Theodor Meron, president of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) , said Friday during a visit to Belgrade that the tribunal is becoming impatient with Serbia's "endless delays" in handing over war crimes fugitives, including Ratko Mladic and Radovan Karadzic. Meron spoke to reporters after leaving a meeting with Serbian Prime Minister [...]

The Supreme Court of Nepal has ruled to allow a law that prohibits criticism against the king and blocks private radio stations from broadcasting news programs. Last month, King Gyanendra approved the ordinance which authorizes imprisonment and higher fines against individuals who publish "banned items" and prohibits publication of stories that promote disrespect or hatred [...]

The Pentagon has refused to allow expert witnesses to testify at the upcoming military commission hearing for Australian terror suspect David Hicks , a decision that his US military lawyer says increases the likelihood that he will not receive a fair trial. Major Michael Mori said he retained five experts in international law, including a [...]

The UK Labour Party government was accused Thursday of compromising the neutrality of the police force by asking them to support an anti-terrorism provision authorizing the detention of terror suspects without charge for up to 90 days, a proposal which was defeated in the House of Commons earlier this week. The London Metropolitan Police Authority [...]

Leading Friday's environmental law news, representatives from countries surrounding the Barents Sea have held a meeting in Norway to discuss global warming and the Kyoto Protocol . The Barents Euro-Arctic Council (BEAC) consists of representatives from Russia, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Iceland and the European Commission. The BEAC adopted a number of resolutions on environmental [...]

Peru announced Thursday that it is removing its ambassador from Japan to protest Tokyo's refusal to extradite former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori . Fujimori was detained earlier this week in Chile on an international arrest warrant and Japanese diplomats visited with Fujimori , promising to defend Fujimori's rights. Chilean officials have so far been receptive [...]

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani met with Pope Benedict XVI in the Vatican on Thursday, assuring him that new Iraqi constitution will respect the rights of Christians. The Vatican was concerned that even though the constitution guaranteed religious freedom for all, it also named Islam as a "fundamental source" of legislation. According to Talabani, "the Iraqi [...]

The Crown Prosecution Service released a report on Friday that shows prosecutions for hate crimes during April 2004 to March 2005 up 29 percent over the previous year . A record 4,660 people were prosecuted, and another 1,128 cases were dropped, many because witnesses failed to testify. The figures do not include incidents related to [...]

Australian Prime Minister John Howard has denied complaints that controversial new anti-terrorism proposals were "authoritarian" and would limit freedom of the press. Part of the plan includes allowing a 7-year prison sentence for sedition, defined as threatening the "peace, order and good government of the commonwealth". The Australian Press Council called for this provision to [...]

Televangelist Pat Robertson told residents of Dover, Pennsylvania that they had "voted God out of your city" in local elections earlier this week by ousting eight school board members who had supported teaching intelligent design in science classes. On Thursday's broadcast of The 700 Club he said: I'd like to say to the good citizens [...]