The Legislative Assembly of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) passed a law Friday that will enable same-sex domestic partners to register their relationships with the government. A part of the legislation which would have legalized same-sex civil union ceremonies was removed prior to passage because the Australian federal government threatened to veto the Civil Partnerships [...]
The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) announced Thursday that Vidoje Blagojevic has requested a new trial. Blagojevic, former commander of the Bratunac Brigade of the Bosnian Serb Army, claims that he had little access to his defense counsel and was prevented from testifying on his own behalf. AP has more. The ICTY [...]
US military judge Col. Peter Brownback again refused to set a trial date for Canadian-born Omar Khadr at a pre-trial hearing Thursday, threatening to suspend military commission proceedings against the Guantanamo detainee until the government submits daily records of Khadr's detention. Khadr's lawyers claim the government is stalling the prosecution under the Military Commissions Act [...]
A US federal judge Thursday directed the CIA to produce a 2002 US Department of Justice memo that the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) claims authorized the agency to use specific torture techniques – including waterboarding – on US detainees held abroad. The memo prepared by the DOJ Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) has been [...]
An Egyptian court Thursday ordered the editor of independent newspaper al-Badeel to pay a $2,000 fine for publishing an article about labor disputes in the state-owned Middle East News Agency . Mohammed Sayyed was convicted of libel, and also ordered to pay $1,000 in compensation to the chief of the news agency. AP has more. [...]
The Australian Defence Force is investigating claims by four Taliban members detained following the death of an Australian soldier in Afghanistan that they were mistreated during their time in custody, Australian media reported Thursday. The allegations were reported by a senior Afghan commander who spoke of "mistreatment" of prisoners by Australian troops. ABC Australia has [...]
Vietnam will prosecute two anti-Communist activists on "terrorism" charges for distributing literature critical of the government, a government spokesperson said Thursday. The men are members of US-based rights group Viet Tan , which has denied that it endorses anti-government violence and has said that the men were calling for peaceful democratic change. Reuters has more. [...]
The parliaments of Latvia and Lithuania Thursday adopted the new EU reform treaty , properly known as the Treaty of Lisbon , bringing the total number of ratifying nations to 13. All 27 EU countries must approve the Treaty before it takes effect; most ratifications are expected to be parliamentary, although Ireland plans to hold [...]
Turkish President Abdullah Gul Wednesday signed an amendment into law restricting the controversial Article 301 of the country's penal code , which makes "insulting the Turkish identity" a crime. The amendment recharacterizes the crime of "insulting the Turkish identity" as insulting the "Turkish nation," reduces the maximum possible punishment from three years to two years [...]
The European Parliament Thursday approved a report calling for a mandatory registry of lobbyists seeking access to EU lawmakers . The measure was passed 547-24, with 59 abstaining. The Parliament also supported a "one-stop-shop" proposal, which would allow lobbyists to register once to gain access to Parliament, the European Commission, and the European Council , [...]
