The EU ended consideration Thursday of proposals that would have banned Nazi symbols in the 25-country bloc after it became apparent that member states could not agree on which symbols should be included in the ban. Luxembourg, which currently holds the rotating EU presidency, withdrew the proposal from consideration. Many voiced concerns that any ban [...]

The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda has turned over 15 war crimes cases under its authority to Rwandan officials for the first time in the tribunal's 10 year existence. The ICTR made the transfer Wednesday as part of its strategy to complete prosecutions by the time its mandate ends in 2008. ICTR Hassan Jallow said [...]

AP is reporting that during a meeting Thursday, President Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed that Iran should not be allowed to pursue nuclear weapons. 12:45 PM ET – From Russia, MosNews.com has local coverage. The White House has a joint statement from the two leaders on nuclear security cooperation. 1 PM ET – [...]

Parliamentary elections in Afghanistan will likely be delayed until this summer or fall, a UN spokesman said Thursday. The elections were originally slated to be held before the end of the Aghan month Saur on May 21, but a deadline to declare the elections at least 90 days ahead of time has already lapsed, as [...]

The European Court of Human Rights ruled Thursday that Russia was guilty of serious abuses against Chechen civilians during its military campaign against rebel forces in the region. Six Chechens brought claims of torture and abuse against Russia stemming from military operations in 1999 and 2000. The court ordered Russia to pay $179,900 in damages [...]

The UN Security Council said late Wednesday that it will consider a proposal by Secretary-General Kofi Annan to end recruitment and use of child soldiers in violation of international law, acknowledging a need for a monitoring and reporting mechanism to track such abuses. The current proposal seeks not only to curb the use of child [...]

The Sindh provincial High Court in Pakistan has started formal hearings for an appeal by four Islamic militants convicted of kidnapping and murdering Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl . British-born Islamic militant Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh was sentenced to death by an anti-terrorism court in July 2002. Three co-conspirators were sentenced to life in [...]

The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts will hear a challenge to a 1913 state law that Massachusetts has used to block out-of-state gay couples from being married there. The 1913 law prohibits the commonwealth from granting marriage licenses to couples whose marriage would not be legal in their home states. Following the landmark ruling in [...]

Pakistan's Supreme Court announced it will allow six constitutional petitions to challenge President Pervez Musharraf's decision to remain the country's president and army chief of staff. The petitions, filed by Pakistan Lawyers Forum, the Communist Party and the Watan Party, challenge Musharraf's decision to retain the two offices in violation of both the Pakistani constitution [...]

The United Nations has started "a very urgent inquiry" into allegations that three Pakistani policemen raped a woman in Haiti while deployed on the UN mission to stabilize the nation. The probe follows reports of widespread abuse by UN peacekeeping soldiers in Congo. That probe led to the UN's decision to ban peacekeepers from having [...]