The UN on Wednesday again rejected Taiwan's 15th bid for UN membership , as a UN committee balked at placing the issue on the General Assembly's agenda. Taiwan, which officially refers to itself as the Republic of China (ROC), was kicked out of the UN in 1971 by General Assembly Resolution 2758 and replaced by [...]

A federal judge ruled Wednesday that Tennessee's execution procedures constitute "cruel and unusual" punishment, derailing plans to execute a death row inmate next week. US District Judge Aleta Trauger held that revised death penalty protocols , devised by the Tennessee Department of Corrections in April at the request of Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen , do [...]

Canadian Liberal Party opposition leader Stephane Dion Wednesday joined calls urging Prime Minister Stephen Harper to pressure the US government for the immediate release of Canadian Guantanamo detainee Omar Khadr . Following a meeting with lawyers appointed to represent Khadr in his hearing before a military commission review court , Dion said that Khadr should [...]

A Japanese district court Wednesday rejected demands for compensation by 22 South Korean women, as well as the surviving relatives of other women, who were forced to work at a Japanese military hardware factory during World War II. Although the Toyama District Court recognized that the women were brought to Japan and forced to work [...]

The Supreme Court of Argentina has ordered the government to provide the indigenous people of the Chaco region with basic necessities while it investigates claims that their land has been illegally sold to commercial farmers. The amparo action, brought by the office of the Defender of the People , alleged that government officials have denied [...]

US President George W. Bush Wednesday urged Congress to make permanent a law broadening the government's ability to conduct warrantless surveillance of terror suspects abroad, echoing recent statements by intelligence officials. The Protect America Act 2007 , passed by Congress in August, gives the executive branch expanded surveillance authority for a period of six months [...]

Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev Wednesday called for a national referendum on amending the Kyrgyzstan constitution to elect parliament members by party list rather than by direct election, saying such a change would help defeat a "constitutional deadlock." Critics say the change would hurt smaller parties and independent politicians in Kyrgyzstan , and is designed to [...]

A measure in the US Senate that would have overturned the current ban on habeas corpus petitions for detainees at Guantanamo Bay was unable to achieve the 60 votes needed to cut off debate Wednesday. Sponsored by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA), the bill would have amended the National Defense Authorization [...]

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan Tuesday urged the government of Turkey to remove the current ban on the wearing of headscarves at state universities , saying that the ban effectively denies some Muslim women access to higher education. Erdogan, whose Muslim-rooted AK Party promised a new constitution after winning elections earlier this year, said [...]

A Zimbabwean parliamentary debate on a draft constitutional amendment bill that could essentially give Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe the authority to appoint his successor concluded without challenge Tuesday. Floor debate lasted only one day , and the swift conclusion was dubbed an "historical collaboration" by state television network ZTV. The proposed changes would allow parliament [...]