Serge Brammertz , a Belgian prosecutor who is currently the deputy prosecutor for the International Criminal Court at The Hague, appears set to replace German prosecutor Detlev Mehlis as head of the UN inquiry into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri , according to UN officials and Lebanese press reports. Although the [...]

An Australian court hearing a bail application by Australian Muslims detained in a major November anti-terror sweep was told by prosecutors Friday that two of the suspects had discussed assassinating Australian Prime Minister John Howard, killing police and attacking families at soccer matches. The 18 suspects arrested in raids in Sydney and Melbourne are charged [...]

A 2002 Presidential order issued in the aftermath of 9/11 authorized the US National Security Agency (NSA) to secretly monitor the international telephone calls and international e-mail messages of possibly thousands of US residents without warrants over the past three years, according to officials quoted in an extensive New York Times report Friday. The purpose [...]

UK Home Secretary Charles Clarke said Thursday that he was dropping a contentious provision in proposed new UK anti-terrorism legislation introduced in the wake of the July London bombings that would have permited authorities to close British mosques suspected of connections with extremists. The provision was withdrawn after opposition from British Muslim groups and other [...]

The UN Security Council late Thursday unanimously approved a six-month extension of the probe into the February assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri just before the mandate of the investigatory commission currently headed by German prosecutor Detlev Mehlis was set to expire. Mehlis submitted his latest report to the UN Security Council Tuesday, [...]

The European Parliament agreed Thursday to open an investigation into allegations that the CIA illegally operated secret jails in Romania and Poland and covertly flew detainees through Italy, Germany and Poland. Lawmakers approved the resolution to begin an investigation by an overwhelming majority of 359-127, with 32 abstentions. The EU’s ruling treaties say that any [...]

Carla del Ponte, chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia , told the UN Security Council Thursday that Serbia and other European countries are contributing to a "dysfunctional" situation as the UN-backed war crimes tribunal struggles to arrest two top fugitives from the Bosnian war. Del Ponte blamed Serbia and NATO [...]

The unicameral Latvian parliament Thursday overwhelmingly passed a constitutional amendment defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman, effectively blocking the recognition of same-sex marriage . The amendment infuriatedLatvian gay rights activists who are considering taking their case to the European Court of Human Rights. Latvia , a recent member to the [...]

Survivors of the May 2005 Andijan uprising have filed a lawsuit in Germany under that country's universal jurisdiction laws , accusing Uzbek Interior Minister Zokirjon Almatov of torture and crimes against humanity, the New York-based Human Rights Watch said Thursday. Troops under Almatov's command fired on the thousands of protesters gathered after rebels stormed a [...]

The NAACP announced its opposition to the US Supreme Court nomination of Judge Samuel Alito in a news conference Thursday, citing his conservative record as a threat to civil rights. The Black Leadership Forum and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund joined NAACP leaders in opposition at the news conference. Though the NAACP [...]