In the wake of Wednesday's second interim report of the UN's Independent Inquiry Committee into the Oil-for-Food Program chaired by former Federal Reserve head Paul Volcker, the UN has issued a charge letter to Under-Secretary-General Dileep Nair , head of the UN's Office for Internal Oversight Services (OIOS), alleging improper use of funds. The IIC [...]

Civil rights activist Fred Korematsu has died at daughter's home in California. The American-born son of Japanese immigrants who passed away Wednesday is best remembered for defiantly refusing to voluntarily submit himself to US internment camps during World War II. His conviction for violating the order to surrender to officials was upheld by the US [...]

The parliament of Turkey voted Thursday to delay the implementation of the country's new penal code until June 1. The reforms, passed in September as part of Turkey's efforts to join the European Union , were scheduled to take effect Friday, but legislators voted on the delay to allow the government more time to make [...]

Minority shareholders of embattled Russian oil company Yukos have begun to coordinate their efforts to ensure that losses incurred after Russia's dismantling of the oil company will be recouped. Shipston Group, a Bahamas-based investment fund, is coordinating the efforts and Shipston's manager said Thursday that the minority shareholders are seeking to be given a proportional [...]

The Supreme Court of Canada Thursday unanimously upheld Quebec language legislation known as Bill 101 , which makes French-speaking parents send their children to francophone schools. Under the bill, parents must have received the majority of their own schooling in English to be able to have their children educated in that language. Eight families had [...]

In Thursday's international brief, a US administration official said Wednesday night that the US would accept a pending French resolution, delayed from Wednesday , authorizing the International Criminal Court to investigate and try possible human rights abuses in the Darfur region of Sudan . The US has actively opposed the use of the ICC and [...]

The World Bank has unanimously approved the nomination of US Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz as the next president of the 184-nation development bank. Wolfowitz was seen as a controversial choice because of his role as architect of the Iraq war and his support of overseas harsh governments. Wolfowitz sought to dampen criticism by saying [...]

According to Iranian doctor Shahram Azam, Iranian-Canadian photographer Zahra Kazemi was tortured and raped during her detention by Iranian authorities before her death in July 2003. The claims by Dr. Azam contradict the conclusions of Iranian authorities who said the death could have been accidental. Aazam said he was the first doctor to examine Kazemi [...]

US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Mark Lagon has said the United States will seek international censure of Cuba's human rights record by presenting a resolution at the annual meeting of the UN Commission on Human Rights . The resolution will look at prior actions taken by the commission to determine whether Cuba has been [...]

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe on Thursday called on ousted Kyrgyz President Askar Akayev to resign his post to ensure stability in the Central Asian country. Akayev has given conflicting messages on whether he would resign as leader or seek to retain the position following a week of turmoil. OSCE also warned [...]