Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas asked his government's Justice Minister Wednesday to set aside verdicts by the much-criticized state security courts . Human rights groups have said the courts, set up under Yasser Arafat in 1995, were too quick, violated due process and handed down too severe sentences, including the death penalty. The move is part [...]

The Spanish Senate voted 131-119 Wednesday against a bill that would legalize gay marriage. The bill had already passed the lower house of parliament , but faced fierce opposition from the Catholic Church and conservative groups . The bill is still likely to pass , however, since it now returns to the lower house for [...]

The US House of Representatives Wedneday afternoon approved a proposed constitutional amendment that would make it a crime to desecrate the American flag by a vote of 286-130 , eight more votes then necessary for the two-thirds required. The measure will now go to the Senate, where many believe it has a strong chance of [...]

Fearing damage to historic sites, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has called for action against illegal digs and looting in Iraq. Director-general Koichiro Matsuura said archeological sites as well as museums are being damaged by thefts of items. He also expressed concern that construction of new military bases might ruin ancient [...]

After meeting with lawyers from both sides earlier today , US District Judge Karon Bowdre ordered a juror replaced in the fraud trial of former HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy , citing health reasons that interrupted deliberations. The replacement and Bowdre's instruction to the jury that they must start their deliberations all over again will further [...]

A panel of Italian judges on Wednesday convicted 10 former Nazi SS soldiers in absentia for their roles in the 1944 massacre of over 500 Tuscan villagers . The 10 men all received life sentences after the three-judge panel deliberated for seven hours. Italian authorities began their investigation into the atrocity a few years ago [...]

Germany's Federal Administrative Court ruled Wednesday that a German army officer who refused to follow orders because he thought they would aid the US-led war in Iraq could not be forced to comply with orders that ran counter to his conscience. The soldier, who was demoted from the rank of major to captain last year, [...]

With the likely retirement of US Chief Justice William Rehnquist in the coming weeks, senior White House officials are cutting down their list of candidates and interviewing the final contending federal appeals court judges to replace him. The short list includes Judge J. Michael Luttig , Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr. , and Judge John [...]

A grand jury in Washington, DC has indicted two men for the February 12 killing of Dorothy Stang , an American nun who was working in Brazil as an environmentalist. A landowner allegedly offered the two $20,000 for the killing, and faces separate charges in Brazil . It is thought that Stang's work got in [...]

With the jury still unable to reach a verdict and former HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy unwilling to cut a deal in his trial for accounting fraud, US District Judge Karon Bowdre summoned lawyers from both sides for a closed-door meeting Wednesday. Jurors earlier resumed deliberating after a two-day break, caused by one juror's undisclosed emergency [...]