The attorneys general of New Jersey and California said Tuesday that they will file a lawsuit against tobacco manufacturers over payments they allege are due to them under the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) . New Jersey Attorney General Zulima Farber said the state's lawsuit against R.J. Reynolds and Lorillard requests a court order recognizing [...]

The UN Committee against Torture (CAT) said Tuesday that the panel has submitted a lengthy interrogatory to the US seeking information on the treatment of prisoners detained at Guantanamo Bay, Abu Ghraib and in Afghanistan . The CAT also demanded information about secret detention centers allegedly operated by the US in Europe, and asked if [...]

An Act,. Relating to pardons; to provide that a person convicted of violating a state law or municipal ordinance whose purpose was to maintain or enforce racial segregation or discrimination would be granted a pardon of the conviction upon application, Alabama Legislature, passed April 18, 2006 . Read the full text of the legislation. Reported [...]

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe on Tuesday threatened harsh punishments for any groups that oppose his government in an Independence Day speech. He said, "Anyone who dares go against the law … dares lead any group of persons to embark on a campaign of violence or terrorist activities will be inviting the full wrath of the [...]

The speaker of the Russian Duma , Russia's lower house of parliament, said Tuesday that parliament would not hold another vote on whether to modify the constitution to allow the president to run for a third term. The Russian Constitution , adopted in 1993, limits presidents to two consecutive four-year terms. Russian President Vladimir Putin [...]

A military judge Tuesday said that US Army Maj. Gen. Geoffrey Miller , the former commander of military intelligence at the Guantanamo Bay prison facility, can be called to testify at the upcoming trial of a sergeant accused of using dogs to abuse detainees at the Abu Ghraib detention center in Iraq. Miller will testify [...]

Prosecutors in Yemen are seeking the death penalty against Mohammed Hamdi al-Ahdal , the alleged number two in the Yemen sect of al-Qaeda, who is being tried for plotting terrorist attacks as part of an armed group. Ahdal is on trial with four other alleged members of the group and was previously charged with receiving [...]

An opposition leader in Belarus said Tuesday that groups opposing the rule of President Alexander Lukashenko are proposing an international public trial to prosecute the regime's violations of Belarusian laws and the country's constitution . Anatoly Lebedko said the court would review Lukashenko's 1996 dismissal of the parliament that planned to impeach him and the [...]

Pro-democracy protests continued in Nepal on Tuesday, with government employees being arrested for the first time and international pressure from India and several human rights groups being put on King Gyanendra to resolve the situation. An estimated 20,000 protesters filled the streets of the small western town of Nepalgunj, shouting slogans against King Gyanendra and [...]

A federal judge on Monday ruled that North Carolina officials could use a brain-wave monitor rather than have a doctor present to ensure a prisoner was not conscious during an execution by lethal injection. Lawyers for the inmate, Willie Brown Jr. , said they would appeal the ruling, which they said could allow a violation [...]