Safiya Ghori-Ahmad : "For many American Muslims, the case of Sami Al-Arian has become the most prominent illustration of the Bush administration's post-9/11 political prosecutions. Sami Al-Arian, a former University of Florida professor, was arrested in 2003 on charges of funding terrorism. In December 2005, the jury acquitted him of 8 of the 17charges brought [...]
The government of the Netherlands on Tuesday detailed its plans to ban the burqa in and around all primary schools, including Muslim institutions. In a letter to parliament , Education Minister Ronald Plasterk predicted that a bill to prohibit the head-to-foot garment would be presented to lawmakers next year and could be enacted by 2010. [...]
The Taipei District Court on Tuesday cleared former Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian of defamation charges stemming from Taiwan's 1991 purchase of six frigates from France. Six retired Taiwanese admirals filed suit against Chen following his 2005 televised comments suggesting that the group received $20 million in improper kickbacks from the deal. The court held that [...]
Three of the four sitting US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) members on Monday denounced a report released by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) as "a blueprint for radically weakened enforcement" of federal antitrust law. The report explores single entity violations of Section 2 of the Sherman Act , in which a competitor seeks or [...]
Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej and his cabinet were ousted Tuesday following a guilty verdict from the Constitutional Court of Thailand on the charge that Samak violated the constitution when he accepted payment for his appearance on a television cooking program . Section 267 of the Constitution of Thailand states in part: Except for holding [...]
Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko said Monday that she has been summoned to testify before Ukraine's Prosecutor General’s Office on September 11. An official for the office has said that her testimony is being sought by prosecutors investigating the 2004 poisoning of President Viktor Yushchenko , but Tymoshenko has said the real reason for the [...]
The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on Monday revived the possibility of several state-law claims against individuals and entities connected to Enron Corp. by ruling that Texas courts may decide whether the period allotted for bringing such claims has lapsed. The court, based in New Orleans, reversed in part a ruling by [...]
The Pakistani Ambassador to the US, Husain Haqqani , met with US officials on Sunday to discuss the release of six Pakistani citizens currently being held at the US military detention center at Guantanamo Bay . Pakistani media outlets, including the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP), have reported that Haqqani has met with officials from [...]
The Serbian National Assembly on Tuesday ratified a Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) to guide it toward accession to the European Union (EU) . The parliament voted 140-28 in favor of the agreement , which sets forth benchmarks for evaluating Serbia's prospective membership, particularly with regard to trade. The agreement will take effect upon ratification [...]
The Moscow Prosecutor General's Office filed a motion Monday to ban the US animated series South Park , alleging it violates children's rights under international law. In a press release , the office said it was taking "measures to remove violations and prevent abuse of freedom of mass media" by Telekanal 2×2 , which broadcasts [...]
