Egyptian police arrested 25 members of the opposition Muslim Brotherhood Wednesday, following the arrest of 17 members on Tuesday. Muslim Brotherhood members believe the arrests targeted potential candidates for the upcoming April 8 provincial council elections . Egypt's provincial councils administer local municipal government services. These municipal elections were originally scheduled for 2006, but the [...]
US Attorney General Michael Mukasey made his first visit to the US military prison at Guantanamo Bay Wednesday, where he met with military and Justice Department officials working on the military prosecution of six Guantanamo Bay detainees suspected of involvement in the Sept. 11 attacks, including alleged Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed . The [...]
Germany's Federal Constitutional Court ruled Wednesday that a 2006 North-Rhine Westphalia law authorizing intelligence agents to search personal computers, networks, and Internet communications was unconstitutional. The court ruled that the law violates privacy rights, but said similar methods might be appropriate in limited, compelling circumstances, such as if a life was in danger or to [...]
An Afghan journalist working as a cameraman for Canadian television network CTV has been designated as an enemy combatant , a US military spokesperson said Wednesday. US officials alleged that Jawed Ahmad had Taliban phone numbers and videos in his possession when he was detained by coalition forces on October 26 at a NATO airbase [...]
Sudanese President Omar El Bashir Wednesday addressed a massive rally in Khartoum protesting the reprinting of a cartoon depiction of the Muslim prophet Muhammad by Jyllands-Poste earlier this month, saying that he would ban all Danish citizens from entering the country and calling on Muslims to boycott Danish products. It was unclear if Sudan would [...]
Neil Hicks : "Detaining political opponents is a control mechanism long favored by the Egyptian government. The continuing incarceration of Ayman Nour, apparently for having the temerity to challenge Hosni Mubarak in the 2005 presidential election is a case in point. Rounding up supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's largest opposition political movement, prior to [...]
The head of the US Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday refused to say whether the White House had pressured the agency to reject California's request for a waiver that would have allowed the state to impose stricter greenhouse gas emissions standards on cars and light trucks. During testimony before the Senate Committee on the Environment [...]
Iraq's Presidency Council Wednesday rejected a draft provincial elections law that detailed the relationship between Iraq's central and local governments, sending the legislation back to the Iraqi Council of Representatives . The draft law was part of a package of legislation approved by the Council of Representatives earlier this month that also included the 2008 [...]
The US Supreme Court Wednesday heard oral arguments in Exxon Shipping Co. v. Baker 07-219, where the Court considered the punitive damages to be paid by Exxon Mobil for the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill . Several justices indicated they may be willing to reduce the punitive damages award, which is larger than the total [...]
Turkey's main pro-secular opposition party appealed to the nation's Constitutional Court Wednesday to overturn recently approved amendments to the country's constitution easing a ban on Islamic headscarves in universities. The Republican People's Party says the ban is necessary to protect the separation of religion and state. The Grand National Assembly of Turkey earlier this month [...]
