The Canadian government has violated native Canadian children's human rights by underfunding child-welfare services for native peoples, according to the Canadian Assembly of First Nations (AFN) . The group plans to file a complaint with the Canadian Human Rights Commission this month against the federal government, alleging that the government has not adequately funded welfare [...]

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Monday urged the government of Lebanon to ratify an agreement with the UN to create a UN-supported international tribunal to try suspects accused of assassinating former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in February 2005. The agreement was signed by Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Saniora last week and is now with the [...]

An American Bar Association (ABA) panel has proposed revisions to its judicial code of conduct so that judges are advised to avoid impropriety but would no longer be subject to formal discipline for failing to do so. In the rewritten ABA Model Code of Judicial Conduct , judges are still instructed to "avoid impropriety and [...]

Portugal is the latest country to open an investigation into alleged stopovers of secret CIA rendition flights transporting terror suspects, according to a report from state-owned news agency Lusa Monday. Last month, a report adopted by a European Parliament (EP) special committee alleged that some EU nations knew about CIA activity in Europe, including the [...]

Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko announced Monday that he has appealed to the country's Constitutional Court a recently-passed bill he fears will illegally expand the cabinet's power at the expense of the presidency. The law, effective February 2, was supported by 366 of 370 members of the Ukrainian parliament, the Verkhovna Rada . Yushchenko alleges that [...]

Former Westar Energy CEO David Wittig was resentenced Monday to 24 months in prison, his third sentencing for charges stemming from a 2002 indictment on bank fraud, money laundering and conspiracy. In July 2003, Wittig was given 51 months in prison; that sentence was vacated by the US Tenth Circuit in February 2006 for errors [...]

The court-martial of 1st Lt. Ehren Watada began Monday on charges of missing movement and conduct unbecoming an officer for Watada's refusal to be deployed to Iraq with his military unit. The court-martial is being held at Fort Lewis outside of Seattle and Watada faces up to four years' imprisonment if convicted on the charges. [...]

The White House's proposed 2008 budget of $2.9 trillion released Monday allocates $21.8 billion for the Department of Justice, including a $227 million increase in anti-terrorism funding, a $214 million increase for Preventing Violent Crime, and an $89 million increase for Drugs and Border Security. "For those of us at the Department of Justice, every [...]

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) is planning to follow up on a 2006 amendment to the 1994 Violence Against Women Act with measures that would allow DNA samples to be taken from the majority of people arrested by federal agents, including illegal immigrants, the New York Times reported Monday. Supporters of the new rules, [...]

US District Judge Reggie B. Walton Monday authorized public release of audio recordings of the secret grand jury testimony of former vice-presidential aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby after they are played at his trial. While Walton expressed concerns about releasing the tapes during the trial, but federal court rules encourage disclosure. One of Libby's defense [...]