Elections held in the Philippines to elect members of the Philippines Senate and House of Representatives proceeded Monday despite reports of violence and allegations of fraud. Government authorities attributed the death of 116 people, including 11 candidates since the election campaigning season began on January 14 to election violence directed towards candidates and voters alike. The Philippine National Police has established special Task Forces to "facilitate the augmentation of police and military personnel" in 32 of 81 provinces that were threatened by "serious armed threats," which the government attributed to communist militants from the Communist Party of Philippines (CPP), New People's Army (NPA), and "other lawless elements." Despite the violence, Avelino Ignacio Razon Jr., deputy director of the Philippine national police characterized the election process as "proceeding smoothly."

Elections in the Philippines are routinely plagued by violence, allegations of vote buying and balloting fraud. Members of the opposition have made allegations that ballot boxes containing completed ballots were discovered before polling began, and that candidate names had been removed from ballots in select voting precincts. The National Police has reported instances of confirmed electoral fraud and vote buying, as well as organized attacks against members of the Board of Election Inspectors and their police escorts. In 2006, Philippines President Gloria Macapagal was accused of vote rigging, bribery, graft, corruption, human rights abuses and violations of Philippines Constitution.

Over 250,000 people gathered in Rome Saturday to protest a bill currently before parliament which would give legal status to unmarried heterosexual and same-sex couples. The bill was approved by Italy's cabinet in February, but has been harshly criticized by the Italian justice minister and the top Italian bishop. The proposal would give unmarried couples combined medical insurance, the right to visit their partner in prisons or hospitals, inheritance rights, and decision-making authority should one partner become sick. Couples would have to live together for nine years before they would be entitled to property rights, but if the legislation is passed, couples would be able to take advantage of the other legal protections immediately.

The Vatican has said that giving unmarried couples rights would threaten traditional families. Saturday's Family Day rally, not organized by the Vatican, drew tens of thousands of families. Organizers said over 1.5 million people participated, but an early police estimate was lower at about 250,000. Supporters of the proposed legislation held a counter-demonstration, which was attended by some 10,000 people. A similar rally in support of the bill was held in March.

Germany's highest court of appeal rejected a legal challenge by a Moroccan friend of the September 11, 2001 hijackers against a 15-year jail sentence for being an accessory to mass murder.

The Federal Court of Justice said on Friday it had thrown out the appeal by Mounir El Motassadeq on the grounds that it was unjustified. Motassadeq's lawyers had complained his sentencing contained legal errors, but the court disagreed.

In January, Germany's Federal Constitutional Court rejected a separate appeal made by Motassadeq about the 15-year sentence handed down by a court in Hamburg earlier that month.

Motassadeq was a member of a group of radical Arab students in Hamburg, led by Mohammed Atta, which helped organize the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

The complex and drawn-out case strained Berlin's relations with Washington as German courts tested how far the United States would go in giving sensitive evidence.

A South Korean business tycoon was behind bars Saturday after his arrest for allegedly beating up bar workers in retaliation for an attack on his 22-year old son.

Police planned to question Hanwha Group chairman and CEO Kim Seung-youn, who is suspected of kicking, punching and using a steel pipe to attack staff allegedly involved in a scuffle with his son on March 8 at a karaoke club.

Late Friday, the Seoul District Court issued an arrest warrant for Kim, making him the first tycoon to be arrested for assault, according to local media.

"I feel calm," Kim told reporters as police officers took him to Namdaemun Police Station in central Seoul on Friday.

In a statement released through his company, Kim said he would "humbly accept the law's judgment."

"I plan to explain everything that I know, truthfully and sincerely," the statement said. "I am very pained and ashamed for not having been honest for the past two months."

The dramatic details of the case, which media have likened to a gangster movie, has drawn intense public interest in South Korea, where the heads of family controlled conglomerates wield great economic, political and social clout.

The younger Kim, a student at Yale University, reportedly suffered an injury that required 11 stitches in the scuffle on stairs outside the karaoke club.

Victims have told police the elder Kim and his bodyguards took them to a mountainous area south of Seoul, where Kim himself allegedly assaulted them, including hitting one of them on the back with a 5-foot steel pipe.

They have also told police Kim later sought out another man at a bar in central Seoul and had his son beat him, according to a police statement.

Yonhap news agency reported Saturday that Kim had also used an electroshock device on the bar workers. Kim has admitted to assaulting the club's staff, but denied using a steel pipe or an electroshock device, the report said.

Earlier Friday, Kim said he regretted failing "to control impulsive emotion" and apologized for causing trouble.

"I hope there will never be a silly father like me again," Kim told reporters after a court hearing to determine his arrest.

Newspaper editorials on Saturday called for a fair investigation.

"The judiciary has to show to the public ... that everyone is equal before the law," the Dong-a Ilbo daily said in an editorial. "Wrong perceptions and practices in our society can only be corrected through a strict trial and judgment."

Hanwha was established in 1952 as the Korea Explosives Corp. It later developed interests in petrochemicals, finance, insurance, construction and retail. It also owns the Hanwha Eagles professional baseball team.

Ali Hassan al-Majid, known in the Western media as "Chemical Ali", told the Iraqi High Tribunal Thursday that he did not use or issue an order to use chemical weapons against Kurdish rebels in the late 1980s. During defense closing arguments, al-Majid defended the government of Saddam Hussein for its actions during the "Anfal campaign", but insisted that he did not know who used chemical weapons, "if they were ever used."

Al-Majid and five other former Hussein-era officials face genocide charges for their alleged involvement in the slaughter of tens of thousands of Kurds during the Anfal campaign. Defense witnesses have repeatedly testified that the defendants did not have access to chemical weapons and that no orders were received to use them. Prosecutors have sought the death penalty for Al-Majid and three other defendants and have asked that charges be dropped against one of the defendants due to lack of evidence. Al-Majid became the leading defendant in the trial following Hussein's execution last year. The trial has now been adjourned until June 10.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said Tuesday that a report from the US Commission on International Religious Freedom that accused China of imprisoning and torturing people based on their religion was ignorant and prejudiced. In a statement posted on the Foreign Ministry's website, Jiang said that the report was distorted in its attack on Chinese policy, and maintained that China protects its citizens' freedom of religion.

Last week, the Commission released its annual report on worldwide religious freedom. The report stated that "All religious groups in China face some restrictions, monitoring, and surveillance, however, and religious freedom conditions deteriorated for communities not affiliated with one of the seven government-approved religious organizations." Also last week, Chinese Human Rights Defenders criticized the Chinese government for continuing to persecute and intimidate human rights defenders such as lawyers, academics and journalists in a report issued on the anniversary of the 1919 May Fourth Movement.

In a joint report released by UN Watch and Freedom House, the organizations outlined a review of candidates to serve on the council, and listed candidate nations Angola, Belarus, Egypt, and Qatar as "not qualified" to serve based on the inadequate human rights records of the countries.

Belarus was included on Freedom House's 2007 list of "The Worst of the Worst", a report detailing the human rights records of the most repressive societies. Last month, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon pressed member nations to work with the council, expressing hope that cooperation would help to end human rights abuses. The Human Rights Council was criticized for its limited successes in Israel and Sudan last year, when both countries refused to accept UNHRC investigative teams. In February, a UNHRC probe to the Darfur region was canceled when Sudan refused to grant a visa to one of the members of the investigation team. In September 2006, the US expressed disappointment with the work of the UNHRC for failing to adequately address violations in Darfur, North Korea, and China and has since refused for a second year to run for election to the body, created last year to replace the largely-discredited UN Human Rights Commission.