Previously undisclosed US military documents show ongoing Iraqi mistreatment of prisoners, including photos of bruised and beaten detainees, which US officials fear may damage the image of the new security forces in the eyes of the Iraqi public. The revelations come as Iraq's military and police have assumed greater responsibility in countering insurgent forces and [...]

Uzbekistan President Islam Karimov told UN Secretary General Kofi Annan Thursday that he did not want an immediate probe conducted by UN human rights officials into recent violence in the eastern part of Uzbekistan. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour had on Wednesday called for an international inquiry into reports of civilians killed [...]

Iraq and Iran issued a landmark joint statement Thursday blaming Saddam Hussein and his loyalists as the military aggressors in both the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war and the 1990 Iraq-Kuwait conflict . The statement came amidst an attempt by the two countries to forge better ties in the wake of Hussein's capture. According to the text, [...]

A North Caucasus District military court has found a group of a special forces soldiers in the Russian military not guilty in the 2002 murder of six Chechen civilians . The troops admitted to killing the civilians but said they were just following orders. When they fired upon a van that missed a checkpoint they [...]

According to a court filing by his attorneys, Ahmed Omar Abu Ali , a Virginia man accused of conspiring to assassinate President Bush and supporting al-Qaida , was tortured while in Saudi custody. Defense attorneys cited the conclusions of two doctors who examined Abu Ali and found that two years of physical and psychological abuse [...]

Leaders of both parties brought race into the equation Thursday in the continuing Senate floor fight over President Bush's judicial nominees and the Senate's own filibuster rules. GOP Majority Leader Bill Frist held a news conference accompanied by the chairman of a group of black pastors, Bishop Harry Jackson, who admonished the Democratic party for [...]

A federal judge issued a second 10-day restraining order Thursday blocking US congressional efforts to obtain documents that former investigator Robert Parton took with him when he resigned his role in the probe of the UN Oil-for-Food Program . A United Nations-appointed committee independently investigating the program agreed to the delay after discussing the matter [...]

Nine individuals have been served search warrants as part of the federal investigation into the theft of over 300,000 personal records taken during a digital break-in of LexisNexis Inc. disclosed earlier this year. Personal computers and discs were removed from several locations including the homes of individuals involved in the breach. A law enforcement source [...]

Rwandan Defense Minister General Marcel Gatsinzi apologized Thursday before a Gacaca court for taking part in the country's 1994 genocide . Minister Gatsinzi is the first high-ranking official to request a pardon for his role in the genocidal regime amidst accusations by survivors claiming he provided arms to support the militias. Rwandan President Paul Kagame [...]

Leading Thursday's international brief, Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has refused to sign a controversial bill that would have severely limited the rights of NGOs to act in Zimbabwe , according to newspaper reports. The Non-Governmental Organisations Bill was passed by the Zimbabwean Parliament last year and was simply awaiting the signature of the president to [...]