The US Supreme Court on Monday granted certiorari in two cases, including one involving the insanity defense in criminal trials. In Clark v. Arizona, the Court will consider the constitutionality of an Arizona law that limits admission of evidence of a mental defect and prohibits the defense that the accused did not understand the nature [...]

Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered that possible amendments to a bill regulating non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the country be drafted within the next five days. The NGO proposal, approved by the Duma in November , would greatly increase state control over NGOs by requiring them to register with a state commission and imposing financial [...]

France has signaled opposition to a proposal from British Prime Minister and current EU president Tony Blair to allow cameras into the EU's main decision-making body, the Council of the European Union , during legislative debates. Blair has said that making the decision-making process more transparent would increase support for EU initiatives. France has opposed [...]

In official remarks prior to her departure for Europe Monday, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said that the US government's efforts to protect its citizens have been "misunderstood." Noting European officials' concerns about the CIA's use of extraordinary rendition , Rice asserted that the US government has used rendition for decades when traditional extradition [...]

Former ICTY deputy prosecutor Graham Blewitt said Monday that Australia has become a safe haven for war criminals avoiding prosecution . Despite confessing to immigration officials about committing acts of torture, murder and rape, more than 30 suspected war criminals have been granted temporary residency in Australia by the Australian Immigration Department . Included in [...]

Western elections observers and opposition leaders have raised doubts as to the fairness of the reelection of Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev , who won 91 percent of the vote Sunday. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe blamed poor ballot counting, intimidation, multiple voting and ballot stuffing for the result, in which 77 percent [...]

Roman Catholic Church officials have announced their opposition to a proposal that would let sexual abuse victims file lawsuits decades after the alleged abuse occurred. Pennsylvania has a strict statute of limitations which has prevented most clergy sexual abuse cases from coming to court, but some lawmakers are following the recommendation of the Philadelphia District [...]

The ruling military junta in Myanmar on Monday reopened its constitutional-drafting convention, which has been held intermittently since 1993, in the first step in a seven-stage road map aimed at unification, democracy and free elections. The session could last as long as two months, though it is seen as unlikely that a final draft will [...]

US Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) , a Vietnam War veteran who survived capture and torture by the North Vietnamese, said Sunday that he will not concede on his demands for a ban on the use of torture to extract information from suspected terrorists. The anti-torture measure, the so-called McCain amendment , passed the Senate by [...]

Chief Judge Rizgar Mohammed Amin, presiding over the trial of Saddam Hussein , on Monday allowed former US Attorney General Ramsey Clark and ex-Qatari Justice Minister Najib al-Nueimi to address the court on the safety of the defense lawyers involved in the trial, reversing an earlier ruling which led the defense team to walk out [...]