The UK House of Commons backed two different proposals Wednesday on reforming the upper house of parliament , the House of Lords . Members of the House of Lords currently are appointed or hold hereditary peerages, but under the proposals at least 80 percent of members would be elected. Under the first plan approved by [...]
Australian Guantanamo Bay detainee David Hicks will be arraigned before a US military commission on March 20, marking his first commission appearance after over five years in US detention. Australian Prime Minister John Howard confirmed the March 20 hearing in an interview with Southern Cross Broadcasting Thursday, expressing frustration at delays in bringing Hicks to [...]
The French Constitutional Council has upheld a law banning anyone other than professional reporters from filming or broadcasting acts of violence. Violators would face up to five years in prison and a fine of €75,000 (US$98,537). French lawmakers say the ban, proposed by Minister of the Interior Nicolas Sarkozy , will help stamp out delinquency, [...]
A Turkish court Wednesday ordered telecom providers in the country to block access to YouTube because of videos insulting the founder of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk . The controversial videos have caused an uproar among Turks and led to prosecutors recommending the website be banned. During the past week, the country's media has been [...]
British Muslim Abdul Muhid was convicted in London Wednesday of two counts of inciting murder at a protest outside outside the Danish embassy in London last year. Muhid and associate Anjem Choudary were charged last May in connection with a February demonstration protesting the publication of cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad in European newspapers. Following [...]
A court in East Timor Wednesday found former Interior Minister Rogerio Lobato guilty of promoting violence during the military riots in the country last year. The three judges hearing the case sentenced Lobato to seven-and-a-half years in prison for arming the militias that ravaged the country in April 2006. He was also found guilty of [...]
Judges appointed to the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) have begun a 10-day meeting to craft an agreement on judicial rules to govern the anticipated Khmer Rouge genocide trials . The UN-backed ECCC, which cannot begin proceedings until the rules are agreed upon, urged the nine-judge panel to come to a decision; [...]
The Uganda Law Society (ULS) announced Tuesday that lawyers would initiate a three-day strike as a protest against government interference with judicial independence. Uganda's judges are currently on a week-long strike following last week's siege of the nation's High Court by security forces . The lawyer strike is set to begin once judges reopen the [...]
The US State Department announced Tuesday that once again the United States will not run for a seat on the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council . The US said last year that it would not seek election because some of the other countries vying for council seats "systematically abuse human rights," but this year US [...]
The North Carolina State Department of Corrections filed a lawsuit against the North Carolina Medical Board Tuesday, alleging that recent policy changes preventing doctors' participation in lethal injections prevent the corrections department from carrying out executions. Under North Carolina law, a doctor must be present at all executions and changes made to lethal injection procedures [...]
