Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz Thursday ordered a halt to the razing of homes of Palestinian suicide bombers after a committee report showed that the policy had little deterrent effect and inflamed tensions with Palestinians. The policy was initiated in 2002 in an attempt to deter terrorists who did not want to leave their families [...]

A British permanent resident being held at Guantanamo Bay has been blinded in one eye after an assault by guards at the prison, according to his lawyer. UK human rights attorney Clive Stafford Smith said that Omar Deghayes lost sight in one eye after prison guards put pepper spray in his eyes and gouged one [...]

In Thursday's international law brief, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour presented the findings of the International Commission of Inquiry on the Conflict in Darfur to the UN Security Council on Wednesday, stating that the only 'credible way' to address the atrocities was to try those accused of serious human rights abuses before [...]

Israeli Attorney General Menachem Mazuz said Thursday that he had decided to close a three-year investigation into a campaign funding scandal involving Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon , citing insufficient evidence. Sharon's son and close advisor Omri Sharon has, however, will be indicted on criminal charges including fraud, breach of trust, and perjury. Omri Sharon's [...]

CBS News is reporting that President Bush is naming John Negroponte , US ambassador to Iraq and former US ambassador to the UN, as the nation's first National Intelligence Director ] under the new intelligence reform legislation signed into law late last year. Watch a live webcast from the White House.

New York-based monitoring group Human Rights Watch said Thursday that new documents it recovered in Iraq after the US-led invasion show that Ali Hassan al-Majid, known as "Chemical Ali" for his alleged role in the gassing of Iraqi Kurds in the late 1980s, was involved in the massacre of at least 120 men during a [...]

US District Court Judge Ted Stewart Wednesday refused to strike down Utah's ban on polygamy, turning back a suit brought by a Utah man who wanted to add another wife to his marriage. Stewart said the state has an interest in protecting monogamous marriage and that the current law did not violate religious and privacy [...]

Amnesty International said Thursday that the recent imposition of emergency rule in Nepal by King Gyanendra has taken the country to the "brink of disaster" and that the human rights crisis in the country could turn into a "catastrophe". The Nepalese government has disputed the AI statement, claiming the state of emergency was necessary to [...]

Lea Fastow, wife of former Enron chief financial officer Andrew Fastow , is asking for an early release from prison. Fastow's attorney has requested that US District Court Judge David Hittner vacate her one-year prison term after pleading guilty to willfully delivering a 2000 income tax return which she knew to be fraudulent. Fastow admitted [...]

AP is reporting that Iraq's electoral commission has certified the final results of the January 30 election, giving a Shiite Muslim grouping the most seats of any party in the new National Assembly. 12:45 PM ET – United Iraqi Alliance leaders have reportedly failed to come to agreement on a candidate for prime minister. Leaders [...]