The French parliament voted to amend the French Constitution on Monday, passing the amendment package by the necessary three-fifths vote of legislators from both the French National Assembly and Senate . The amendments would allow the French president to address the parliament, sets a two-term limit for the presidency, provides for a parliamentary veto of [...]

The Mexican government enacted a law Monday prohibiting the government from sending illegal immigrants to prison. In May, Mexican rights activists pressed Mexican President Felipe Calderón to sign the bill, which is designed to amend the General Law of Population and lighten penalties for illegal immigrants found in the country, after the measure passed the [...]

Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Thomas Hammarberg released a report on Monday emphasizing the need for European governments to critically examine their human rights records and patterns of discrimination. The report, entitled "Human Rights in Europe: no grounds for complacency" highlights a number of rights issues which have been heavily covered by the [...]

The Malaysian government will table a bill at the August parliamentary session that would require criminal suspects to submit to DNA testing, according to a Monday report in the newspaper Nanyang Siang Pau . If passed, the new law could compel Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim to undergo DNA testing as part of an investigation [...]

Two men involved in an alleged plot to blow up transatlantic planes leaving a London airport pleaded guilty to lesser conspiracy charges Monday in London's Woolwich Crown Court . Arafat Waheed Khan and Waheed Zaman pleaded guilty to conspiracy to create a public nuisance, but denied that they planned to kill anyone by blowing up [...]

A divorced Lebanese woman told the UK Law Lords Monday that her human rights would be violated if she were deported to Lebanon, arguing that Lebanese Sharia law would put her and her son back under the control of her abusive ex-husband. Under Sharia law, a divorced mother loses custody of her children when they [...]

US Attorney General Michael Mukasey said on Monday that Congress should pass legislation guiding US civilian courts on how to conduct Guantanamo detainees' habeas corpus proceedings because the judiciary should not make such determinations. Mukasey reiterated the Bush administration's disappointment with the Supreme Court's June decision that federal courts have jurisdiction to review habeas petitions [...]

Singapore's Minister for Health Khaw Boon Wan announced on Monday that the country is considering allowing donors to sell their kidneys to those seeking transplants. Boon Wan made the announcement before the country's parliament and said that the highly controversial plan was needed because of the high demand for kidney transplants. Boon Wan also said [...]

Egyptian police arrested 39 members of the opposition Muslim Brotherhood (MB) on Monday, including three local party leaders in the city of Kafr El Sheikh, according to an MB statement . The group has accused the government of illegally blocking attempts by MB candidates to run in local elections. Muslim Brotherhood members officially run as [...]

Myanmar signed on to a new Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) charter Monday, despite other ASEAN members' criticism of the country's human rights record and continued detention of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi . The charter was designed to create stronger economic and security ties within the region, and Article 14 establishes a [...]