France’s top court has ruled that a controversial law making it a crime to deny the Armenian genocide at the hands of Ottoman Turks is unconstitutional. The Constitutional Council wrote that the law violates freedom of expression. French President Nicloas Sarkozy, who strongly supports the law, says he is disappointed. But he says he will […]
Top French Court Throws Out Armenian Genocide Law
New US Guidelines for Civilian Terror Detainees
U.S. President Barack Obama has issued new rules on when terrorist suspects can remain in the custody of civilian authorities, instead of being transferred to the military. The new rules, outlined in a memo Tuesday, essentially override a law that requires military detention for terrorists captured when plotting to attack the United States, by elaborating […]
Romney Faced Tough Battle in Native State of Michigan
Polls have closed in the northern U.S. state of Michigan, after a tight battle between Republican presidential hopefuls Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum. Romney fought hard to fend off Santorum, who has surged in the polls and had a three-state victory earlier this month in Colorado, Minnesota and Missouri. The two were virtually tied in […]
UN: Assad’s Crackdown Has Killed ‘Well Over 7,500’ People
A senior U.N. official says Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s deadly crackdown on an opposition uprising has killed “well over 7,500” people, an increase of 2,100 from the previous death toll provided by the world body last month. U.N. political chief Lynn Pascoe said Tuesday she has “credible reports” from Syria of more than 100 civilians […]
Greek Parliament Approves More Deep Spending Cuts
The Greek parliament late Tuesday approved another $4 billion in spending cuts, as demanded by the European Union so that Greece can get a new economic rescue loan. Tuesday’s measure includes deep cuts in civil service pensions — part of a broad package of spending cuts and other economic reforms. Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos called […]
India’s Nationwide Strike Targets Economic Policies
India’s three key economic sectors were crippled Tuesday after 11 trade unions took part in a nationwide strike to protest what they called “anti-labor” policies. Transport, financial and postal services were disrupted in many parts of the country, as union members stayed at home. The stoppage is a setback for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s Congress […]
Romney, Santorum in Tight Battle for Michigan
The top two U.S. Republican presidential hopefuls are battling for Michigan Tuesday, in a key primary that once again may reset the course of an unpredictable nomination race. Mitt Romney once held a commanding lead in the state where he was born and where his father was a popular governor, but is now fighting to […]
Egyptian Judges Withdraw from Trial of Pro-Democracy Activists
Egypt’s state news agency says all three judges handling the trial of 43 pro-democracy activists have recused themselves from the case that has strained Cairo’s ties with Washington. MENA said Tuesday that chief judge Mohammed Shoukry sent a notice to Egypt’s appeals court declaring he and his two colleagues can not continue with the trial […]
Gunmen Kill 18 Shi’ites in North Pakistan
Gunmen wearing military uniforms stopped a convoy of passenger buses in the northern Pakistani district of Kohistan Tuesday and shot dead 18 Shi’ites. Local authorities said the buses were traveling through the mountainous district to the northern town of Gilgit at the time of the ambush. They said the attackers boarded the bus, checked the […]
EU Pulls Ambassadors Out of Belarus
European Union members are pulling all their ambassadors from Belarus after its the authoritarian government ordered the Polish and EU ambassadors out of the country. Belarus ordered the envoys to leave in reaction to new EU sanctions imposed against Belarusian officials because of that country’s poor human rights record. A Belarusian foreign ministry spokesman says […]