HUMAN RIGHTS

U.S. diplomats were gravely concerned about Egypt’s poor human rights record (including the use of torture by police and the jailing of dissidents) and expressed misgivings about President Hosni Mubarak’s plans to allow his son to succeed him, according to cables released by WikiLeaks.

Protesters stormed police barricades in the Tunisian capital on Thursday and the government prepared to dismiss key loyalists of ousted leader Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali in the face of widespread public anger.

The Department of Justice was reprimanded today by the U.S. Congress for suggesting the necessity of the Internet Data Retention legislation, which if passed would require Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to preserve records of user activity longer, but failing to provide more details on how it could aid in criminal investigations.

The Egyptian government should be responsive to its people's aspirations, the White House has said in measured but unusually strong comments about the raging anti-government protests in Egypt which forced the reported fleeing of the president’s son to Britain.

Embattled Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak's son, who has been widely seen as his successor, has fled the country, according to US-based Arabic website Akhbar al-Arab.

American Bar Association (ABA) president Stephen N. Zack has strongly condemned the unfair trial and sentencing of an Iranian human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh.

U.N. investigators have found many more women than previously thought were raped by Congolese soldiers during a New Year's rampage, the United Nations said on Tuesday, and demanded harsh punishment for the perpetrators.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned preposterous comments by a U.N.-appointed expert on Palestinian rights that there was a cover-up over the Sept. 11 attacks, Ban's chief of staff said on Monday.

Iran has hanged two men for their activities during the turmoil following President Ahmadinejad’s controversial election victory in 2009. Iran has now executed 64 people is just the past twenty-four days, or on average one person every nine hours.

Thai police said on Monday as many as 91 Rohingya boat people, who ended up in the country while fleeing from Myanmar, will be deported.

Chinese President Hu Jintao headed home on Friday after a U.S. visit both sides declared a success, but which left questions over how the world's top two economic powers will manage future frictions.

Pro-democracy leader in Myanmar granted Internet access two months after her release from house arrest

Chinese President Hu Jintao took his roadshow to the U.S. Midwest, where executives from the two countries were set to sign up to 60 deals on Friday to underscore the message that China is open for business.

Chinese President Hu Jintao took his political roadshow to the U.S. heartland on Friday, visiting Chicago to highlight business and cultural ties between the world's two largest economies.

Chinese media praised President Hu Jintao's visit to the United States on Friday as a diplomatic masterstroke in easing tensions, but reports largely ignored thornier questions of currency and human rights.

The U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi, supporting her fight for democracy.

Chinese President Hu Jintao got an earful of U.S. lawmakers criticism on North Korea and human rights on Thursday, but tried to assure the United States that China's military and trade policies were not a threat.

President Barack Obama urged Chinese President Hu Jintao to let the value of China's yuan currency rise and delivered a strong message on U.S. concerns over Beijing's human rights record at a summit on Wednesday.

The John F. Kennedy inaugural address was 50 years ago to the day and is the subject of Google's Thursday home-page doodle. The address is given here in full text.

Full video of President John F. Kennedy's Inaugural Address

Full text of President John F. Kennedy's Inaugural Address