Forty top members of the banned Muslim Brotherhood went before a secret military court in Egypt Thursday on charges of terrorism and money laundering. Defense lawyers announced that they would boycott the proceedings because they were not notified of the trial beforehand and only learned of it from their clients. The defendants — 33 of [...]
The New Hampshire Senate voted 14-10 Thursday in favor a bill allowing same-sex civil unions , sending the legislation on to Gov. John Lynch for signature. The bill, passed by the state House of Representatives earlier this month, would authorize same-sex couples to enter into civil unions with "the same rights, responsibilities, and obligations as [...]
Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko announced in a national address Wednesday that he was postponing until June 24 parliamentary elections originally scheduled for May 27 to avoid funding problems and allow more time for preparation ahead of a vote. The postponement came as Ukraine's Constitutional Court completed its public hearings on the legality of Yushchenko's April [...]
New York Governor Eliot Spitzer said Wednesday the he plans to submit legislation that would "establish a fundamental, statutory right to privacy for women in making personal reproductive decisions." Spitzer's proposed Reproductive Health and Privacy Protection Act would revise the state's abortion laws to allow late-term abortions when necessary to protect a woman's health and [...]
The Iowa House of Representatives voted 59-37 Wednesday to approve a bill that will provide equal opportunity protection to gays and lesbians in employment, housing, and education. The House approved the bill after adding an amendment stating that the state's current definition of marriage as between a man and a woman was not changed by [...]
A ban preventing former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina from returning to the country and restrictions on Khaleda Zia , another former prime minister and Hasina's former political rival, have been lifted, according to statements from the interim Bangladeshi government late Wednesday. There are, however, indications that corruption investigations into the two former politicians are [...]
US Rep. Tim Murphy (R-PA) proposed legislation Wednesday that "will allow schools and universities to share a student's mental health information with their parents or guardians if the student is found to be at risk of suicide, or of committing homicide or physical assault." Announced in the wake of the shootings at the Virginia Polytechnic [...]
Lawyers representing Guantanamo Bay detainees urged US Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts Wednesday to suspend the Court's order denying certiorari and allow detainees 120 days to petition the court for a rehearing in two cases challenging provisions of the Military Commissions Act (MCA) stripping the right of detainees to file habeas corpus challenges. The [...]
The US military announced Thursday that the former commander of the 451st Military Police Detachment responsible for the detention facility at Camp Cropper near Baghdad has been charged with multiple offences under the Uniform Code of Military Justice , including aiding the enemy, unauthorized possession of classified information, disobeying orders, and various counts of conduct [...]
Lawyers visiting Afghan detainee Haji Bismullah at Guantanamo Bay should be subject to tightened restrictions , including limited access to their client and evidence, the US Justice Department has urged in court papers filed with the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Under the DOJ proposal, lawyers would only be allowed [...]
