The African National Congress (ANC) was formally declared the winner of South African parliamentary elections Saturday, but its win fell short of the two-thirds majority of seats needed to change or amend the country's constitution and pass legislation on its own. The election clears the way for party leader Jacob Zuma to be named president [...]

The Bundestag , the lower house of the German parliament, approved a bill Friday restricting the use of genetic testing on humans. Specific provisions of the legislation, also know as GenDG , include requiring a person to consent and to consult a doctor before testing takes place, requiring both the mother and father to consent [...]

UN special rapporteur on torture Manfred Nowak said Friday that the US must prosecute Justice Department (DOJ) lawyers who drafted four recently released top secret memos , which outlined controversial CIA interrogation techniques and their legal rationale. During a news conference in Geneva, Nowak said the US is obligated by the UN Convention Against Torture [...]

A three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit rejected Friday a lawsuit by four UK citizens and former Guantanamo Bay detainees against former US defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld and other military officials. The court's opinion in affirmed in part district court decision dismissing illegal detention and mistreatment charges under the [...]

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Fijian Attorney General Aiyaz Sayed Khaiyum said Friday that the government would name new judges to replace those discharged following the suspension of the country's constitution by President Ratu Josefa Iloilo two weeks ago. Speaking to Radio New Zealand (RNZ), Khaiyum said that the Fiji government anticipates having judges appointed by next week , although [...]

North Korean state media Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported Friday that two US journalists arrested in March will stand trial. While the charges remain unclear, it is possible the journalists will face charges of espionage . According to the South Korea Ministry of Unification , espionage charges in North Korea carry at least a [...]

Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva lifted the emergency rule decree Friday and promised constitutional reforms to bring stability back to Thailand after months of protests and violence. The state of emergency , which went into force on April 11, was an attempt to control the actions of Red Shirts, supporters of ex-prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra [...]

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said Thursday that the Obama administration opposes the formation of an independent commission to investigate Bush administration interrogation techniques. During a press conference aboard Air Force One on Wednesday, Gibbs said that the president had not left the door open to a commission "because what he's saying – he [...]

A Spanish court assigned a new judge Thursday to decide whether to prosecute members of the Bush administration behind the establishment of the Guantanamo Bay detention center, a court spokesperson told CNN . Eloy Velasco will replace Baltasar Garzon in determining whether to seek legal action against former US attorney general Alberto Gonzales and six [...]