Amnesty International Wednesday criticized Egypt for systematic human rights abuses of detainees in its police stations, military camps, and centers run by State Security Investigations (SSI). In a new report the international human rights organization said: Around 18,000 administrative detainees – people held without charge or trial under orders issued by the Interior Ministry – [...]

Ukraine President Viktor Yushchenko announced Wednesday that he would freeze his controversial April 2 decree ordering the dissoluton of parliament and new elections on May 27 in an attempt to end a constitutional confrontation with Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych . The freeze would allow parliament to continue operating, but early elections would be called on [...]

The US Senate Wednesday approved the Stem Cell Enhancement Act of 2007 by a margin of 63-34 , despite a Tuesday warning from President Bush that he would veto the bill . The House of Representatives is expected to adopt the Senate bill, which would subsidize stem cell research , in place of its own [...]

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Wednesday expressed disappointment over the long list of Palestinian prisoners that Palestinian militants have demanded be freed in exchange for the release of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit . Olmert and senior officials met Tuesday to discuss the list, which purportedly includes high-profile Marwan Barghouti and Ahmed [...]

Bangladesh authorities announced Wednesday that opposition leader and former prime minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed has been charged with four counts of murder arising from the deaths of four protesters during political turmoil in October. In all, 46 people were charged following a murder investigation that was prompted by a complaint filed by the Jamaat Islami [...]

Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora Wednesday sent a letter to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon asking the UN to establish a tribunal to investigate the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri . The anti-Syrian majority in the Lebanon parliament sent the UN a similar petition last week over the objections of the country's pro-Syria opposition. [...]

A US military Special Operations Command company will be investigated by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) for using "excessive force" during a March 4 incident in Afghanistan, an anonymous defense official told AP Wednesday. A US military commander referred the case to the NCIS after his own investigation revealed that the Marines may have [...]

Cuban President Fidel Castro issued a statement Tuesday condemning a US district court ruling freeing an anti-Castro militant on bail prior to his May 11 trial on charges that he lied in his attempt to become a US citizen. Luis Posada Carriles is wanted in Cuba and Venezuela for allegedly plotting the 1976 bombing of [...]

John M. "Mike" McConnell , who succeeded John Negroponte as US Director of National Intelligence in February, is reportedly circulating proposed amendments to the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) to respond to FISA's perceived inflexibility and inability to respond to the threat of terrorism. The proposed amendments, released ahead of a Senate Intelligence Committee [...]

Six Egyptian human rights organizations issued a report Tuesday alleging that only five percent of Egyptian citizens participated in last month's constitutional referendum , far lower than the 27 percent voting rate announced by Egyptian Justice Minister Mamdouh Marei, and that the vote was marred by fraud. Seventy-six percent of those casting ballots voted in [...]