Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has ordered that his approval be obtained before any government minister or official from the president's office be charged with corruption, the chair of the US House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform said Thursday. During a committee hearing on the State Department and the Iraq war, Rep. Henry Waxman [...]

British Petroleum (BP) will pay approximately $373 million in fines and restitution to settle three separate claims against the corporation, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) said Thursday. BP will pay just over $300 million in criminal penalties and restitution as part of an agreement to defer the prosecution of a civil lawsuit filed by [...]

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on Thursday ruled that Russia's arrest and pre-trial detention of former Yukos executive Platon Lebedev violated Lebedev's right to liberty and security under Article 5 of the European Convention on Human Rights . Lebedev was arrested in 2003 on fraud and tax evasion charges. According to the ECHR [...]

Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong told reporters Thursday that the joint Cambodia-UN tribunal that will try former Khmer Rouge leaders accused of genocide requires additional funds to extend its work into 2010. Although the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) was originally supposed to complete its work by 2009, numerous delays have pushed [...]

The full US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit Thursday declined review of the August ruling of a three-judge Seventh Circuit panel affirming the conviction of former Illinois Gov. George Ryan on fraud and corruption charges. Six of nine Seventh Circuit judges decided to deny Ryan's request for a rehearing en banc, though three [...]

A judicial panel of the British House of Lords Wednesday narrowly ruled that Scottish subjects can pursue cases related to alleged human rights abuses of prisoners by the Scottish Prison Service occurring as far back as 1999. Considering a test case brought by prisoners alleging that solitary confinement violated their rights, the Law Lords determined [...]

UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar Paulo Sergio Pinheiro said Wednesday that he will investigate alleged human rights abuses during his November visit to Myanmar. The visit will be the first time Pinheiro has been granted entrance to the country by Myanmar's military government since 2003, but Pinheiro said that [...]

An Italian trial court on Thursday dismissed a criminal case against a US soldier accused of murdering an Italian intelligence agent in Iraq, citing a lack of jurisdiction over the matter. Italian authorities had charged US Army Spc. Mario Lozano with the 2005 murder of Italian intelligence agent Nicola Calipari and the attempted murders of [...]

The US Senate voted Wednesday against proceeding to a final vote on the DREAM Act of 2007 , a bill that would amend the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 to allow certain children of illegal immigrants an opportunity to achieve legal residency. According to the Congressional Research Service bill summary , [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit on Wednesday stayed the execution of an Alabama man pending the Supreme Court's upcoming decision in Baze v. Rees (07-5439) , where the court has been asked to rule on the constitutionality of lethal injections. Lawyers for death row inmate Daniel L. Siebert argued that Alabama's [...]