Adelphia Communications Corp. founder John Rigas has been sentenced to 15 years for bank fraud, securities fraud, and conspiracy. 5:02 PM ET – AP is reporting that former Adelphia chief financial officer Timothy Rigas has been sentenced to 20 years in prison. Bloomberg has more.

Having last week reached a deal on Sunni representation on the parliamentary committee to draft the Iraqi constitution , Iraqi politicians are now debating over who exactly should be named to the new seats. Sunni leaders have submitted a list of 15 candidates for the positions with full voting rights, but without getting support for [...]

A new report released by the World Health Organization on Monday urges countries to pass laws protecting the mentally ill, a group categorized by a WHO press release as "among the most vulnerable and the least legally protected". The report says almost a quarter of all countries have no mental health law, and many more [...]

President Bush on Monday demanded a vote in the Senate on his nomination of John Bolton as the US Ambassador to the United Nations, and White House officials would not rule out the possibility of a recess appointment to sidestep the Senate if necesary. Senate Democrats last week rejected a new Republican compromise offer on [...]

The Presbyterian Church (USA) has formally adopted 11 changes to its constitution in an effort to prevent and deal more harshly with sexual abuse by members of the clergy. The changes, to be incorporated into the church's Book of Order on July 3, allow victims more involvement in the offender's punishment as well as stricter [...]

The British Department of Health Monday began an 11-week program to survey the public on a proposed smoking ban that would prohibit smoking in restaurants, bars that serve food, and enclosed public places in England. The DoH is asking citizens what exemptions they think should apply, and if the ban should eventually include more areas. [...]

Prosecutors on Monday summoned former Romanian President Ion Iliescu to testify in a criminal investigation into deadly riots by coal miners in the 1990s. Iliescu refused to appear personally and instead sent his lawyers, who asked for a continuance to review evidence. No charges have been filed against him yet, but prosecutors are looking to [...]

An Afghan government official said Monday that Afghan security forces have arrested three young Pakistani men on charges of planning to assassinate US ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad . The men were arrested Saturday in the province of Laghman, a day before a scheduled trip by Khalilzad to the area. A spokesman for the US Embassy in [...]

The US Supreme Court Monday declined to consider whether hundreds of criminals sentenced prior to US v. Booker – a landmark ruling on federal sentencing guidelines – should receive reduced prison sentences, despite Justice Department urging that the dispute be heard. AP has more. The Court also took no action to resolve a dispute over [...]

WHO Resource Book on Mental Health, Human Rights and Legislation, World Health Organization , June 20, 2005 . Excerpt: There are many ways to improve the lives of people with mental disorders. One important way is through policies, plans and programmes that lead to better services. To implement such policies and plans, one needs good [...]