[JURIST] London police Sunday said they had arrested a third suspect in connection with the recent bombings that took place in the city's transit system. The arrest took place late Saturday "on suspicion of the commission, investigation or preparation of acts of terrorism" in the same south London area where two previous arrests were made [JURIST report] and near the home of a suspect mistakenly shot and killed [JURIST report] Friday. The names of those in custody have not yet been released and Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair [official profile] said they are "anxious" to hear of any sightings of the four individuals who set off bombs [JURIST report] last week. AP has more.

[JURIST] US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales [official profile] told CNN's Sunday "Late Edition" [transcript] that the recent bombings in London and Egypt [IHT report] indicate the Patriot Act [text, PDF] is still a necessary law to prevent similar attacks from occurring in the US. Gonzales said the act now allows law enforcement officers and intelligence agents to exchange information, which has prevented other terrorist attacks from occurring since September 11. The Attorney General also defended the Patriot Act's controversial "library provision," which allows government officials to monitor books and computer use at libraries, businesses and hospitals by saying those places should not be allowed to become a "safe haven for terrorists." Last week, the US House of Representatives passed an extension [JURIST report] to the Patriot Act, while the Senate is expected to vote on its version of the law [JURIST report] this fall. AP has more.

[JURIST] The White House said Sunday that it will not release US Supreme Court nominee John Roberts' [Wikipedia profile] entire file during his tenure in two Republican administrations because of privacy and precedential reasons. Former US Senator Fred Thompson [Wikipedia profile], who is overseeing Roberts' journey through the nomination process, said on Sunday's "Meet the Press" [program transcript] that documents falling under attorney-client privilege would be withheld, as done in prior Republican and Democratic administrations. But Senator Patrick Leahy [official website], senior Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee [official website], called that reasoning a "total red herring" in an ABC "This Week" interview saying, "of course there is no lawyer-client privilege. Those working in the solicitor general's office are not working for the president. They're working for you and me and all the American people." The Judiciary Committee has not yet put in a formal request for the Roberts documents, but Senator John Kerry urged the White House [JURIST report] to release his entire file last week. AP has more.

[JURIST] Myanmar's military-led government announced Sunday that it will not seek the rotating chairmanship of the regional Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) [official website] security organization as it was entitled to do. The announcement was made during ASEAN's Ministerial Meeting [official website] in Laos, and follows repeated expressions of international dissatisfaction, especially by Western governments, over its democracy and human rights record, and its continuing house arres of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi [advocacy website; profile]. Both the EU and US had threatened to boycott ASEAN meetings which they traditionally attend as observers and consider trade embargoes if Myanmar became leader of the association. ASEAN member nations include Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. AP has more.

[JURIST] A spokesman for former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi's bloc of secular Shiites [party website] threatened Sunday that members of the bloc would join Sunnis members in boycotting the proceedings of Iraq's constitutional drafting committee [official website]. Adnan al-Janabi expressed disapproval of the committee's lukewarm response to the walkout of several Sunni members on Wednesday, following the July 19 assassinations [JURIST report] of two Sunni committee members and a committee advisor in Baghdad. Al-Janabi stated that the continued participation of his group is dependent on response to Sunni demands for an international investigation into the killings, and a greater Sunni role in drafting process. Iraq Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari made it clear Sunday that the constitution drafting committee is committed to completing a draft before the August 15 deadline with or without Sunni participation. Zebari told reporters [Reuters report] that it is in the best interest of the Sunnis to participate if they want the new constitution to "reflect their hopes and ambitions”. Some observers fear that a Sunni boycott joined by other groups in the final stages of the drafting process will undermine the legitimacy of the document, scehduled to be submitted for ratification by the Iraqi electorate in October. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] London Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair [official profile] expressed regret Sunday over the killing of a man police mistakenly thought connected [JURIST report] to July 21 London bombings [JURIST report]. Blair stated that the shooting of Brazilian citizen Jean Charles de Menezes was a “tragedy”, but defended the use of deadly force in the Stockwell subway station, and insisted that the officers acted in accordance with their training and believed their lives and the lives of bystanders in the tube were at risk. London police have made two arrests in connection with Thursday’s bombings. AP has more.