Officials from the European Union and the US are adamant that references in the newly approved Serbian constitution declaring Kosovo part of Serbia will not impact ongoing United Nations discussions over the region's future status. Although still technically a province of the former Yugoslav state, Kosovo has been under UN administration since 1999 when a [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Tuesday criticized the decision of the UN Human Rights Council to close access to its examination of last year's uprising in Andijan that resulted in the massacre of unarmed Uzbek civilians . HRW released a briefing paper that discusses the failure of the Council to publicly review Uzbekistan's human rights [...]

US officials have expressed concerns over "restrictions on civil liberties" in Thailand and elements in the 39-article interim constitution "that appear to give the military an ongoing and influential role in decision-making." A US spokesman on Tuesday also warned the military junta, which seized control of the government last month, that it should make a [...]

US District Judge Paul Gadola ruled Tuesday that two former executives of Kmart will stand trial for allegedly misleading investors about the retailer's finances before it filed for bankruptcy four years ago. Former Chief Executive Officer Charles Conaway and former Chief Financial Officer John McDonald had asked the court to dismiss the civil complaint filed [...]

The US National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) on Tuesday excluded from union eligibility workers who "assign others to a location, shift or significant tasks" in a case involving 12 charge nurses in a Minnesota hospital. In its decision , a three-member NLRB panel interpreted the definition of the terms "assign," "responsibility to direct," and "independent [...]

Investigators with the European Commission in Brussels have collected enough evidence to prosecute computer chip maker Intel on antitrust charges, the New York Times reported Wednesday. If arguments before an internal "devil's advocate" panel proceed as expected, prosecutors plan to ask that European Commissioner for Competition Neelie Kroes issue a list of charges or objections [...]

A US soldier who deserted to Canada in 2005 rather than continue fighting in what he calls an "illegal" Iraq war turned himself in Tuesday near Fort Knox, Kentucky . Spc. Darrell Anderson, 24, received a Purple Heart for combat with the 1st Armored Division in Iraq in 2004 before choosing to flee to Canada [...]

The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) defended their voter registration practices Tuesday after a report surfaced Monday alleging that ACORN engages in fraudulent voter registration practices . The AP report noted that 3,000 ACORN-submitted voter cards in Philadelphia were invalid due to missing or inaccurate information, and that ACORN was blamed for [...]

Petition for writ of habeas corpus, Center for Constitutional Rights, October 3, 2006 . Read the full text of the petition . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

Liberia's Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) on Tuesday began the long process of documenting personal statements on crimes and abuses committed during the country's 14-year civil war . Jerome Verdier , head of the commission which was established under the 2003 peace accords , has dispatched 192 people to all 15 counties in Liberia to [...]