Iran demanded that Saddam Hussein face charges in connection with the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war at the end of a landmark visit to Tehran this week by Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari . Iraq agreed in May 2005 to charge Saddam for his role in the war, and Iran says it is ready to hand over [...]

Guatemala formally apologized on Monday for a government-ordered massacre that occurred during the country's civil war on July 18, 1982, taking the lives of 226. Vice President Eduardo Stein made the acknowledgement in a small town north of Guatemala City, expressing remorse for the army's action that "wipe out an entire community." The apology comes [...]

The Senate on Monday confirmed Lester Crawford as the new head of the US Food and Drug Administration by a 78-16 vote , ending an earlier debate about his nomination stalled by legislators' concerns. At issue was the FDA dragging its feet on a determination about the sale of an emergency contraceptive. The FDA has [...]

Opposition legislators in the Philippines said Tuesday that they plan to file criminal charges against President Gloria Arroyo in connection with allegations of election fraud and corruption. Arroyo previously said she would "welcome" impeachment as an opportunity to clear her name, and doesn't appear to be wavering in the face of increasing opposition. She has [...]

East Timor and Indonesia have set up a joint truth commission, to open August 1 2005, to address human rights violations that occurred during a 1999 rampage in East Timor . Following a UN sponsored referendum to end Indonesia's violent 27-year occupation of East Timor, anti-independence militias aided by elements of the Indonesian military slaughtered [...]

Michael Newdow's latest challenge that "under God" is unconstitutional was narrowed by US District Judge Lawrence Karlton in Sacramento on Monday. After the US Supreme Court dismissed his lawsuit against the Pledge of Alliance for lack of standing last June, Michael Newdow promised to file a similar suit with different plaintiffs. Karlton ruled that the [...]

Reuters is reporting that three members of the committee drafting a new constitution in Iraq were shot and killed outside a Baghdad restaurant Tuesday. Sources say that the men were three of the fifteen Sunni members who recently joined the committee to increase Sunni involvement in the process. Reuters has more. 10:48 AM ET – [...]

The Tokyo High Court on Tuesday rejected demands by Chinese plaintiffs for compensation for a germ attack against them in World War II, but the court did uphold the lower court's declaration that Japan carried out such an attack. The Japanese government has never officially admitted to conducting germ warfare, but the activities of such [...]

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani announced Tuesday that the country's constitution is in its final stages and could be finalized by the end of July, ahead of the August 15 deadline . The early completion is contingent on the committee striking a deal with Sunni Arabs involved in the process who are critical of the document [...]

Opposition and civil rights groups in Kenya have called for three days of protests leading up to Friday's deadline for a proposed constitution, despite a ban on a planned protest march. The opposition accuses Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki and his government of diluting cross-party recommendations for re-writing the constitution and, primarily, failing in the latest [...]