The South Dakota Senate State Affairs committee rejected a bill in an 8-1 vote on Wednesday that would have criminalized most abortions in the state with exceptions for rape, incest and life-threatening conditions to the mother. According to the bill, the state has a right and duty to protect the life of the unborn child, [...]

Rhode Island will recognize same-sex marriages of state employees performed in Massachusetts, according to Attorney General Patrick Lynch in a letter sent to the Commissioner of the Rhode Island Board of Governors for Higher Education . The letter said same-sex employee partners married in Massachusetts would be granted the same benefits as heterosexual married couples; [...]

The US Supreme Court heard oral arguments Wednesday in Microsoft Corp. v. AT&T Corp. , 05-1056, where the court must decide whether Microsoft should be held liable for patent infringement in Windows software sold abroad. AT&T claimed that Microsoft allows foreign computer manufacturers to replicate master discs of its Windows software. The discs contain computer [...]

David Cynamon : "I and the other attorneys working for justice in Guantanamo Bay are deeply disappointed in the US Court of Appeals' decision to deny our clients the basic right to challenge their detentions in the US court system. We intend to bring this issue before the Supreme Court as soon as possible, where [...]

Arturo Sarukhan , Mexico's newest ambassador to the US, says his country is launching an intensive lobbying effort to secure an immigration reform agreement between the two nations. The plan includes negotiations between Mexican consulates and US state and federal lawmakers, business chambers and civic organizations concerned with immigration reform . Mexico would like the [...]

A Spanish judge requested permission from Mexico Wednesday to extradite former Argentine naval officer Ricardo Miguel Cavallo back to Argentina. Cavallo was extradited from Mexico to Spain and has been in Spanish custody since 2003. In January 2006, he was charged with genocide , organized terrorism and crimes against humanity for crimes committed during Argentina's [...]

The UK High Court on Wednesday denied an application for judicial review stemming from a 12-year old Muslim girl's challenge to a public school policy that prevented her from wearing her full-face veil (niqab) at school. Mr. Justice Silber found the policy appropriate, on the grounds that the veil would dampen teacher interaction with students [...]

A French judge on Wednesday signed a 191-page indictment against 17 former associates of former Chilean dictator General Augusto Pinochet , charging them with abduction and torture in connection with the disappearance of four French nationals in Chile during Pinochet's rule from 1973 to 1990. The 17 are thought to be living in Chile and [...]

A Romanian parliamentary commission announced Wednesday that it had found no evidence that Romania cooperated with the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in operating illegal secret prisons and extraordinary rendition flights in Europe, or that secret facilities ever existed in Romania. Norica Nicolai , head of Romania's senate commission, said the conclusion came after a [...]

The European Commission (EC) on Wednesday levied a record-breaking antitrust fine against the four biggest elevator and escalator manufacturers in Europe after finding them guilty of restrictive business practices in violation of Article 81 of the EC Treaty . Otis, KONE, Schindler and ThyssenKrupp were fined €992 million for fixing prices related to installing and [...]