A group that opposes South Dakota's abortion ban announced Tuesday that it has gathered more than enough signatures to prevent the July 1 enactment of the law and place it on the ballot in November. The South Dakota Campaign for Healthy Families said its volunteers had gathered more than 37,000 signatures and planned to present [...]

US Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) , chairman of the US House Judiciary Committee , said Tuesday that he intends to draft legislation that would shield congressional documents and materials from being seized in searches similar to the FBI raid on the congressional office of Rep. William Jefferson (D-LA) earlier this month. Speaking during the committee's [...]

Australian Attorney-General Philip Ruddock said Tuesday that he is willing to revise Australia's new sedition laws , particularly the use of the word "sedition," after the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) released a discussion paper Monday arguing that "sedition" implies a threat to free speech . He indicated, however, that he will not act on [...]

East Timor President Xanana Gusmao said Tuesday that he is taking control of national security and defense in response to the increasing and often violent unrest related to the March firing of 600 troops that went on strike . By consolidating power, Gusmao will be able to control both the East Timor Army and police [...]

Saudi Arabia has freed three former Guantanamo Bay detainees who were repatriated there last year. According to an Interior Ministry source, the three "admitted to have been present in troubled areas without obtaining the consent of their parents or permission from the country's authority in addition to having committed other violations, including using forged documents [...]

The US Supreme Court on Monday held that First Amendment protections do not extend to government employees for comments made while performing their official duties, even when the employee is acting to expose alleged government wrongdoing. In a 5-4 decision in Garcetti v. Ceballos , the Court overturned a Ninth Circuit ruling which had extended [...]

The European Court of Justice ruled Tuesday that an agreement between the European Union and the US that compels European airlines to disclose information about passengers flying from Europe to the US is illegal. The so-called passenger name records deal , required European airlines to reveal the name, address, credit card information, and itinerary details [...]

President Bush on Memorial Day signed into law the Respect for America's Fallen Heroes Act , legislation barring protests near military funerals originally passed in the US House of Representatives and approved last week by the Senate . The law will prohibit any demonstration within 300 feet of the entrance of a national cemetery and [...]

Saddam Hussein complained Tuesday that chief judge Raouf Abdel-Rahman of the Iraqi High Criminal Court is not giving the defense in Hussein's trial the same consideration the prosecution was given while presenting its case. Abdel-Rahman has decreased his tolerance for a string of defense witnesses who do not have direct knowledge of the charges against [...]

A court in South Korea on Tuesday sentenced Kim Woo-choong , founder of collapsed conglomerate Daewoo Group , to ten years in prison and ordered him to pay a fine of over $10,000 while forfeiting $22 billion gained through embezzlement and accounting fraud. Kim was indicted last year on charges of ordering Daewoo executives to [...]