Australia has acquired exploration and drilling rights to an additional 2.5 million square kilometers of ocean shelf after a UN commission ruled that Australia's continental shelf extends farther than previously defined, the Australian government said Monday. The UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) is the body charged with administering the 1994 [...]

Afghan President Hamid Karzai rejected calls for the reinstatement of a moratorium on the death penalty Monday, saying that while he prefers life sentences, he will abide by Islamic law's sanctioning of the death penalty for certain crimes, including the kidnapping and murder. Under Afghan law, President Karzai is required to sign execution orders after [...]

Sergei Ordzhonikidze, director-general of the UN Office at Geneva , on Monday urged UN member states to advance the cause for human rights by increasing arms control efforts, saying that the improvement of human rights in developing regions will enhance long-term peace, stability, and contribute to sustainable development. Ordzhonikidze comments came during the inaugural Beijing [...]

An Indonesian judge handed down 15-year sentences to two leaders of the Southeast Asian terror group Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) , after convicting them on terrorism charges. The judge also ruled that JI is a terrorist organization, the first time an Indonesian court has recognized JI as such. The two JI leaders, Zarkasih and Abu Dujana [...]

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has called for the establishment of special courts to deal specifically with corruption charges, telling a convention of high-ranking justices and government ministers on Saturday that "apart from pendency and delayed justice, corruption is another challenge we face both in government and the judiciary." Singh said addressing these problems would [...]

More than 400 supporters of the Zimbabwe opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) have been detained and more than 3,000 families displaced since the March 29 election , MDC Secretary General Tendai Biti said Sunday. Biti also said that more than 10 people have been killed in post-election violence and that another 500 supporters have [...]

The National Assembly of Niger passed new anti-terrorism legislation Saturday aimed at helping security forces combat the resurgence of an ethnic Tuareg rebellion that has thrown the West African country into in a state of disarray. The new law passed by parliament increases penalties for possession of explosive devices, attacks on transport vehicles, hostage-taking, and [...]

Zimbabwe opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Morgan Tsvangirai has condemned as "illegal" a process of recounting votes in 23 constituencies that began Saturday after a judge dismissed an opposition appeal . The MDC won 109 seats in the country's 210-seat assembly in the original count. Tsvangirai told Al Jazeera television that "as far [...]

Eight former British Guantanamo Bay detainees are suing the UK's MI5 (domestic) and MI6 (foreign) intelligence services over alleged complicity with the US in their illegal abduction, treatment and interrogation at the prison, according to a report Saturday in London's Daily Mail. Two separate writs have been issued at the High Court in London, although [...]

Retired Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff General Richard Myers was 'hoodwinked' into believing aggressive interrogation techniques used on Guantanamo detainees were taken from the army's field manual, University College London law professor Philippe Sands claims in his new book, Torture Team , scheduled for release in May. Excerpts from the book were [...]