UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay Sunday condemned what she called Israel’s “disproportionate use of force” against Hamas targets in Gaza and urged the Israeli government to “uphold international humanitarian law principles, especially those relating to proportionality in the use of military force and the prevention of collective punishment and the targeting of [...]

Egyptian Deputy Interior Minister Hamid Rashid Sunday announced the suspension and investigation of 280 police officers alleged to have abused their power and committed human rights violations. In a statement before the Egyptian Parliament, Rashid said as many as 1,164 police officers have already been fired for similar reasons. Egypt has recently come under increased [...]

The Taiwan High Court on Sunday overruled a district court decision to release former Taiwanese president Chen Shui-bian pending his trial on corruption charges, citing risks of flight, collusion and interference with other witnesses. The Taipei district court’s decision to release Chen was originally overruled on December 17 by the High Court. Sunday’s reversal was [...]

Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski expressed reservations Saturday over the prospect of accepting detainees released from Guantanamo Bay as part of a US strategy to close the prison. In an interview with the Dziennik daily, Sikorski ventured that "the establishment of prisons outside the US legal system was one of the more serious errors of [...]

A spokesman for Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said Saturday that Australia would be willing to consider acceptance of Guantanamo Bay detainees on a case-by-case basis, according to a report in The Australian. Rudd's spokesman confirmed that Australia, along with other countries, has been approached by the United States concerning prisoner resettlement possibilities. Australia strongly [...]

The Chinese Dairy Industry Association announced Saturday that 22 companies will provide financial compensation to families whose infants were harmed by melamine-contaminated milk . Families will receive a one-time payment of an unspecified amount, and may recover further for any future related medical expenses. In a statement quoted by the state-run Xinhua news agency, the [...]

Ten ethnic Albanians were arrested in Serbia Friday for alleged crimes committed during the 1998-1999 Kosovo war , according to Serb officials. The former Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) members, being held for questioning in Belgrade and Vranje, will likely be charged for their alleged roles in the kidnapping of 159 Serbs and the deaths of [...]

Azerbaijan's parliament, the Milli Majlis , on Friday voted 100-7 to approve a March 18 referendum that could amend the nation's constitution to remove presidential term limits. The present law contains a two-term presidential limit, which would bring the administration of President Ilham Aliyev to an end in 2013 after the expiration of his second [...]

The French Foreign Ministry on Friday urged the European Union (EU) to adopt a unified policy on whether to accept detainees released from the Guantanamo Bay military prison if US President-elect Barack Obama closes the facility. The French government has said it would welcome the prison's closure, but Foreign Ministry Spokesman Eric Chevallier on Wednesday [...]

Six criminal trials in four separate courts began Friday in China's Hebei province for six people accused of involvement in the country's recent melamine-tainted milk scandal. The six cattle farmers and milk collectors are accused of making several hundred tons of melamine-containing protein powder and adding it to raw milk before selling the mixture to [...]