Spanish Justice Minister Francisco Caamano said Tuesday that the Spanish government plans to introduce legislation to ban the Islamic burqa in public places. The measure will be included in Spain's Religious Freedom Bill, which would also prohibit religious symbols, such as crucifixes, in state-owned buildings. Caamano said that the reasons for the impending ban are [...]

A German court on Tuesday ruled that a same-sex marriage performed abroad must be recognized as a registered partnership in Germany. An administrative court in Berlin held that the marriage must be treated legally as a registered partnership , after finding that authorities could not recognize the relationship as a marriage due to the requirement [...]

The International Steering Group for Kosovo (ISG) urged the nation to strengthen its efforts in fighting organized crime and corruption, following a meeting with Kosovo President Fatmir Sejdiu and Prime Minister Hashim Thaci , according to local media . The ISG is made up of 25 countries that have recognized Kosovo's unilateral proclamation of independence [...]

A spokesperson for the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) piracy division announced Tuesday that donors will spend more than USD $9.3 million to fund courts in Kenya and Seychelles that prosecute suspected Somali pirates . The Kenyan government announced in April that it would no longer accept Somali pirate cases due to its [...]

The UK Bloody Sunday Inquiry released a report Tuesday concluding that casualties resulting from a 1972 attack on Northern Ireland civilians by British forces were unjustified. The inquiry was launched in 1998 by former prime minister Tony Blair in response to pressure from the victims' families. The report concluded that British soldiers fired upon unarmed [...]

A Turkish criminal court on Tuesday began the trial of 33 retired and active naval officers accused of attempting to overthrow the government and establish military rule. The accused are before the Istanbul 12th High Criminal Court for their connection to a group called Ergenekon , which allegedly planned to assassinate prominent members of Turkey's [...]

A Thai court on Tuesday charged 11 protest leaders with terrorism in connection with Thailand's latest round of political violence , denying them bail. The men held leadership positions in the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship opposition group known as red shirts that conducted anti-government protests spanning from March 12 to May 19. In [...]

Three members of the Kenyan Parliament were arrested Monday after being accused of hate speech in statements made against Kenya's proposed constitution . The three parliamentarians were among six that were accused of hate speech Monday, including Assistant Minister for Roads Wilfred Machage and Minister of Higher Education William Ruto , for statements made last [...]

A Serbian appeals court on Tuesday upheld the conviction and sentences of three members of Serbia's "Scorpion" paramilitary group for the death of 14 civilians in March 1999 during the 1998-1999 Kosovo war . The court demanded a retrial for a fourth member of the paramilitary unit , holding that his conviction had been unlawfully [...]

A military judge on Monday ordered the release of US Marine Sgt. Lawrence Hutchins III, two months after his conviction for killing an Iraqi citizen was reversed by the Navy-Marine Court for Criminal Appeals , citing lack of a fair trial. Hutchins was convicted in 2007 of murder, conspiracy to commit murder, making a false [...]