AP is reporting that United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has fired suspended UN staffer Joseph Stephanides for his role in the UN oil-for-food scandal .1:25 PM ET - Stephanides is the first UN staffer to be...

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan announced on Tuesday that Iraq has officially asked for UN help in drafting a new permanent constitution . Annan acknowledged a letter from Hajim N. Al-Hasani,...

Protestors clashed with 200 members of rival groups in front of the Kyrgyzstan Supreme Court on Wednesday, throwing sticks and flogging each other with horse-whips. The instigators, who arrived in buses from the North, stormed the court to evict...

Two US citizens accused of conspiring to support al-Qaida were denied bail on Tuesday in separate federal courts. Tarik Shah of New York and Dr. Rafik Abdus of Florida were both arrested in a government sting operation...

After assurances from her lawyer that she would attend a scheduled September trial in Serbia on abuse of power charges, Serbian authorities have cancelled an international arrest warrant for Mirjana Markovic , the wife of former Yugoslav president...

Citizens of the Netherlands went to the polls Wednesday to vote on whether to accept the proposed European Constitution . Recent opinion surveys say that nearly 60% of Dutch voters plan to reject the document, citing concerns such as...

Florida Governor Jeb Bush Tuesday signed into law House Bill 1041 , providing for increased state oversight of clinics that provide second-trimester abortions. Bush said the law is about increasing safety standards and...

Russian oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky, sentenced Tuesday to nine years in jail for fraud and tax evasion, will appeal the verdict but his lawyers say they do not expect the appeal to be considered until...

California Attorney General Bill Lockyer on Tuesday formally appealed the March California Superior Court ruling that the state's ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional. That order was stayed in anticipation of this appeal. Reuters...

Chinese authorities have detained Zhu Jiuhi, a Beijing lawyer and activist for the development of rule of law after he attempted to file a landmark civil suit against the provincial government and lower-level governments for confiscating private investors' oil...