The US Department of Defense (DOD) released a ruling Sunday indicating that Guantanamo detainees who represent themselves at trial are not entitled to Internet access and some computer hardware and software to aid in their defense. Military judge Col. Ralph Kohlmann wrote that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other detainees charged with planning the Sept. [...]
The Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee on Sunday approved measures that would liberalize the country's land use laws in an effort decrease rural poverty and increase the country's agricultural capacity. Under China's constitution , the country's land is either owned collectively or by the state, but the reforms would give farmers broader autonomy [...]
The US Federal Reserve Board Sunday approved a controversial merger between Wachovia bank and Wells Fargo that had prompted a legal challenge from jilted corporate suitor Citigroup . Encouraged by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) , Citigroup agreed earlier this month to buy out Wachovia for $2.1 billion but was effectively trumped by a [...]
A Kiev court Saturday blocked a decree by Ukrainian President Victor Yushchenko dissolving parliament and directing parliamentary elections in the wake of the collapse of the governing coalition. The Kiev District Court made the ruling against the elections in response to a lawsuit brought by Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko against Yushchenko and Ukraine's Central Election [...]
The Portuguese Assembly of the Republic on Friday voted overwhelmingly against two opposition proposals to legalize same-sex marriage . The two proposals, introduced separately by the Left Bloc and the Green Party , failed to obtain any support from the ruling Socialist Party (PS) or the main opposition Social Democratic Party (PSD) . The PS [...]
The Alaskan Legislative Council on Friday released a report finding that Alaskan Governor and current Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin violated the state's Executive Branch Ethics Act by allowing personal ill will to influence her decision to dismiss Public Safety Commissioner Walter Monegan. Independent investigator Stephen Branchflower found that Sarah Palin and her husband, [...]
A migrant worker in China's South Guangdong Province filed a lawsuit Friday against Chinese dairy producer Sanlu Group, the company at the heart of the tainted milk crisis which is blamed for four infant deaths and the sickening of more than 54,000 children. According to his lawyer, Zhang Xiuwen filed the suit seeking $132,000 after [...]
The US Senate Select Committee on Intelligence said Friday that it is investigating allegations made by two members of the US military that the National Security Agency (NSA) eavesdropped on the personal conversations of members of the military and humanitarian aid workers stationed in the Middle East. The allegations were made by Adrienne Kinne and [...]
Thailand's Office of the Attorney General (OAG) on Friday filed a petition to have the country's Constitutional Court dissolve the ruling People's Power Party (PPP) because of election fraud allegedly committed by one of its former top officers. Former PPP deputy leader Yongyuth Tiyapairat was convicted of organizing a vote-buying scheme by the Constitutional Court [...]
Anthony S. Barkow : "The fair administration of criminal justice requires prosecutors to exercise their power and discretion to do justice and defense lawyers who are zealous and effective. I was in Guantanamo Bay late last month to observe pretrial hearings in the case of United States vs. Mohammed Jawad . The proceedings raised serious [...]
