rights

The Supreme Court of British Columbia says a grieving mother who blames the federal and provincial governments for violating the charter rights of her slain daughter can move forward on a lawsuit. More...

The federal ombudsman for victims of crime says Canada needs to focus more on the rights of victims and less on offenders. More...

A Moroccan man from Gatineau, Que., has filed a human rights complaint regarding an immigrant values guide that suggests new Canadians should refrain from bribing city officials. More...

AP - Syrians snatched from their homes turn up dead, often mutilated. Soldiers gun down former comrades who defected to the opposition. A human rights group reports that electric shocks and hot iron rods are used to torture detainees. More...

BMG Rights Management said on Monday it would pay around $300 million to buy Bug Music, a Los Angeles song publisher whose catalog includes hits such as "What a Wonderful World" and "Under The Boardwalk." BMG Rights reached the deal with Bug Music's owner, private equity firm Spectrum Equity...

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Bahrain on Thursday stopped bringing anti-government protesters to trial at a special tribunal with military prosecutors, a lawyer said, ending a practice criticized as unfair by rights activists and the Gulf kingdom's Western allies. The tribunal was set up...

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — An activist in Bahrain says riot police fired tear gas and stun grenades to disperse thousands gathered near the square that was the epicenter of the nation's Shiite-led protests earlier this year. Nabeel Rajab says protesters chanted: "Down, down Hamad" — a...

(CNN) -- Chinese authorities have released activist Hu Jia, his wife posted Sunday on Twitter. "On a sleepless night at 2:30, Hu Jia arrived at home. Safe, very happy. Needs to rest for a while. Thanks to each of you," Zeng Jinyan wrote in the tweet. Zeng is married to Hu Jia, a human rights...

(CNN) -- As NATO airstrikes continue to pound pro-government facilities in Libya, Human Rights Watch charged Sunday that Libyan rebels are arbitrarily detaining dozens of civilians suspected of loyalty to ruler Moammar Gadhafim, holding them without trial or due process. At least one person is...

India's Dirty Harry, the zero tolerance Bombay policeman who dispenses justice from the barrel of a gun, has killed 87 suspects and...

(CNN) -- Starting Wednesday, same-sex couples in Illinois can enter into civil unions and enjoy many of the legal protections granted to married couples. In January, Illinois joined five other states in legalizing civil unions. Gov. Pat Quinn signed the law in front of a crowd of cheering...

More than 750 civilians have been killed in Syria since an uprising against President Bashar Assad's regime began in mid-March, a human rights group said Tuesday as the government pressed its efforts to end the nationwide unrest. Ammar Qurabi, who heads the National Organization for Human...

-- A 27-year-old protester in Bahrain who was shot in the back Monday afternoon has died, the president of a human rights center said Tuesday. Ali Abdulhadi Mushaima was protesting for human rights in the village of Daih, near Manama, when he was shot, according to Nabeel Rajab, president of...

-- A Swiss law that took effect Tuesday blocked millions of dollars held in bank accounts belonging to former Haitian dictator Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier, who made a stunning return to his homeland last month. The United Nations human rights chief, meanwhile, offered to help Haitian...

-- African Union officials will name five heads of state to work on a solution to the Ivory Coast election standoff and report their findings in a month, a spokeswoman said Sunday. The panel, which will get support from experts, will consult and come up with a way to settle the dispute, said...

-- More than 200 people have been killed in a month of deadly sectarian violence in central Nigeria, a human rights monitoring group said Thursday. The victims, including children, have been hacked to death, burned alive, dragged off buses and have "disappeared," Human Rights Watch said. The...

-- A Ugandan gay rights activist whose name was published on a list of the nation's "top homosexuals" was bludgeoned to death in his home near the capital, his lawyer said Thursday. A neighbor found David Kato dead and notified authorities, according to his lawyer. Kato's money and some...

- A local activist group is speaking out against the Houston Fire Department in what has become the latest in a long line of complaints of racism within the department. The city is now investigating a complaint from a Latino firefighter who says he was humiliated after finding a racially...

http://cnn.com/video/?/video/world/2011/01/20/nat.hu.jintao.speech.cnn - Chinese President Hu Jintao wraps up his U.S. visit Friday in Chicago, Illinois, the hometown of his counterpart, President Barack Obama. He is scheduled to visit a Chinese-owned auto parts firm, a Chinese wind energy...

-- A Swiss whistleblower plans to hand over the "offshore banking secrets of the rich and famous" to WikiLeaks, the website dedicated to revealing secrets said. Rudolf Elmer, who describes himself as an activist/reformer/banker, is due to hand over the papers at a press conference in London...