The United States faces possible exclusion from the...

The United States faces possible exclusion from the Council of Europe, where it enjoys observer status, over its continued use of the death penalty, Henriette Girard, a council spokeswoman, said.
The comments follow a decision of the council's Committee of Ministers to ban the death penalty in all circumstances, including for crimes committed during war and the imminent threat of war.
"You know what Europe thinks of America," council spokeswoman Henriette Girard told United Press International. "It may now be a case of expelling the United States from its observer status. This is being looked at."