The Nepalese army has resorted to systematic torture to gain intelligence and confessions in its continuing fight against Maoist rebels in the country, the Special Rapporteur of the UN Commission on Human Rights said Friday. Special Rapporteur Manfred Nowak, who has been investigating claims of abuse for the past week in the country, said there [...]

A federal judge on Friday gave US Airways the green light to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy , a little more than a year after the beleaguered airline sought protection. The approval clears the way for the airline to complete its merger with America West by late this month or early October. The bankruptcy was [...]

In Friday's environmental law news, four states have sued the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) for failing to impose effective controls against invasive wood-eating beetles. New York, California, Connecticut and Illinois filed a lawsuit which alleges that the USDA does not do enough to prevent the Asian long-horned beetle , emerald ash borer , and [...]

Educational institutions across the United States took up the subject of the US Constitution for a day Friday, each with their own twist. The nationwide history lesson for students in schools and universities marks the first Constitution Day held as required by an amendment added to a 2004 spending bill by Sen. Robert Byrd , [...]

SB 1, modifying laws relating to abortion, signed into law by Missouri Governor Matt Blunt September 15, 2005 . Read the full text of the law here. Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

A German state court in Stuttgart ruled Thursday that a federal prosecutor is not required to bring war crimes charges against US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld in connection with abuses at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison in 2003 and 2004. Federal Prosecutor Kay Nehm dismissed the complaint in February on the grounds that law only [...]

Documents regarding the treatment of US-held detainees in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay, released to the public by the ACLU on September 15, 2005 pursuant to a FOIA request . Read the full text of the reports here. Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

Swiss President Samuel Schmid joined other world leaders calling for UN reform Thursday, saying in his address to the UN's 2005 World Summit that the UN must prioritize the creation of a new Human Rights Council. Schmid called for the Council to be based in Geneva and said its purpose should be to make human [...]

UK Prime Minister Tony Blair Friday defended his decision to toughen Britain's anti-terror laws a day after Home Secretary Chatles Clarke released the text of new draft legislation providing for extended detention without trial and making the "glorification" of terrorism an offense. Blair told BBC Radio that if people wanted to come and live in [...]

Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura and Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi are continuing their bid for Japan to become a member of the UN Security Council as part of ongoing discussion on UN reform . Koizumi addressed the UN's 2005 World Summit on Thursday and argued that Asia and Africa, no longer colonized, should be recognized [...]