The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Tuesday upheld a freeze on the assets of the Islamic-American Relief Agency of Columbia, Missouri on the grounds that it was an affiliate of the Islamic African Relief Agency , a Sudanese group accused of funneling money to al-Qaida and other terrorist groups. [...]
US Marine Lance Cpl. Robert B. Pennington pleaded guilty Tuesday to charges of murder, kidnapping, housebreaking, larceny and conspiracy for his role in the death of Iraqi civilian Hashim Ibrahim Awad in Hamdania in April 2006. A military judge at Camp Pendleton will sentence Pennington during a two-day hearing if his guilty plea is accepted. [...]
A federal judge in Raleigh, North Carolina Tuesday sentenced David Passaro to eight years and four months in prison as well as three years of supervised release on charges related to his abuse of a detainee in Afghanistan . Passaro was convicted last year on three misdemeanor counts of simple assault and one felony count [...]
A bill to end forced marriages was proposed in the parliament of Pakistan by the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Q party (Quaid) Tuesday. The Prevention of Anti-women Practices Bill 2006 would also outlaw a tribal custom in which a woman is compelled to marry into a rival tribe or family to settle a dispute. Each offense [...]
Former CIA executive director Kyle "Dusty" Foggo and defense contractor Brent Wilkes were indicted by a grand jury Tuesday on charges connected with the case of former Congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham . The FBI launched an investigation of the two men in May, after Cunningham pleaded guilty to taking $2.4 million in bribes from Wilkes [...]
The American Bar Association (ABA) House of Delegates adopted new policies Monday reforming the Model Code of Judicial Conduct to limit certain political activities of judges. The adopted rules include a prohibition on campaign promises regarding cases that a judge may later hear and guidelines for receiving gifts. The new guideines also changed the old [...]
The South Dakota House State Affairs committee has approved a new bill that would criminalize abortions in the state, but grant exceptions for rape, aggravated incest and to prevent the death of the mother. According to the bill, "the state has a right and duty to protect the life of the unborn child, and to [...]
The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) has urged Nepal to adopt an amendment in its interim constitution creating a fully independent judiciary. In a letter to Subhash Nemwang, the speaker of the Parliament, ICJ General Secretary Nicholas Howen recommended amending the interim constitution to clearly state that the judiciary is to be independent. The ICJ [...]
A British judge issued a ruling Tuesday in the case of seven British soldiers facing court-martial for charges relating to the abuse of Iraqi detainees. Justice Stuart McKinnon ordered the ruling to remain private, however, until it is read to a military board of officers acting as a jury. Since the courts-martial against the soldiers [...]
Draft legislation granting the District of Columbia a vote in the US House of Representatives is most likely unconstitutional, according to a report by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) made public Monday. Article I, Section 2, Clause 1 of the US Constitution says: "The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second [...]
