Geneva Conventions ‘still relevant but better compliance needed’

As the defenders of a besieged Bosnian town prepared to retreat, the prisoners of war held captive in the local jail feared the worst. “The prisoners were saying, ‘If the town falls they will shoot us before they leave,'” recalls Charlotte Lindsey, a Red Cross field worker in the Balkans during the break-up of the former Yugoslavia.

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Husband of driver in fatal crash: ‘I’ve never seen her drunk’

The husband of a woman who authorities say was impaired by marijuana and alcohol when she caused a head-on collision that killed eight people, including herself, has rejected claims of substance abuse by his wife. “I’ve never seen her drunk since the day I met her,” Daniel Schuler, referring to his wife, Diane, said Thursday. “I’m not angry at her

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Al Qaeda priority: Western targets

Between late July and early December of 2008 four members of a Belgian-French group returned to Europe from the Pakistan-Afghanistan border region. On December 11, Belgian counter-terrorism police launched one of the largest operations in the country’s history, arrested six people and charged them with participation in a terrorist group.

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Rights groups decry Gaza ‘honor killing’

A 27-year-old mother of five was bludgeoned to death with an iron chain by her father last week in Gaza in what human rights groups report was an honor killing. According to police in Gaza, the father, Jawdat al-Najar, heard his daughter Fadia, who had divorced in 2005, speaking on the phone with a man. He believed she was having a relationship with him.

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China to reduce number of executions

China, often criticized for its liberal use of the death penalty, will reduce the number of criminal executions it carries out, a top official said. “As it is impossible for the country to abolish capital punishment under current realities and social security conditions, it is an important effort to strictly control the application of the penalty by judicial organs,” Zhang Jun, vice president of the Supreme People’s Court, said in an interview with Legal Daily, the state-run China Daily reported. “Judicial departments should use the least number of death sentences as possible, and death penalties should not be given to those having a reason for not being executed,” Zhang said.

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Guantanamo detainee may face trial in U.S.

Administration officials Friday indicated a second Guantanamo Bay detainee may be brought to the United States for a criminal trial, but cautioned no final decision has been made. Justice Department officials said they continue to review the case of Afghan detainee Mohammed Jawad, who has been held at the Guantanamo facility for more than six years. “The attorney general has now directed that (Justice) Department prosecutors expedite their review of his case so the department can decide whether evidence exists to support a criminal case in federal court

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