be given a proportional [...]

The Supreme Court of Canada Thursday unanimously upheld Quebec language legislation known as Bill 101 , which makes French-speaking parents send their children to francophone schools. Under the bill, parents must have received the majority of their own schooling in English to be able to have their children educated in that language. Eight families had [...]

In Thursday's international brief, a US administration official said Wednesday night that the US would accept a pending French resolution, delayed from Wednesday , authorizing the International Criminal Court to investigate and try possible human rights abuses in the Darfur region of Sudan . The US has actively opposed the use of the ICC and [...]

The World Bank has unanimously approved the nomination of US Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz as the next president of the 184-nation development bank. Wolfowitz was seen as a controversial choice because of his role as architect of the Iraq war and his support of overseas harsh governments. Wolfowitz sought to dampen criticism by saying [...]

According to Iranian doctor Shahram Azam, Iranian-Canadian photographer Zahra Kazemi was tortured and raped during her detention by Iranian authorities before her death in July 2003. The claims by Dr. Azam contradict the conclusions of Iranian authorities who said the death could have been accidental. Aazam said he was the first doctor to examine Kazemi [...]

US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Mark Lagon has said the United States will seek international censure of Cuba's human rights record by presenting a resolution at the annual meeting of the UN Commission on Human Rights . The resolution will look at prior actions taken by the commission to determine whether Cuba has been [...]

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe on Thursday called on ousted Kyrgyz President Askar Akayev to resign his post to ensure stability in the Central Asian country. Akayev has given conflicting messages on whether he would resign as leader or seek to retain the position following a week of turmoil. OSCE also warned [...]

In Thursday's environmental law news, Australian state and territory leaders have agreed to establish their own carbon-trading system which would set a cap on the total volume of greenhouse gases an industry can emit. They would then divide the cap into permits, equivalent to one ton of carbon dioxide, which companies could trade with each [...]

Leading Thursday's corporations and securities law news, Canada has retaliated against several US goods by levying a 15% surtax on cigarettes, oysters, and live swine. The action is a response to the Byrd Amendment which allows American companies to keep the proceeds that Washington collects in anti-dumping disputes. Canada and other countries say that the [...]