A Texas Court of Criminal Appeals judge announced Wednesday the creation of an oversight committee designed to increase the effectiveness of the state criminal-justice system and to ensure its procedures are both reasonable and legal. Judge Barbara Hervey said that the Texas Criminal Justice Integrity Unit would help reform the state's criminal justice system, which [...]

Mexico urged the International Court of Justice (ICJ) Thursday to stay the US executions of Mexican citizens until the Court can rule on the applicability of its holding in Avena and Other Mexican Nationals (Mexico v. United States of America) , in which the ICJ ruled that 51 Mexican nationals tried in US courts had [...]

The Nicaraguan National Assembly has passed new legislation to provide increased legal protections to refugees and asylum seekers coming from other Central American countries and, increasingly, from Africa and Asia . Nicaragua occupies a strategic location on a common migratory route north to the US and Canada. The measure adopted Tuesday says refugees have a [...]

Zimbabwean police detained US and UK diplomatic envoys for several hours at a roadblock Thursday, threatening them and beating one of their drivers, according to US Ambassador to Zimbabwe James McGee, who described the incident as an "illegal action." US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said that the Zimbabwean government's actions had "flouted all international [...]

A Tel Aviv court Wednesday charged former Israeli Finance Minister Abraham Hirschon with embezzlement for allegedly misappropriating nearly $1.2 million as head of a trade union between 1998 and 2005. Hirschon and five other union employees allegedly used the money stolen from the National Workers Organization and its subsidiary Nili to pay for personal expenses, [...]

Five men charged with plotting the Sept. 11 attacks were arraigned before a military court at Guantanamo Bay Thursday. The group includes the alleged lead planner of the attacks, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed , who said that he wished to represent himself and that he would welcome a death sentence as a chance to become a [...]

The Korean Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) Thursday levied nearly $26 million in fines against US computer chip manufacturer Intel Corp. after a KFTC probe found that the company had engaged in anti-competitive practices. Intel allegedly offered rebates to South Korean computer makers in return for not using chips made by Intel rival Advanced Micro Devices [...]

An Afghan journalist employed by a Canadian television network who is being held as an "enemy combatant" in Afghanistan filed a lawsuit against the Bush administration Tuesday, alleging violations of due process and the right to counsel. The complaint, initiated by Ahmad's father, accuses the Bush administration of holding Ahmad illegally for more than six [...]

The Constitutional Court of Turkey Thursday struck down recent amendments to the country's constitution designed to ease a ban on headscarves in universities, finding that they violated the country's secular principles. Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) had proposed the amendments to ensure equal access to higher education, but the pro-secular opposition Republican People's [...]

A court-martial panel Wednesday acquitted a US Marine intelligence officer charged in connection with the November 2005 killings of 24 Iraqi civilians in Haditha . US Marine Corps 1st Lt. Andrew Grayson had been charged with multiple violations of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) , including making a false official statement, obstructing justice, [...]