Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Sunday reassured Venezuelans that any future socialist constitutional reforms will protect private property rights, dispelling what Chavez called "dogmatic" allegations by critics that the impending constitutional reforms will negate private property rights. Chavez, who is expected to submit his proposals in the upcoming weeks to the National Assembly , also [...]
US Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) Sunday announced his intention to introduce two censure resolutions against President George W. Bush, Vice-President Dick Cheney, and other administration officials, saying that the formal condemnation is necessary because of the administration's conduct "before and during the Iraq war, and for undermining the rule of law at home." One of [...]
US Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell insisted Sunday that the "United States does not engage in torture" , but refused to elaborate on the specific methods used during enhanced interrogations of terror suspects. In an appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press," McConnell said that revealing the specific measures would aid those who want to [...]
Bangkok police spokesperson Supisarn Bhakdinaruenart said Monday that six anti-coup protesters involved in Sunday's clash with police have been charged with disturbing the peace, injuring police, and destroying government property. The clash erupted after approximately 5,000 protesters, consisting of supporters of former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and anti-coup activists, were prevented from marching to [...]
Russian Deputy Prosecutor General Alexander Zvyagintsev on Monday criticized evidence provided by the United Kingdom to support the extradition of Andrei Lugovoy for the poisoning-murder of former KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko , saying that the materials gave no evidence that the UK conducted an objective investigation of Litvinenko's death. Meanwhile, in an interview published Monday [...]
A judge in Bangladesh sentenced Wadud Bhuiyan, a former lawmaker in the country, to 20 years in jail Sunday for acquiring land and property through corruption and abuse of power. The judge also ordered Bhuiyan, a member of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party , who served in parliament from 2001 to 2006, to hand over his [...]
A lawyer for former Saddam Hussein-era deputy prime minister Tariq Aziz said Saturday that Aziz was taken to a US military hospital in Balad this week after he fainted several times in the US-run detention facility, where he is being held, near Baghdad airport. Aziz, who surrendered to US forces in 2003, has complained of [...]
Former Eagle Global Logistics (EGL) executive Kevin Andre Smoot pleaded guilty Friday in US District Court to making a false statement and violating the Anti-Kickback Act . Last year, EGL, a Houston-based company hired by Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg, Brown & Root (KBR) to ship military cargo to Iraq, paid the government $4 million to settle [...]
Pakistani Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry resumed his duties on the Supreme Court of Pakistan Saturday, a day after the high court reinstated Chaudhry and dismissed all charges of misconduct alleged by President Pervez Musharraf. A presidential spokesperson told state media that Musharraf respected the judicial verdict, and reiterated Musharraf's commitment to "work within the confines [...]
The US District Court of the Western District of Virgina on Friday sentenced three former executives of the Purdue Frederick Company , manufacturer of painkiller OxyContin , to three years of probation and 400 hours of community service in drug treatment programs. The three executives, including former president Michael Friedman, former chief in house counsel [...]
