Thousands of Polish citizens marched in Warsaw on Wednesday in support of a proposed constitutional amendment to enact a complete ban on abortion. The opposition Civic Platform party is expected to block passage of the amendment when it comes to a vote in April. Poland's current 1993 abortion law is considered among the strictest in [...]

Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry of the Supreme Court of Pakistan , who was suspended March 9 by Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf for alleged misconduct, told a crowd of 2,000 lawyers in Rawalpindi on Wednesday that judicial independence in Pakistan is under attack. Chaudhry said that judicial independence is guaranteed by the constitution of Pakistan, though [...]

The Russian Foreign Ministry on Tuesday lashed out at the Georgian Republic for filing a lawsuit with the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) alleging Russia violated the human rights of Georgian nationals during a deportation sweep last September. On Monday, Georgia lodged an application against Russia under the European Convention of Human Rights , [...]

Belgian authorities on Wednesday arrested three Italian nationals – a European Commission official in charge of delegation infrastructure, a personal assistant to an Italian member of the European Parliament , and a businessman – on corruption charges stemming from European public tenders to lease space and provide security for delegation buildings in Albania and India. [...]

Zimbabwe police on Wednesday arrested opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai and twenty staff members ahead of a press conference where Tsvangirai was expected to denounce police brutality that occurred during a crackdown on anti-government protesters earlier in March. Tsvangirai was released from police custody several hours later, according to a MDP official. Tsvangirari was previously arrested [...]

A Mexican special prosecutor's office designed to investigate past political crimes shut down on Tuesday without ever securing any convictions. Former Mexican President Vicente Fox , who created the department, decided to close it just before leaving office last year. That decision just took effect. All cases being pursued by the special office, including the [...]

Texas Governor Rick Perry Tuesday signed into law a new so-called "shoot first" law , which allows state residents to use deadly force to respond to threats in their homes, cars, and at jobs. The bill, also known as a "stand your ground" law, was approved by large majorities in both houses of the Texas [...]

The president of Vietnam has signed a decree abolishing the power of the government to hold suspected national security threats without judicial hearings, a government official told AP Wednesday. Western officials have praised President Nguyen Minh Triet, who signed the decree last week, but some worry that it may change little for political dissenters in [...]

The US Supreme Court heard oral arguments Tuesday in the case of Credit Suisse Securities v. Billing , 05-1157, a case in which investors filed a class action lawsuit against underwriters and institutional investors for their alleged manipulation of initial public offerings. The question presented was whether the plaintiffs' class can maintain their action under [...]

The New Hampshire House of Representatives voted Tuesday to reject proposed legislation which would have effectively ended the death penalty in the state. Had it passed, the proposed law would have set the maximum penalty for capital crimes at life in prison without parole. The debate was emotionally charged by the recent shooting of a [...]