US Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY) said Sunday he plans to introduce legislation in the next session of Congress to reinstate the military draft in the United States. Interviewed on CBS TV program Face the Nation , he said that military conscription would prompt lawmakers to think differently about deploying US troops abroad: "There's no question [...]

READ MORE

Former Mexican Presidents Gustavo Diaz Ordaz (1964-1970) , Luis Echeverria (1970-1976) , and Jose Lopez Portillo (1976-1982) were responsible for "crimes against humanity" in connection with the massacres and tortures of hundreds of leftist activists during the 1960s and 1970s, according to an official report released Saturday by the Mexican government . The report reflects [...]

READ MORE

Egyptian President Hosny Mubarak called for the country's parliament to amend Article 76 of the Egyptian constitution Sunday amid criticism from the opposition that the article effectively protects the ruling party from genuine competition in the 2011 presidential elections. Mubarak made the announcement in a speech marking the opening of a new parliamentary session. The [...]

READ MORE

US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales attacked critics of President Bush's domestic surveillance program in a speech at the Air Force Academy Saturday, saying their views are "shortsighted." Critics of the program, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) , argue that the program violates both the First and Fourth Amendment because it operates without judicial [...]

READ MORE

JURIST Guest Columnist Benjamin Davis of the University of Toledo College of Law says that despite recent disparaging comments by US Homeland Secretary Michael Chertoff, international law is also American law, and we must respect our obligations as citizens of the international community, not arbitrarily dismiss or avoid them so as to facilitate torture of [...]

READ MORE

Democratic Republic of Congo Vice President Jean-Pierre Bemba filed an anticipated challenge to the results of last month's presidential run-off election in the country's Supreme Court Saturday. Congolese military personnel and UN peacekeeping forces surrounded the high court building in downtown Kinshasa as a precaution against rioting. Officials announced Wednesday that Bemba lost the election [...]

READ MORE