Dutch parliamentarians called for changes to the country’s terrorism laws Thursday in response to a Wednesday appeals court decision overturning the convictions of seven men suspected of belonging to the Dutch Muslim Hofstad Network . The Hague Appeals Court dismissed charges that the men were part of a terrorist network that included Muslim extremist Mohammed [...]
US President George W. Bush will request an additional $200 million dollars in federal funding to help state and local authorities combat violent crime, US Attorney General Michael Mukasey announced Thursday in remarks to the US Conference of Mayors in Washington, DC. The earmarked funds will be used to strengthen the Department of Justice's Violent [...]
Turkey Thursday lifted a nationwide ban imposed last week on the popular video-sharing website YouTube . Last week, a Turkish court ordered Turk Telecom to block access to YouTube in reported response to video clips insulting the founder of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk . It was not immediately clear whether access to the website [...]
The US Senate on Thursday voted 60-36 against an amendment to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Bill which would have incorporated several changes to the legislation that were previously approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee. The bill is designed to revise and extend the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) so as to – among other [...]
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will not overturn its rejection of California's request for a waiver that would have allowed it to impose stricter greenhouse gas emissions standards on cars and light trucks, EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson testified Thursday in front of the US Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works . Johnson [...]
Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party and the key opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) agreed Thursday to lift a ban on women wearing headscarves in universities and public offices. The agreement is in response to recent calls from Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan for the government to lift the ban immediately and not wait [...]
The Japanese National Police Agency (NPA) on Thursday issued guidelines for police behavior during suspect interrogations. The Japanese police have frequently been accused of forcing confessions from suspects using questionable or overly aggressive tactics; in one case, police pressured an innocent man into admitting to committing a rape, a confession that ultimately earned him two [...]
The UN Human Rights Council Thursday adopted a resolution criticizing Israel for recent military attacks and a week-long blockade against the Palestinian-controlled Gaza Strip that the Council says amount to human rights violations. The resolution, passed by a 30-1 vote with 15 Western states abstaining, calls the military attacks on Palestinian areas "grave violations of [...]
UK Home Secretary Jacqui Smith on Thursday unveiled the Counter-Terrorism Bill 2008 , which among other proposals to strengthen the country's terrorism laws includes a provision increasing the number of days a terror suspect can be detained without charge to 42 days, up from the current limit of 28. The Home Office described the bill [...]
US Marine 1st Lt. Andrew Grayson will face court-martial in May on charges of making false official statements and obstruction of justice in connection to the killing of 24 Iraqi civilians at Haditha in November 2005. During Grayson's Wednesday arraignment at Camp Pendleton, a military judge set a trial date of May 28. Grayson did [...]
