Q&A: Cambodians Look Beyond Khmer Rouge Trials

While the trial of the notorious jailor of the genocidal Khmer Rouge regime is expected to break new legal ground in Cambodia, justice is not all that people here expect to come out of the war crimes tribunal.

EAST TIMOR: Case Backlog Worries New Prosecutor General

East Timor’s new prosecutor general, Ana Pessoa, says that she is ready to "strengthen’’ her office through ‘’first of all trying to understand why there are so many pending cases".

RIGHTS-US: Obama Faces Spate of “Terror War” Lawsuits

Human rights lawyers are proving to be a major headache for the new administration of President Barack Obama, stepping up court challenges on issues of prisoner abuse to test the reality of the president's pledge to create a "an unprecedented level of openness" in government.

RIGHTS-AUSTRALIA: Tough Terror Laws Part of Routine Policing?

Civil libertarians are concerned that significant powers wielded by authorities in order to conduct investigations into terrorism-related activities are being normalised and made available for less serious crimes.

POLITICS-US: Censorship Seen in Exclusion of Foreign Scholars

A leading legal rights group charged Tuesday that the Barack Obama Justice Department is using immigration law to censor debate by selectively barring U.S. entry to foreign scholars.

RIGHTS-US: Detainee Offered Freedom for Silence on Torture

A British court ruled Monday that U.S. authorities had asked a Guantanamo Bay detainee to drop allegations of torture in exchange for his freedom.

POLITICS-US: Veils of Secrecy Lifting in Washington

As President Barack Obama’s Justice Department issued sweeping new guidelines to reverse the secrecy policies of former president George W. Bush, a federal judge ordered the Central Intelligence Agency to produce unedited summaries of some 3,000 documents related to its admitted destruction of 92 videotapes of prisoners being subjected to extremely harsh interrogation techniques.

RIGHTS-PAKISTAN: Hopes Pinned on Reinstated Justices

As he resumes office as Chief Justice of Pakistan on Tuesday, Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry will doubtless mull over the years since Mar. 9, 2007 when he was first unceremoniously sacked by then president Gen. Pervez Musharraf.

EAST TIMOR: ‘Political’ Appointment of Police Chief Resented

The decision to appoint East Timor’s prosecutor general as chief of the country’s police force is being criticised by analysts who say the move is politically motivated and threatens to stunt the institution as the handover of power from the UN Police (Unpol) begins.

US-AFGHANISTAN: McKiernan Gets Control of Disputed Raids

U.S. Special Operations forces in Afghanistan, whose commando raids and airstrikes against suspected Taliban targets have caused large numbers of civilian casualties that have angered Afghans, have quietly been put under the "tactical control" of the commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, Gen. David McKiernan, for the first time.

CHINA: Calm Over Planned North Korean Missile Launch

Amid signs of mounting tensions on the Korean peninsula over Pyongyang’s nuclear standoff, China has remained calm and seemingly reluctant to use strong words of criticism for its neighbour and long-time communist ally.

U.S.: Obama’s New Sudan Envoy Faces Big Challenges

As the humanitarian situation in Darfur deteriorates, President Barack Obama's new Special Envoy for Sudan is likely to find his inbox filled with urgent challenges - none more immediate than how to get relief groups back into the province.

RIGHTS-US: Red Cross Report Bolsters Case for Bush Inquiry

A leaked Red Cross report, detailing chilling accounts of prisoner torture in "black sites" run by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, has underlined the need for an independent commission of inquiry into possible war crimes committed by senior officials during the presidency of George W. Bush, according to a statement by 25 prominent clergymen and women.

AUSTRALIA: Pressured to Do More in Afghanistan

With the internecine battle among some of the 42 contributing nations to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) over burden-sharing in Afghanistan continuing, the Australian government is giving little away about its intentions regarding an expected request for more troops.

U.S.: Bipartisan Experts Urge “Partnership” with Russia

The administration of U.S. President Barack Obama should work hard on areas of common interest with Russia in order to build a "partnership, however uneasy," that would serve Washington's interests in key areas, including non-proliferation, energy, and counter-terrorism, according to a new report released here Monday by the Nixon Centre and the Belfer Centre for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University.

RIGHTS-US: New Name, Same Detainee Problem

Human rights activists and constitutional law experts were virtually unanimous in their condemnation of the positions taken on prisoner detention and treatment in federal court last week by President Barack Obama’s Department of Justice, which one group described as "a case of old wine in new bottles."

U.S.: Plan to Split Taliban Lures Obama Deeper into War

Advanced reports on the Barack Obama administration’s strategy to "peel off" a majority of insurgent commanders from the "hard core" of Taliban suggest that it will be presented as a political route to victory in Afghanistan that would not require U.S. and NATO troops to win militarily.

POLITICS: Five Days That Changed Pakistan

A late night meeting between Pakistan's army chief, President and Prime Minister led to the dramatic announcement in the wee hours of Monday morning that Iftikhar Mohammed Choudhry would be restored as Chief Justice.

RIGHTS-VIETNAM: End of the Road for Agent Orange Victims?

Where can Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange get justice? Probably nowhere, after the United States Supreme Court refused to hear, this month, a final appeal by Vietnamese plaintiffs against chemical giants Dow and Monsanto.

POLITICS: Perils Seen in Obama’s Afghan Strategy

With official announcements about a new strategy for the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan expected in the coming weeks, details of the plan are starting to emerge in press accounts which describe a renewed focus on the war-torn Central Asian country and its volatile neighbour, Pakistan.

EAST TIMOR: ‘Presidential Pardon May Hurt Legal System’

East Timor President José Ramos-Horta’s comments that he may pardon those charged with last year’s firearm attacks on his person, and that of Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão, have alarmed observers who say that the credibility of the young country's legal system is at stake.