Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Thomas Hammarberg released a report on Monday emphasizing the need for European governments to critically examine their human rights records and patterns of discrimination. The report, entitled "Human Rights in Europe: no grounds for complacency" highlights a number of rights issues which have been heavily covered by the [...]
The Malaysian government will table a bill at the August parliamentary session that would require criminal suspects to submit to DNA testing, according to a Monday report in the newspaper Nanyang Siang Pau . If passed, the new law could compel Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim to undergo DNA testing as part of an investigation [...]
Two men involved in an alleged plot to blow up transatlantic planes leaving a London airport pleaded guilty to lesser conspiracy charges Monday in London's Woolwich Crown Court . Arafat Waheed Khan and Waheed Zaman pleaded guilty to conspiracy to create a public nuisance, but denied that they planned to kill anyone by blowing up [...]
A divorced Lebanese woman told the UK Law Lords Monday that her human rights would be violated if she were deported to Lebanon, arguing that Lebanese Sharia law would put her and her son back under the control of her abusive ex-husband. Under Sharia law, a divorced mother loses custody of her children when they [...]
US Attorney General Michael Mukasey said on Monday that Congress should pass legislation guiding US civilian courts on how to conduct Guantanamo detainees' habeas corpus proceedings because the judiciary should not make such determinations. Mukasey reiterated the Bush administration's disappointment with the Supreme Court's June decision that federal courts have jurisdiction to review habeas petitions [...]
Singapore's Minister for Health Khaw Boon Wan announced on Monday that the country is considering allowing donors to sell their kidneys to those seeking transplants. Boon Wan made the announcement before the country's parliament and said that the highly controversial plan was needed because of the high demand for kidney transplants. Boon Wan also said [...]
Egyptian police arrested 39 members of the opposition Muslim Brotherhood (MB) on Monday, including three local party leaders in the city of Kafr El Sheikh, according to an MB statement . The group has accused the government of illegally blocking attempts by MB candidates to run in local elections. Muslim Brotherhood members officially run as [...]
Myanmar signed on to a new Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) charter Monday, despite other ASEAN members' criticism of the country's human rights record and continued detention of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi . The charter was designed to create stronger economic and security ties within the region, and Article 14 establishes a [...]
The head of the League of Arab States on Sunday presented a plan to Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir recommending how he should react to an application for an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC). The effort to arrest the president is based on allegations of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. The [...]
The Pakistan Supreme Court Bar Association has adopted two annual days of remembrance to highlight the plight of judges deposed following the declaration of emergency by President Pervez Musharraf in November 2007. The Bar Association will observe Independence of Judiciary Day every year on July 20, and Black Day on November 3 of every year. [...]
