The security company known formerly as Blackwater Worldwide on Thursday concluded its operations in Baghdad as its contract to protect American diplomats in Iraq ended. A spokesperson from the US Embassy in Iraq said that the company, nos called XE , will remain in southern Iraq until the summer. Virgina-based Triple Canopy will take over [...]

The French government on Wednesday confirmed that it will accept Algerian Guantanamo Bay detainee Lakhdar Boumediene after his release from the detention center. Boumediene was the named plaintiff in the US Supreme Court case Boumediene v. Bush , in which the Court held that Guantanamo detainees could challenge their imprisonment in federal court through the [...]

The UK Home Office on Thursday released new proposals for a controversial DNA database that would remove the DNA information of innocent people. The Home Office said that DNA information could still remain in the database for six to 12 years in cases of "serious violent or sexual crimes." The new proposals are in response [...]

The Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic voted Wednesday to approve the European Union (EU) reform treaty, also known as the Lisbon Treaty , sending the document to Czech President Vaclav Klaus for ratification. If the treaty is ratified, Ireland will be the only remaining EU country not to have ratified it. Klaus [...]

US Department of Justice (DOJ) investigators have concluded that three former Bush administration lawyers responsible for authoring controversial CIA interrogation memos should not face criminal prosecutions, according to Wednesday media reports. A draft report from the investigation has concluded that while no criminal prosecution should be conducted, professional sanctions could be appropriate. The report suggests [...]

London High Court judges Lord Justice Thomas and Mr. Justice Lloyd Jones agreed Wednesday to reconsider a February decision to redact information from a ruling about former Guantanamo Bay detainee Binyam Mohamed . Several media groups had challenged the decision not to publicize information redacted from an August 2008 ruling that the UK Foreign Office [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on Wednesday granted a Department of Justice (DOJ) request to drop its appeal in the case of Iraq war objector 1st Lt. Ehren Watada . In October, a federal judge ruled that Watada could not face a second court-martial on all charges for which he already [...]

Alleged Mumbai terror attack suspect Mohammed Ajmal Kasab pleaded not guilty Wednesday in an Indian court to 86 charges stemming from his participation in the November 2008 attack. Kasab, a Pakistani citizen, was formally charged at a special court in Mumbai in front of Judge M.L. Tahiliyani, where he denied any involvement in the attacks. [...]

Iranian authorities issued stays of execution Wednesday for two teens sentenced to death for crimes committed as juveniles. The two individuals facing the death penalty, Amir Khaleqi and Safar Angooti, were scheduled to be executed Wednesday morning after being convicted of murder committed while the were under the age of 18. Amnesty International (AI) called [...]

Maine Governor John Baldacci on Wednesday signed into law a bill that will allow same-sex marriages to be performed in the state, making Maine the fifth state to allow same-sex marriage. On Tuesday, the Maine House of Representatives voted 89-57 in favor of the legislation, which followed last week's approval by the Maine Senate . [...]