[JURIST] Leading Thursday's international brief, more than 500 people have been arrested in Nepal for protesting the autocratic rule of King Gyanendra [official profile] on Wednesday, the one year anniversary of the 'Black Day' last February 1 when Gyanendra dismissed the democratic government [JURIST report] and assumed direct control of the country. The arrests were made concurrently with a speech by Gyanendra [JURIST report] that claimed that Nepalese citizens were better off after one year of direct monarchy and still enjoyed all the freedoms ensured to them by the Nepalese Constitution [official text]. JURIST's Paper Chase has continuing coverage of Nepal [JURIST news archive]. eKantipur.com has local coverage.

In other international legal news …

• The Israeli High Court of Justice [judicial website] issued a ruling Wednesday in the final chapter of a five year battle to determine whether remarks [indictment texts] made by Knesset Minister Azmi Bishara [advocacy website] which allegedly supported terrorist agencies were made in his official capacity as a legislator, and therefore exempt from prosecution. The HCJ held that Bishara's remarks were made in fulfillment of 'his role as a member of the Knesset,' and that while the statements were a violation of criminal law prohibiting the support of terrorist organizations, Bishara was protected under parliamentary immunity. The Court also ordered the dismissal of all criminal charges related to the statements and noted that the line between praise of a terrorist entity and active support of armed resistance, which would not be covered by parliamentary immunity, was a fine line, but one that had clearly not been crossed in this case. JURIST's Paper Chase has continuing coverage of Israel [JURIST news archive]. The Jerusalem Post has local coverage.
  
• The United States, stepping into its role as the president [US mission to UN backgrounder] of the UN Security Council [official website] for the month of February, has announced its intent to push for a UN peacekeeping force to replace the current African Union [official website] force in Darfur [JURIST news archive], Sudan. The US announced that it strongly supports a heightened UN presence in the area amid rising concerns of a new outbreak of violence as peace talks between the Sudan government [official website] and Darfur rebels falter. The Security Council must obtain the assent of all sides to a conflict before it can introduce a peacekeeping force into an area, but once it does, the mandate for the force is defined by the Security Council, not the parties to the dispute. JURIST's Paper Chase has continuing coverage of the United Nations [JURIST news archive]. The Sudan Tribune has local coverage.