Amnesty International released a 58-page report Wednesday criticizing the two main Palestinian political factions, Hamas and Fatah , for political violence in the Gaza Strip and West Bank that has destroyed the lives of hundreds of civilians and led to human rights abuses, including illegal detention and torture. The report recognized the weakness of Palestinian [...]

The number of names on the US terror watch list has increased to over 755,000, according to a new report by the US Government Accountability Office slated to be the focus of a Wednesday hearing in the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee. The GAO report noted that "within the federal community, there is [...]

The UN Security Council expressed deep concern Tuesday about violence against women which has "remained pervasive despite repeated condemnation of all acts of violence, including killing, maiming, sexual violence, exploitation and abuse in situations of armed conflict." During a day-long debate on women, peace, and security , the Council called for nations to end impunity [...]

Thousands of Venezuelan students on Tuesday protested the proposed constitutional reforms advanced by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez which are currently under consideration in the Venezuelan National Assembly . On Saturday, the National Assembly approved a proposal to eliminate presidential term limits , and a provision that would allow the president to suspend civil liberties during [...]

The US State Department Tuesday laid down additional rules and procedures governing the operation of US private security contractors working with its personnel in Iraq. The new rules, supplementing a series of interim measures announced earlier this month, are likewise based on the recommendations of a report by the Secretary of State's Panel on Personal [...]

As many as six additional former Nigerian governors will be charged with corruption by the end of the year, Nigerian anti-corruption czar Nuhu Ribadu said Tuesday. Ribadu, the chairman of Nigeria's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission , would not reveal the names of the those to be charged or the specific allegations, but in an [...]

The French parliament passed a strict immigration bill Tuesday that requires language and cultural knowledge tests, as well as optional DNA testing, for immigrants who want to join their families in France. The bill was passed by French Senate in a 185-136 vote earlier this month after French Immigration Minister Brice Hortefeux made last-minute changes [...]

The US State Department cannot account for most of the $1.2 billion that it paid to a private contractor hired to train Iraqi police forces, according to an interim review report from the US Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR) released Tuesday. DynCorp International was contracted by the Department of State's Bureau for International [...]

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto has been barred from leaving Pakistan in violation of an amnesty agreement signed by Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf , according to her Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Tuesday. As part of the agreement, the government was to lift a ban on Bhutto leaving the country, which had been in place [...]

The United States and the European Commission (EC) Tuesday announced plans for multinational negotiation of an Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) to promote international enforcement of copyright law . Talks have begun between the US, the European Union nations, Switzerland, Canada, Mexico, Japan, South Korea, and New Zealand on the agreement, which will increase scrutiny and [...]