US President Barack Obama on Wednesday signed into law a defense appropriations bill that contains a measure extending the definition of federal hate crimes to include crimes motivated by gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability. The president hailed...

The Hawaii Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed the last claim seeking a permanent ban on the sale of lands ceded by the former monarchy. Claims were originally filed by four members of the Native Hawaiians ...

The US House Financial Services Committee voted 49-14 Wednesday to approve new regulations governing investment rating agencies. The Accountability and Transparency in Rating Agencies Act , sponsored by Paul Kanjorski (D-PA) , modifies the...

The Kuwaiti Constitutional Court ruled Wednesday that female lawmakers are not required to wear the hijab , or traditional Muslim headscarf. The ruling was in response to a petition brought by four voters...

An Italian appeals court on Tuesday upheld the bribery conviction of David Mills , a British barrister and former lawyer to Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi . Mills was sentenced ...

A judge in the US District Court for the District of Columbia on Tuesday dismissed a lawsuit challenging the Obama administration's decision to ease restrictions on stem cell research . Nightlight...

A lawyer for Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov said Tuesday that a criminal libel suit has been filed against the leader of human rights group Memorial , according to media reports. Oleg Orlov, who...

UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions Philip Alston said Tuesday that the use of unmanned warplanes by the US to carry out attacks in Pakistan and Afghanistan may be illegal. Alston criticized the US...

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit agreed Tuesday to an en banc rehearing of a Department of Justice (DOJ) request to dismiss a suit against a company that allegedly provided...

The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) on Tuesday resumed proceedings against former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic , one day after adjourning because Karadzic failed to...