AP is reporting that the US House has approved a dramatic increase in fines for indecent broadcast programming. 3:38 PM ET – The House passed the Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act of 2005 by a vote of 389-38 . The bill raises the maximum fine for indecent programming to $500,000 for both companies and individual entertainers. [...]

The American Civil Liberties Union has asked Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to appoint a special counsel to investigate allegations of abuse of detainees held at Abu Ghraib prison , Guantanamo Bay and those transferred to foreign countries that engage in torture of prisoners. In the ACLU letter , ACLU Exective Director Anthony Romero wrote: An [...]

Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov said Wednesday that he will ask the Russian Constitutional Court to overturn portions of the country's controversial law canceling many welfare benefits and replacing them with cash payments. The reform, which affects medical, housing and transportation benefits, has been met with widespread protests by Russian citizens who are calling for a [...]

EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said Wednesday that the European Union should recognize that the US will never accept the International Criminal Court and should seek a practical solution to the problem. Saying, "I don't think we're going to make any progress. The sentiments are very profound in the United States" Solana indicated that [...]

US Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations Patrick Kennedy told a Senate committee Tuesday that US officials knew of problems in the Iraq Oil-for-Food Program but chose to remain silent. Kennedy said the officials were more concerned with maintaining some form of sanctions on Iraq than with ensuring that those sanctions were air-tight. At the [...]

New rules on passenger rights taking effect Thursday in the European Union will require airlines to compensate travellers for cancellations, delays, and denial of seats, even when the cause is an event normally considered outside the control of the airline, like bad weather conditions. The new legislation , the strictest in the world, places the [...]

The Court of Appeal in London Wednesday rejected a legal challenge from the pro-hunting Countryside Alliance arguing that the Hunting Act 2004 was invalid because the Parliament Act 1949 used to force it through the House of Lords last year was invalid. The ban on fox hunting with dogs has been the subject of much [...]

Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, entered into force February 16, 2005. Read the full text of the Protocol . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

Togolese Army General Seyi Memene has agreed to "return the country to constitutional order" following talks held Tuesday between Togo and ECOWAS representatives. Nigerian Foreign Minister Aichatou Mindaoudou said the talks yielded a good response and were very encouraging. No official details were released, but anonymous sources have said that a presidential election may be [...]

In a speech delivered to the National Press Club Tuesday, Christian Coalition founder Pat Robertson accused the federal judiciary of usurping legislative and executive power, called for the Senate leadership to force votes on President Bush's judicial nominations , and suggested that Democrats blocked those nominations at their electoral peril: Even as we opposed tyranny [...]