Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Dan Halutz Monday expressed disappointment about Israel's use of cluster bombs during the recent Middle East conflict and ordered an investigation into how the order to use the munitions was given. Major General Gershon Hacohen will lead the inquiry into whether Halutz's instructions on the authorization of [...]

Thai human rights groups have demanded that former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra face charges for crimes against humanity relating to his rough anti-drug campaign. The Lawyers Council of Thailand and the National Human Rights Commission allege that more than 2,500 people died as a result of Thaksin's crackdown on drug dealers. The groups have [...]

The governors of six of Bolivia's nine states vowed over the weekend to break off relations with President Evo Morales following a move to give Morales' leftist party more power to rewrite the country's constitution. The six governors, who all belong to opposition parties but represent 80 percent of Bolivia's population, pledged not to participate [...]

Tom Noe , a former Republican fundraiser and prominent coin dealer in Ohio, was sentenced on Monday to 18 years in prison after his conviction last week on theft, corrupt activity, money laundering, forgery and tampering with records charges in a rare coin investment scandal . Noe managed a $50 million state investment in rare [...]

Anthony D'Amato : "Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff is US UN Ambassador John Bolton dressed up in sheep's clothing and wearing velvet gloves. He is no friend of internationalization, international law, or human rights. His main point in a speech to the Federalist Society Friday is that its members – and he himself – believe [...]

Thirty Philippine military officers will face courts-martial on mutiny charges in connection with their alleged involvement in a February coup plot to overthrow the government of Philippines President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo , a general told a news conference on Sunday. The general indicated that the decision to proceed with courts-martial against the officers, a group that [...]

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour on Monday condemned human rights violations occurring in the Palestinian authorities, saying that violations were "intolerable" and expressing concern for civilians in the area. Arbour is currently visiting the Gaza strip in order to "examine developments" connected to "the protection of civilians during armed conflict and the [...]

Nicaraguan President Enrique Bolanos has signed a law that bans all abortion and eliminates a longstanding exception for the health of the mother. Abortion has long been illegal in Nicaragua, though tempered by the medical necessity exception. Opponents of the complete abortion ban had hoped that Bolanos would reject the bill because it did not [...]

Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney on Sunday urged state legislators to vote on a state constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage ban and said he will petition the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court to place the question on the next ballot if legislators fail to vote on the issue before the end of their term on January 2. [...]

The Italian cabinet met Monday to relieve the head of Italy's intelligence agency of his duties, a move prompted by suspicions that he was involved in the alleged 2003 CIA kidnapping of Egyptian cleric Moustafa Hassan Nasr . Nicolo Pollari, now the former head of the Italian Intelligence and Security Services (SISMI) , has testified [...]