UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan Thursday defended contentious statements made by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour on US terrorist rendition practices , saying through a spokesperson that she has his "full confidence" as a "highly respected jurist," and that "international civil servants should be allowed to speak freely" on their areas of expertise. [...]

Signatory nations to the Kyoto Protocol meeting at the UN Climate Change Conference in Montreal Thursday agreed to a final protocol provision governing the rules for ensuring compliance with emissions standards. A country that exceeds its set goal for emissions will now incur an additional 30 percent penalty and must balance out the difference in [...]

The US House Judiciary Committee approved a complex bill aimed at preventing illegal immigration in a split party 23-15 vote Thursday, allowing a full House vote on the legislation next week. The bill , sponsored by committee chairman Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) , adds border patrol agents and equipment, requests millitary assistance for border surveillance, [...]

Connecticut Governor Jodi Rell , a Republican, has signed into law legislation that bans campaign contributions from lobbyists and state contractors, limits political action committee (PAC) funding, closes a loophole allowing unrestricted corporate funding, and establishes a publicly-funded voluntary campaign contribution program. Read a transcript of Rell's remarks at the signing ceremony Wednesday. Critics of [...]

In remarks to the North Atlantic Council of NATO on Thursday, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice assured European leaders that the US government does not allow torture of suspected terrorists and that it respects the principles of the Geneva Conventions. Her comments in the final stage of a European trip came after days of [...]

A group of 12 retired federal judges on Thursday urged US lawmakers not to pass legislation that would strip federal courts of the power to hear habeas corpus claims brought by detainees held at the US naval base at Guantanamo Bay . In a letter to Congress , the judges, mostly retired from federal courts [...]

The US State Department confirmed Thursday that the International Committee of the Red Cross does not have access to all US detainees, but said that ICRC had access to "absolutely everybody" held at Guantanamo Bay . John Bellinger, top lawyer at the State Department, declined to give further details about detainees the ICRC has no [...]

US House and Senate negotiators announced Thursday that a deal has been reached on legislation that will reauthorize portions of the USA PATRIOT Act set to expire on December 31. Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) said the Senate will vote on the compromise next week. Under the agreement, provisions authorizing roving wiretaps and allowing FBI access [...]

Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin on Thursday proposed a sweeping national ban on handguns in an effort to combat escalating gun violence in Canadian cities. In Toronto, there have been 50 homicides from gunfire this year, a new record for the city and almost twice the number from 2004. Under Martin's proposed Canada Handgun Ban [...]

Retired Croatian general Ante Gotovina was arrested late Wednesday night in Spain. Gotovina was indicted on crimes against humanity charges by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in 2001 and was considered to be the third most-wanted suspect from the 1990s Balkan wars. ICTY Chief Prosecutor Carla Del Ponte said Thursday that Gotovina [...]