By a two-vote margin, the US House of Representatives Friday passed a spending bill that would alter the General Mining Law of 1872 by allowing individuals or companies to file and expand mining claims on federal public land, including areas stripped of minerals with no potential for profit. The spending bill will primarily benefit real [...]
Nearly 400 Iraqi protesters marched in western Baghdad Sunday demanding an end to detainee torture and the release of detainees while calling on the international community to pressure the US and Iraq to prevent further abuse. The mostly-Sunni protest came as Iraqi officials met in Egypt for a reconciliation conference organized by the Arab League [...]
On a state visit to China during a six-day Asia tour , President Bush Sunday pressed Chinese President Hu Jintao to expand religious, political and social freedoms in the country and later suggested to reporters that if more religious rights were granted other liberties would follow. The President’s remarks during his third official trip to [...]
More than 200 people were arrested and one person was killed Sunday in clashes between government supporters and supporters of the banned Muslim Brotherhood during the second round of Egypt's parliamentary elections. The Brotherhood has been outlawed for more than 50 years but did very well in the first round of voting earlier this month, [...]
Iran's parliament voted Sunday to require the government to block International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors from its nuclear facilities if Iran is referred to the UN Security Council for regulatory violations. This is the second time Iranian deputies have attempted to force the government into a position concerning the nuclear inspectors; in September, parliamentarians [...]
Former Romanian defense minister Ioan Mihai Pascu has acknowledged that US planes carrying detainees may have refueled in the country, but has denied the existence of a secret CIA-run prison there. His comments, published Saturday in Evenimentul Zileli are the first by a senior Romanian official with access to military information that appear to confirm press [...]
A small minority of southern Republicans have announced their intention to challenge the renewal of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act , currently being evaluated by Congress for a 25-year renewal on the grounds that it is unfair to southern states and no longer necessary. Though the White House, Congressional leaders of both parties, [...]
Lobbyist Michael Scanlon is scheduled for a federal court appearance Monday on a single count alleged in a criminal information released by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) Friday. The information alleges that Scanlon provided "things of value" to a member of Congress, later identified as Representative Bob Ney (R-OH) by his lawyer, in exchange [...]
US Senator Brian Dorgan (D-ND) released a letter Friday confirming that allegations raised by an ex-Defense Department contractor regarding no-bid contracts awarded to a Halliburton subsidiary for work in Iraq have been turned over to the US Department of Justice (DOJ) for possible investigation. The letter, from Defense Department Assistant Inspector General John R. Crane, [...]
US Senate Judiciary Chairman Arlen Specter (R-PA) Friday voiced objections to a legislative deal that extend the USA Patriot Act , siding with a bipartisan group of senators threatening to filibuster the bill unless it is rewritten to provide increased privacy protections. The White House had previously pushed Congress to vote on the extension before [...]
