Amnesty International Friday called for the US to open detention centers around the world to UN experts, expressing "deep regret" at the reluctance to to allow human rights experts to visit with detainees. The organization again called on Congress to create a commission to implement a full investigation into US detention and interrogation policies and [...]
Federal law enforcment authorities in San Francisco have unsealed an indictment charging 19 people with drug trafficking and using three San Francisco medical marijuana dispensaries as fronts for organized crime. In marijuana raids conducted earlier this week federal agents seized 9,309 marijuana plants, ecstasy, 3 firearms, and pot laced sweets including candy, cookies and brownies, [...]
A federal court in Lausanne, Switzerland ruled Friday that former Russian nuclear minister Yevgeny Adamov must remain in a Swiss prison pending hearings on an extradition request from Russia, overruling a decision two weeks ago ordering his release. Switzerland's Supreme Court held that "in extradition procedures, the incarceration of the person sought is the rule, [...]
A three judge panel of the US DC Circuit Court of Appeals Friday rejected claims by thirteen states that the Bush administration's decision to let older power plants emit more pollution violates the Clean Air Act . The policy upheld in State of New York v. EPA allows plants to modernize without requiring installation of [...]
Zimbabwe's police chief has confirmed that 46,000 people have been arrested in "Operation Restore Order," a highly controversial government initiative to reduce crime and illegal buildings in Harare and other towns. The state demolition of "illegal" backyard shacks and showstalls, the arrest of street vendors and the confiscation of their property has drawn international condemnation [...]
An Italian official speaking anonymously said Friday that a judge in Milan has ordered the arrest of 13 CIA agents for their alleged role in aiding the deportation of an imam to Egypt . Italian newspapers claim the Milan seizure and deportation of an Egyptian known as Abu Omar in 2003 was part of the [...]
The Center for Reproductive Rights and Planned Parenthood Federation of America have filed a federal suit claiming Florida's new Parental Notice of Abortion Act , taking effect July 1, can delay emergency treatment to girls. The Act, signed by Governor Jeb Bush in May and implementing a constitutional amendment passed by Florida voters in November [...]
A member of the UN Committee against Torture , speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP Friday that the US has acknowledged to the United Nations for the first time that instances of prisoner torture have occured in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Guantanamo Bay. In a report to the Committee, the US admitted isolated incidents of [...]
Canadian lawmakers will extend their current session into the summer to push through the contentious Civil Marriage Act , which would legalize same-sex marriage across Canada. Government Liberals thwarted the plan of opposition Conservatives, who have staunchly opposed the bill, to end the session on a final budget vote next week. Instead, Liberals allied with [...]
Lawyers involved in the huge litigation against Merck over its drug Vioxx said Thursday that federal lawsuits against the drug company could begin in late autumn 2005. The first state trial begins in Texas next month with two more to follow in the late summer and a fourth in New Jersey. Disagreements over the turning [...]
