Lawyers for Saddam Hussein turned to the International Criminal Court (ICC) Thursday, asking it to investigate alleged violations of law regarding his treatment and that of defense witnesses by US personnel. A copy of the application obtained by AFP argued that the Iraqi trial of Saddam was illegal and that Saddam was "a prisoner of [...]

Five special rapporteurs making up the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention in the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on Thursday called on the US to set a date for closing its detention facility at Guantanamo Bay . In a statement, the group urged the US "to develop a detailed plan of [...]

Mexican ruling party candidate Felipe Calderon narrowly won Sunday's presidential election with some 220,000 votes more than leftist candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador , according to official results released Thursday by Mexico's Federal Electoral Institute (IFE) . Lopez Obrador said, however, that he would challenge the result in court, pledging to petition the Electoral Tribunal [...]

The European Parliament adopted an interim report Thursday that agrees with earlier findings by the Council of Europe (COE) that European states were complicit in alleged incidents of CIA extraordinary rendition . The report criticizes European nations for failing to act or complying with CIA efforts to illegally seize terror suspects on European territory, as [...]

Iraqi officials and local leaders have stepped up pressure on the US military to take swift corrective action in the face of allegations that troops raped an Iraqi woman and murdered her and her family near the town of Mahmudiya in March. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said Thursday "We will talk to the officials in [...]

Work on the new interim constitution of strife-torn Nepal formally began Thursday, the six-person Interim Constitution Drafting Committee (ICDC) announced at a press conference. The ICDC, formed three weeks ago in a historic contract between the interim government and Maoist rebels, expects to publish a final draft within fifteen days. Though informal work on the [...]

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani has criticized Iraq's recently-announced most-wanted list , implicitly taking National Security Adviser Mowafaq al-Rubai'i to task for including two women, Saddam Hussein's eldest daughter Raghad and first wife Sajida . On Thursday Talabani also expressed disappointment that the list demands the extradition of the 41 fugitives, saying that he would have [...]

Hollinger Inc. , the Canadian holding company with an interest in the newspaper publisher Hollinger International , filed a lawsuit Thursday in an Ontario court against former CEO Conrad Black and other former Hollinger associates requesting damages in excess of $700 million. The suit also names as defendants the Ravelston Corp. Ltd., the Black-controlled holding [...]

The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a record-setting jury verdict that had awarded $145 billion in punitive damages in a class action challenge brought by smokers against tobacco companies. The Court vacated the punitive damages award, unanimously concluding it was "excessive as a matter of law." Tobacco companies, including Philip Morris USA, a unit [...]

An Israeli military tribunal Wednesday extended the detentions of five Palestinian Hamas lawmakers for an additional five days. The five – four MPs and one cabinet member – challenged the authority of the Israel Defense Forces court at the Ofer military base in the West Bank to hear their case, arguing that the tribunal has [...]