Swiss voters Sunday rejected by roughly 64-36 percent a referendum initiative that would have allowed municipalities control over granting Swiss passports without the possibility of appeal for applicants. The Swiss Supreme Court found in 2003 that a similar policy was unconstitutional for being discriminatory, but the nationalistic Swiss People's Party had urged the referendum to [...]

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Bangladesh police have arrested dozens of politicians since Friday in a renewed anti-corruption drive. The drive comes amid an even wider crackdown in which authorities have arrested more than 1,600 political activists and suspected criminals. On Sunday, a judge issued arrest warrants for electricity supply leaders on charges of corruption, extending the drive through the [...]

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The Election Commission of Pakistan Sunday cleared former Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his younger brother to run in the June 26 by-elections. Sharif was barred from running in the February 18 national parliamentary elections because of criminal convictions arising out of circumstances surrounding the 1999 coup against him led by then-General and now-Pakistan [...]

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US military prosecutors Saturday charged the last British resident detained at Guantanamo Bay with conspiring to commit terrorism, according to British prisoners rights group Reprieve . Binyam Mohamed , an Ethiopian who sought refuge in Britain, has denied the charge. Mohamed was originally arrested in Pakistan and turned over to US officials; he claims that [...]

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A senior member of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) presented its proposed constitutional amendment package to its principal coalition partner Sunday. The 62-point package, which anticipates restoring the judiciary deposed by President Pervez Musharraf last November and limiting executive powers, was also submitted to the other parties belonging to the governing coalition, but Law Minister [...]

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