The European Union has agreed to adopt a "measured, step-by-step approach" to achieving a worldwide moratorium on the death penalty, according to German Minister of State Gunter Gloser, addressing the European Parliament on Wednesday. The...

The Venezuelan legislature unanimously approved a bill Wednesday granting Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez authority to enact laws by presidential decree without legislative approval for the next 18 months. The same measure received initial...

US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said Wednesday that the Justice Department will turn over to the Senate Judiciary Committee the text of an order, granted by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) , authorizing government surveillance...

A three-year delay can be expected before former Chadian dictator Hissene Habre is brought to trial, Senegal Foreign Minister Cheikh Tidiane Gadio said Tuesday following an African Union (AU) summit in Ethiopia. The delay...

South Dakota lawmakers introduced a new abortion bill Wednesday that would ban the practice except in cases of rape, incest and serious risk to a woman's health. The state legislature passed a law banning most abortions [text,...

New war crimes charges will be filed against Guantanamo Bay detainees beginning as early as Friday, chief prosecutor Col. Moe Davis (USAF) said Tuesday. Davis said, however, that charges are only expected to...

Turkey may legally require a political party to win at least 10 percent of the national vote in parliamentary elections in order to win seats in the country's National Assembly, the European Court of Human Rights ruled...

The Somali transitional government on Tuesday began imposing martial law over areas under the government's control, two weeks after martial law was approved by parliament . Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi made the announcement late Tuesday...

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Former Israeli Justice Minister Haim Ramon was convicted by an Israeli court on Wednesday on charges of sexual misconduct for forcibly kissing an 18-year-old female soldier. The conviction could result in a jail term of up to...