US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Michael Chertoff said Friday that DHS will move forward with plans to use spy satellites as part of a domestic intelligence program designed to assist law enforcement agencies. In his response to concerns by Representatives Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Jane Harman (D-CA), and Chris P. Carney (D-PA) on [...]
The US will not attend a scheduled meeting in Dublin to draft a legally binding ban on cluster bombs in May, US State Department officials told reporters Friday. The US will instead attend United Nations talks in Geneva intended to restrict the use of the munitions, but not ban them outright. In June 2007, the [...]
Sending British soldiers on patrol or into combat with inadequate equipment could be a violation of their human rights, the High Court of Justice ruled in London Friday. The British Ministry of Defence had argued that the Human Rights Act does not apply to soldiers on active service abroad outside bases under British military jurisdiction, [...]
South Africa's Supreme Court of Appeal ruled Thursday that evidence obtained through torture is inadmissible in court, even when it is found to be reliable and vital for conviction. In doing so, the court overturned the convictions and set aside the sentence of a former police officer who was found guilty of auto theft and [...]
Turkey must speed up political and social reforms to meet the criteria for accession into the European Union , European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said in a speech before the Turkish parliament Thursday. Barroso applauded recent efforts to reform the controversial Article 301 of the country's penal code, which makes "insulting the Turkish identity" [...]
Police in Zimbabwe Friday banned all political demonstrations as tension continued to mount after the country's contested March 29th presidential election . Independent observers say that Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) candidate Morgan Tsvangirai won more votes than current Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe , but Mugabe and his Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front [...]
Pakistani lawmakers introduced a bill Friday that would lift media restrictions imposed by President Pervez Musharraf after his declaration of emergency rule last November. The bill seeks to remove prohibitions on live broadcasts as well as publishing or broadcasting material found to be defamatory toward public officials. In addition to the ordinances, Musharraf's government allegedly [...]
US Attorney General Michael Mukasey Thursday disavowed a 2001 memo advising the Bush administration that Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches and seizures did not apply to "domestic military operations." Appearing before the Senate Appropriations Committee, Mukasey testified that the 2001 memo is not currently endorsed by the Justice Department and said that the "Fourth [...]
The Washington Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that the Washington state constitution does not provide a right for prison inmates to starve themselves to death. Convicted arsonist Charles R. McNabb sued the Washington State Department of Corrections (DOC) to stop his force-feeding . McNabb pursued his case under the Article I, Section 7 guarantee of [...]
Sudanese Guantanamo Bay detainee Ibrahim al-Qosi said at a pre-trial hearing Thursday that he plans to boycott his upcoming military commission trial, becoming the third Guantanamo Bay detainee to announce boycott plans. Al-Qosi declined the assistance of a lawyer, saying that he did not believe in "the justice or the lawfulness" of the tribunal and [...]
