In an historic proclamation approved Thursday, Nepal's reinstated parliament stripped all the privileges and powers of King Gyanendra , who gave up direct rule of the country after 19-days of mass protests in April. The proclamation effectively makes Nepal's 237-year old monarchy ceremonial and recognizes the Nepali people as the source of the state power [...]

The Oregon Court of Appeals has vacated a $150 million jury verdict against cigarette manufacturer Philip Morris and remanded the case for a new trial to determine punitive damages. Philip Morris appealed a judgment by Multnomah County Circuit Judge Roosevelt Robinson, who found the 2002 jury award "grossly excessive" and reduced it to $100 million. [...]

Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal has said that 16 Saudi detainees now held by the US at Guantanamo Bay will be returned to Saudi Arabia in the next few days. During an interview with US media Wednesday, al-Faisal said that after their return to Saudi Arabia, the detainees will be "will be incarcerated and checked, [...]

The US Securities and Exchange Commission has said that all public companies, regardless of their size, must eventually comply with rules implementing the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 , which is designed to protect investors. The decision Wednesday follows months of requests by small and mid-size businesses for an exemption from the rules, which could be [...]

James Tobin , President Bush's 2004 campaign chairman for New England, has been sentenced to 10 months in prison after being convicted in December for his involvement in jamming phone lines to block Democratic voting drives during the 2002 Senate election in New Hampshire. In that race, the Republican candidate, Sen. John Sununu (R-NH) , [...]

The United States on Thursday introduced a new draft nuclear weapons treaty at a meeting of the United Nations Conference on Disarmament in Geneva. The Fissile Material Cut-Off Treaty (FMCT) , tabled by Stephen G. Rademaker , assistant secretary of the Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation, would legally bind its signatories to a ban [...]

Thousands of Turks marched in Ankara on Thursday to denounce the shooting of five judges Wednesday in the Council of State , Turkey's highest administrative court. The judges were shot by an attacker, reported to be a lawyer, who disagreed with a recent ruling made by the court denying a promotion to a teacher because [...]

US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld confirmed Wednesday that military officials are conflicted about the specific guidelines on interrogation techniques to be included in a new Army Field Manual on Intelligence Interrogation during a hearing with the Defense Subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee . Defense officials are struggling over whether to include different standards [...]

Human Rights Watch lauded Mexican President Vicente Fox Wednesday for advances made in increasing the transparency of the Mexican government, but warned in a new report on human rights in the country that more progress was needed. HRW pointed to continuing difficulties Mexico has had tackling the "dirty war" of the 1960s and 1970s, and [...]

Syrian authorities have arrested leading human rights lawyer Anwar al-Bunni just days after Sunday's arrest of prominent writer Michel Kilo , prompting speculation that a large government crackdown on dissidents is underway. Amnesty International said in a statement Wednesday that at least eight civil society activists have been arrested in the past week, mostly in [...]