The Central Election Commission of Ukraine late Monday certified opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko the winner of the December 26 re-vote over former Prime Minister Viktor Yanukoyvch. Under Ukrainian law the certification must now be approved by the Ukrainian Supreme Court and published in two newspapers. Completion of the process is expected to substatively bring to [...]

Internal audit reports on the UN Oil-for-Food Programme, UN Office of Internal Oversight Services; posted by the Independent Inquiry Committee Into the UN Oil-for-Food Programme, January 9, 2005 . Review the full text of the 58 separate audit reports here. Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

Testimony of Dean Harold Hongju Koh, Yale Law School, on the nomination of Alberto Gonzales for the post of US Attorney General, January 6, 2005. Read the full text of Koh's statement here . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

The Palestinian Central Election Commission Monday issued provisional final results for Sunday's presidential election, awarding victory to PLO chairman Mahmoud Abbas with 62.32% of the vote, far ahead of second place human right activist Mustafa Barghouti, who received 19.80%. The margin of Abbas's victory was only slightly less than exit polls had predicted Sunday night [...]

Officials from the Sudan People's Liberation Movement have begun preparations to establish their regional capital city in Rumbek, some 560 miles south of the governmental capital city of Khartoum. The establishment of an independent southern capital in Sudan was part of the historic peace agreement signed on Sunday by officials from the two warring factions. [...]

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has called for Massachusetts authorities to cease collecting DNA from the Truro, MA community in a letter released Monday. The DNA collection is an effort by the Truro police department and Cape Cod district attorney's office to solve a 3-year-old murder of Christa Worthington. ACLU Executive Director Carol Rose [...]

According to a senior US defense official, the US will be transfering or releasing "a significant proportion" of the 549 prisoners from the US naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The change is taking place to accommodate new permanent construction at the base, including a new prison facility worth $25 million and a new $1.7 [...]

A Chilean court has granted bail for former president General Augusto Pinochet, under house arrest at his ranch west of Santiago. Pinochet's house arrest began last week after a Chilean appeals court upheld a lower court order issued after a judge had ruled that Pinochet could stand trial on charges of murder and kidnapping for [...]

The entire 13-member regional election commission for the Iraqi province of Anbar, west of Baghdad in the so-called "Sunni triangle", has resigned and gone into hiding according to a local newspaper. The head of the commission said it was "impossible to hold elections" in the volatile Sunni-dominated region, which includes the flashpoint cities of Fallujah [...]

The Ukrainian Supreme Court Wednesday denied four more appeals of the December 26th presidential election results filed by allies of former prime minister Viktor Yanukovych , citing missed filing dates and improperly formulated complaints as the reasons for the rejection. While it has not been confirmed by the Court itself, Yaroslav Davydovych of the country's [...]