[JURIST] The Egyptian judges' syndicate released a report Saturday stating that the results of a nationwide poll on regulations for the upcoming presidential elections were unreliable due to fraud. The group of 8,000 judges pointed to extremely low turnout in polling stations supervised by the judiciary and extremely high turnout in stations run by civil servants (in some cases reaching 100%), as well as photographs of "Yes" votes bundled together in ballot boxes. The poll approved a change in Egyptian election law [JURIST report] allowing more than one person to run for president, but opposition groups said the law is riddled with regulations that leave too much power in the hands of the ruling National Democratic Party [official website, English version]. The Egyptian Constitutional Court recently declared the substantive law at issue in the referendum unconstitutional [JURIST report]. Aljazeera has more.

[JURIST] An adviser to outgoing Iranian president Khatami said Saturday that Iranian President-elect Mahmoud Ahmadinejad [Wikipedia profile] is not the man in a photograph taken during the 1979 hostage crisis at the US embassy in Tehran [Wikipedia backgrounder]. Saeed Hajjarian, a former top secret agent, said that the man in the photograph is actually Taqi Mohammadi, an extremist who committed suicide in prison. The photograph has come up in the context of recent allegations about the new President's role in the embassy invasion [JURIST report]. AP has more.

[JURIST] The China National Offshore Oil Company Ltd. (CNOOC) [official website] submitted the details of its $18.5 billion bid to purchase Unocal [corporate website] to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States [official website] Friday. The purchase would mark the largest acquisition of a US corporation by a Chinese company. US leaders have voiced concern over the potential national security implications of the acquisition, with the US House recommending that President Bush review the bid [Chicago Tribune report]. The People's Republic of China maintains a 70% ownership stake in CNOOC. Xinhua has more.

[JURIST] The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) [official website] has released a new report calling for the closure of the US prison camp in Guantanamo Bay, saying it has fueled hatred toward the West and has increased al-Qaida membership. The human rights group has recommended a "calendar of closure" for the facility saying, "The longer the detention is in the camps the more the hatred against the US and the West becomes anchored in hearts and minds." The US, also a member of the OSCE, has pushed back against recommendations to close the prison, saying it is necessary to protect the US from future attacks. The organization's members are expected to vote next week on whether to accept the report's final conclusions. Aljazeera has more.

[JURIST] Republicans and Democrats have begun bracing for the upcoming battle over who will replace Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor [OYEZ biography] after she announced her retirement [JURIST report] from the court Friday. The debate is expected to be over a likely list of candidates including federal appellate judges John Roberts, Michael Luttig,, Harvie Wilkinson [judicial profiles], Attorney General Alberto Gonzales [DOJ profile], and former solicitor general Theodore Olson [DOJ profile]. AFP has more.

Senators and representatives from both parties have offered more reaction to the news of O'Connor's resignation and the upcoming nomination process. Senator Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) [official website] said, "As a senior member of the Judiciary Committee, I'll be looking forward to hearing from a nominee who understands that the role of the courts is to interpret the law, not create the law.'' House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi [official website] spoke for the other side saying: "Justice O'Connor played an indispensable and pivotal role in preserving our civil liberties and constitutional rights, including a woman's right to choose. As the president nominates a successor, he has an opportunity to unify the country by seeking meaningful consultation with legislators of both parties and choosing a respected nominee in the manner of Sandra Day O'Connor.'' AP has more.

Major media outlets are also offering advice. The Washington Post published an editorial [text] Saturday encouraging President Bush to choose a moderate replacement for Justice O'Connor saying, "It is not too much to ask of Mr. Bush that he work for consensus in replacing a justice who, in a very real sense, had come to represent a bridge between left and right." An editorial [text] by the New York Times expressed similar sentiments: "If he is thinking clearly, the president will understand how much he owes this quiet jurist who consistently looked for common ground. Perhaps he will also realize that the best way to repay the debt is to choose a replacement from the same mold."

[JURIST] Iraq UN ambassador Samir Sumaida'ie [Iraq UN Mission profile] has accused US Marines of shooting to death his 21-year old cousin Mohammed al-Sumaida'ie during a raid of his father's house in Haditha, a city in Iraq's western Anbar province that has been a focus of recent US security operations [AKI report]. In a three-page statement released Friday, Sumaida'ie said the Marines asked the young Sunni engineering student whether there were weapons in the home during the June 25 raid and that al-Sumaida'ie was last seen alive before he went to a separate room to get a rifle containing blanks. He alleged that the Marines were smiling as they left the home after the shooting. Samir Sumaida'ie has been a strong US supporter throughout the Iraq conflict but said this could lessen US support in the country and has requested a complete investigation of the killing to "ensure that justice is done." The US military released a statement [press release] Friday saying the allegations "roughly correspond to an incident involving coalition forces on that day" and that it would be thoroughly investigated. Reuters has more. US forces have been accused of various aggressive missteps [JURIST report] against Sunni civilians since they began new security initiatives in May to counteract the ongoing Sunni-led insurgency.

[JURIST] A White House spokesman acknowledged Friday that the administration had so far turned up no evidence to support allegations that Iranian president-elect Mahmoud Ahmadinejad [Wikipedia profile] played a role of the 1979 Iranian takeover [BBC backgrounder] of the US embassy in Tehran. Ahmadinejad was elected president [JURIST report] just over one week ago amidst reports by former US hostages that he was involved [JURIST report] in capturing and interrogating hostages during the 1979-1981 crisis. Two Iranians who led the embassy invasion have said that Ahmadinejad, a founding member of the Office to Foster Unity which planned the takeover, did not take part in the seizure and was against it until it was actually carried out. The CIA is involved in investigating the allegations and White House spokesman Scott McClellan said it will "continue to look into it to establish the facts." Reuters has more.