Leaders of the both the Anglican and Roman Catholic churches have sharply criticized the US prison at Guantanamo Bay as international pressure builds to close down the controversial facility that currently contains almost 500 individuals the US government has termed enemy combatants. Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams , the English head of the worldwide Anglican [...]

US District Judge John Gleeson Friday temporarily stayed an injunction that would have changed New York's unique system of nominating its elected state trial court judges in political conventions rather than primaries. Gleeson ruled in January that the practice of nominating judges to the New York Supreme Court was unconstitutional because voters were denied the [...]

Parts of a broader, more human picture of the Guantanamo detainees, their frustrations and the cases against them have begun to emerge from the depths of over 5000 pages of documentation on over 300 specific detainees released by the Pentagon late Friday under court order. Some of the papers had been previously released with names [...]

Two separate press-sponsored investigations reported Saturday show a marked increase in secret proceedings in US federal courts in the last few years, mirroring a general trend towards secrecy in the executive branch of government during the Bush presidency. Figures tallied by the Administrative Office of the US Courts for AP show that some 5,116 defendants [...]

The Manila Daily Tribune reported Saturday that it has been charged with sedition in the wake of the Friday lifting of President Gloria Arroyo's state of emergency . The offices of the paper, known for its sharp criticism of the government, were raided February 25 while the state of emergency decree was still in force. [...]

Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian told the Japanese Yomiuri Shimbun daily in an interview reported Saturday that he was resolved to drafting a new constitution for the country better suited to its current circumstances. Earlier in the week, Chen stirred controversy when he put an end to a 15-year detente with mainland China by scrapping a [...]

Sri Lanka Solicitor General C.R. de Silva announced Saturday that two men photographed stealing a gold necklace from a woman while she struggled in the rushing waters of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami will be prosecuted for murder. If convicted, they could face the death penalty under Sri Lanka law. After taking the woman's necklace, [...]

US mega-retailer Wal-Mart announced Friday that it will stock the emergency contraceptive pill known as Plan B in all of its pharmacies nationwide beginning March 20. Previously the chain had only stocked the pills in its pharmacies in Illinois, as required by law, and in Massachusetts following an order by the Massachusetts Pharmacy Board in [...]

In response to a February injunction imposed by US Distict Judge Jeremy Fogel , California prosecutors Friday proposed altering the combination of sedatives and life-ending drugs used in executions in order to ensure that prisoners do not become conscious or experience "wanton or unnecessary pain" during the process. The proposal stems from an appeal by [...]

The US Justice Department has launched an investigation into possible price-fixing of music downloads by major label record companies, according to Department sources. The Department has already issued subpoeanas to four major record labels: EMI, Sony BMG, Universal and Warner Music. Federal officials are attempting to discern whether the labels are conspiring to keep the [...]