China's State Council on Friday ended the authority of the state-run Xinhua News Agency  to screen foreign financial and other news entering the country. In a decree signed by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao , the government reassigned the power to the State Council Information Office . A reason for the change was not given, but [...]

Former Cuban president Fidel Castro on Thursday called on US President Barack Obama to turn over control of the Guantanamo Bay military base to Cuba once the detention facility there is closed. In an op-ed published in the online newspaper CubaDebate , Castro wrote that continuing to hold the base would be a violation of international law. Castro [...]

The Cameroon government has participated in and encouraged unlawful executions, torture, and other human rights violations of political dissenters, according to an Amnesty International (AI) report released Thursday. The report alleges that such violations have been taking place for more than 10 years and may increase with the current global economic crisis and continued political [...]

Cameroon: Impunity Underpins Persistent Abuse, Amnesty International, January 29, 2009 . Read the full text of the report . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

United States of America v. Abd al-Rahim Hussein Mohammed Abdu Al-Nashiri, US Military Commissions, January 29, 2009 . Read the full text of the decision . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

The Illinois State Senate voted unanimously Thursday to convict Governor Rod Blagojevich of abuse of power and remove him from office. Blagojevich, who had been boycotting the impeachment proceedings , arrived on the Senate floor Thursday to make a final plea to remain in office. Although Blagojevich claimed innocence, the senators were unconvinced, voting 59-0 [...]

The European Commission announced Thursday that it has initiated infringement proceedings against ten European Union (EU) member states for failing to comply with legislation aimed at reducing emissions of certain harmful airborne particulates called PM10. The EU implemented heightened PM10 standards under last June's Directive on ambient air quality and cleaner air for Europe , [...]

Moscow's Ninth Arbitration Court of Appeals on Thursday declared void most of the Russian government's tax claims against the British Council , the British government's cultural relations arm, relating to the organization’s in-country operations in 2004-2006. The British Council filed suit last May seeking to void tax claims of over 200 million rubles made by [...]

The chief judge for US military commissions at the Guantanamo Bay detention center rejected Thursday the request of government prosecutors to delay the proceedings against alleged USS Cole plotter Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri . Prosecutors had sought the delay in response to an executive order issued last week by President Barack Obama ordering the closure of [...]

Japan's Ministry of Justice announced Thursday that four death row inmates were executed, despite international pressure to end the practice. The executions are the country's first of 2009. Last year, the Ministry of Justice carried out the execution of 15 prisoners, including three inmates in June , as well as an additional two inmates in [...]