UN inspectors on Friday said they had reached a “mutual understanding” with North Korea after visiting a nuclear reactor at the centre of efforts to disarm the communist country.
Team leader Olli Heinonen said his four-strong International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) team, carrying out the first UN inspection of the Yongbyon reactor in five years, were […]

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the Central African Republic (CAR) and the country’s major rebel group have signed an agreement that will allow some child soldiers in the northeast – the scene of fierce fighting in recent months – to return to their families and become reintegrated with their former communities.
In an accord signed […]

A proposed constitutional ban on same-sex marriage was defeated today by a joint session of the Legislature by a vote of 45 to 151, eliminating any chance of getting it on the ballot in November 2008. At least 50 votes were needed to advance the measure.
[…]
Because fewer than 50 of the state’s 200 lawmakers supported […]

I’ve been meaning to blog this for a few days, but you may have noticed a few items on Breaking Blue about a major step for the Save the Internet coalition: our first legislative victory. Maine passed into law a provision ordering the Office of the Public Advocate to investigate what Maine could legally […]

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) today welcomed the announcement by a former Sudanese rebel faction that it will begin handing over children participating in its armed groups in Darfur.
The Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A), which is one of the signatories of last year’s Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA), has indicated that several children attached to its […]

In a bold wartime challenge to President Bush, the Democratic-controlled Congress cleared legislation Thursday to begin withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq by Oct. 1 with a goal of a complete pullout six months later.
Of course, the White House has promised […]

The group that delivered the anti-gay-marriage initiative, Measure 36, announced Tuesday that it won’t seek a referendum vote on recently passed legislation banning discrimination based on sexual orientation.
Full Story: Register Guard.
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Sudan on Monday accepted the deployment of U.N. attack helicopters and 3,000 peacekeepers in Darfur, the first time it has allowed a significant injection of U.N. forces to help beleaguered African troops in the war-torn region.
The deal appeared to be a major step forward in painstaking negotiations to bring an effective peacekeeping force to Darfur, […]

The return of the remains of 6 US soldiers may signal the beginnings of improved relations with North Korea.
US soldiers remains returned.
USS Pueblo may be returned.
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The Washington Legislature has approved a domestic partnership bill that extends property and family rights to couples of the same sex. The 63-35 House vote sends the measure to Gov. Gregoire for signing and will make Washington the eighth state in the nation to recognize domestic partnerships.
Full Story: ACLU of Washington.
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