The California Senate voted 22-12 Monday in favor of a joint resolution to urge the federal government to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) . Among other concerns,...

The US State Department (DOS) on Monday released a report on human rights in the US, which was presented to the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights (UNHCHR) last week. The...

Capital punishment advocates in Switzerland can begin collecting signatures in support of a referendum to reinstate the death penalty for those convicted of murder, the Federal Chancellery announced Tuesday....

A judge for the US District Court for the District of Columbia issued a preliminary injunction Monday blocking federal funding for embryonic stem cell research. Last year, President Barack Obama signed an...

Engineering firm URS Corporation agreed Monday to a $54.2 million settlement stemming from the 2007 Minneapolis bridge collapse that killed 13 people. Victims sued URS for negligence, claiming that...

The administrator of the Gulf Coast Claims Facility (GCCF) announced Monday that the GCCF is in service and will begin processing claims from the $20 billion fund established by British Petroleum (BP) to...

A proposed amendment to China's criminal law that would reduce the number of crimes punishable by death was presented Monday to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) . The current criminal...

A military court in Iran has ordered the suspension of three top judiciary officials in connection with last year's torture deaths of three detained protesters, the Mehr News Agency reported Monday. The three victims, Mohammad...

The Bangladeshi Supreme Court ruled Sunday that workplaces and schools cannot force individuals to wear religious clothing such as veils and skull caps. The court found that wearing religious clothing is an individual choice and cannot be...

Iraqi Deputy Justice Minister Busho Ibrahim disclosed Sunday that Ali Lutfi Jassar al-Rawi, convicted last year of the 2004 kidnapping and murder of British aid worker Margaret Hassan , escaped custody last...