Amnesty International Secretary-General Irene Khan said Thursday that the US could settle disagreements about alleged abuses of prisoners at its Guantanamo Bay detention camp and other facilities by opening them to inspections by human rights investigators. AI criticized Guantanamo in a report released earlier this month, calling it the "gulag of our time." On Wednesday, [...]

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US business leaders Thursday debated possible new directions for the Securities and Exchange Commission following Wednesday's announcement by current SEC Chairman William Donaldson that he would be stepping down June 30. Donaldson led the drive to toughen corporate regulations and penalties in the wake of the Enron scandal and revelations of mutual fund fraud, but [...]

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Protesters returned to the Supreme Court in Kyrgyzstan again on Thursday to demand the resignation of several judges. A violent clash on Wednesday initially ousted the protesters, who had occupied the building since April 22 following an election dispute that led to the overthrow of the hardline government of President Askar Akayev. Police Thursday allowed [...]

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Wachovia Corp. , the fourth largest bank in the US, acknowledged Wednesday that two of its predecessor banks owned slaves prior to the Civil War and apologized for the practice. Wachovia had contracted with historical research firm The History Factory to look into the pasts of acquired banks, an increasingly common practice as legislative initiatives [...]

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