Iraqi legislators delivered a draft law to Iraq's cabinet over the weekend which outlines the development and distribution of oil in the country, according to two members of a negotiating committee tasked with developing the resolution. Negotiations concerning the proposed law have been a source of tension in Iraq for months as Kurds were adamant [...]

Thomas Nash : "Efforts to ban or restrict the use of cluster munitions are ongoing in dozens of countries around the world and have been spreading in response to growing awareness of the humanitarian problem and increased pressure from civil society. Most prominently Belgium banned the weapon in February 2006 and Norway instituted a permanent [...]

Hundreds of civilians have been arrested for opposing the Republic of Guinea's government since President Lansana Conte announced martial law last week, according to human rights groups Sunday. Martial law was imposed after Guinea was swept by protests and strikes in opposition to Conte's continued rule. More then 120 people have been killed so far [...]

Police in the Zimbabwean capital of Harare ignored a court order and interfered with a political rally held by opposition group Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) Sunday. According to an MDC spokesman, police arrested members of the audience and used tear gas to break up the crowd gathered to see Morgan Tsvangirai begin his presidential [...]

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Sunday that the US Congress would damage the American relationship with Turkey if it supports a resolution recognizing the WWI-era killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks as genocide. Although the Bush administration has spoken out against such a bill, the Democratic-led Congress may decide to pass a resolution [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Saturday in a new report on Saudi Arabia that respect for human rights in the Kingdom seemed to be improving but violations and abuses persisted. The report detailed the existence of unfair trial, the detention of children and the habitual oppression of women and foreign laborers within the Middle Eastern [...]

An appeal was filed Saturday in the case of five Bulgarian nurses and one Palestinian doctor convicted and sentenced to death by a Libyan court for knowingly infecting over 400 Libyan patients, primarily children, with the HIV virus. Othman Bizanti, lawyer for the accused Bulgarian nurses, lodged the appeal days after counsel for the Palestinian [...]

US Marine Lance Cpl. Robert B. Pennington was sentenced to eight years in military prison Saturday for his role in the death of Iraqi civilian Hashim Ibrahim Awad in Hamdania in April 2006. The original sentence of 14 years confinement was reduced to eight according to a pre-trial agreement; Pennington was also reduced in rank [...]

Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates of the ruling Socialist party said Saturday that the Portuguese Parliament could pass legislation to loosen its strict abortion law by the end of March. Low voter turnout undermined last week's referendum on easing the abortion law, but the government has nonetheless vowed to seek approval of the changes in [...]

The Committee to Protect Journalists urged the Philippines government Friday to drop sedition charges against Daily Tribune publisher Ninez Cacho-Olivarez and columnists Ramon Seneres and Herman Tiu-Laurel. The journalists were charged with incitement to sedition earlier this week for having "continuously maligned and undermined the present administration." The journalists wrote articles criticizing the administration of [...]