FBI Director Robert Mueller told the US House Judiciary Committee Tuesday that the federal government would commission an independent review of the FBI's use of scientific evidence in its investigation of the 2001 anthrax attacks . Mueller said during a hearing on FBI oversight that officials have been discussing such a review with the National [...]

The US House of Representatives passed proposed legislation Tuesday night that would partially lift the ban on offshore oil drilling as part of a comprehensive energy proposal. The bill, entitled the "Comprehensive American Energy Security and Consumer Protection Act," was passed by a vote of 236-189 . The Act would authorize drilling activities 50 miles [...]

Scot Ross : "Wisconsin Republican Attorney General JB Van Hollen, the co-chair of the John McCain for President campaign, filed a lawsuit last week against the state's Government Accountability Board (GAB) to require crosschecking of all new voters registered by mail against driver's license and Social Security records all the way back to January 1, [...]

Five former members of the Brigade of Gurkhas began arguments Tuesday in the High Court in London against an immigration policy that has precluded thousands of retired Nepalese members of the British Army from remaining in the UK. In 2007, a Ministerial Announcement provided that all Gurkhas retiring on or after July 1, 1997 would [...]

A US military judge has scheduled the trial of Guantanamo detainee Omar Khadr for November 10, but the Canadian citizen's lawyer said Tuesday that the date is likely to be pushed back further. According to a schedule set by US Army Col. Patrick Parrish, who is serving as judge for the military commission proceedings , [...]

South African President Thabo Mbeki spoke out Tuesday against an International Criminal Court indictment of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir , telling reporters that the move will jeopardize stability in the Darfur region . Mbeki and Bashir issued a joint statement following two days of meetings, focusing in part on possible negative repercussions of an ICC [...]

The Spanish Supreme Court announced Tuesday it has banned the Basque Nationalist Action Party (ANV) from taking part in any political activities in the country, because of its alleged ties to ETA , the armed Basque separatist movement. According to a request filed by prosecutors in January, evidence shows that ANV has close ties with [...]

At a meeting of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva Tuesday, Sudan called for the Council not to renew the mandate of Sina Samar , the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Sudan, whose term is set to expire in December. The remarks, made by Sudanese Ministry of Justice Under-Secretary [...]

Fourteen Chadian and Senegalese citizens filed complaints with a Senegal prosecutor Tuesday, alleging war crimes and torture by former Chadian dictator Hissene Habre . Habre fled to Senegal after being overthrown in 1990, and last month a Chadian court sentenced him to death in absentia for crimes committed against the state. The complaints filed against [...]

Witnesses before the US Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday presented testimony discussing the Rule of Law and criticizing the White House for exceeding the limits of constitutional authority during George Bush's presidency. At a Subcommittee on the Constitution hearing, subcommittee chairman Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) opened the hearing: or the past seven and a half [...]