Lawyers representing Jose Padilla indicated Tuesday that they are not expecting to present a defense case, telling presiding US District Judge Marcia Cooke that the defense will not call any witnesses. Jurors have been hearing the testimony from six witnesses called by lawyers representing Padilla's co-defendants, Adham Amin Hassoun and Kifah Wael Jayyousi since federal [...]

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Tuesday that the recently passed US House of Representatives resolution calling for a formal apology from Japan for forcing Asian women to become "comfort women" during World War II is "regrettable." Abe said that Japan has already taken steps to atone for what happened during the war, as leaders [...]

Two federal district judges separately rejected a bid by California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to appeal rulings ordering the federal supervision of California's overcrowded prison system Tuesday, ruling that while California may appeal specific orders made by a special three-judge panel, the state cannot appeal the original rulings establishing the panel. Schwarzenegger had argued that the [...]

Nine defendants, including three former Vietnamese government officials, accused of involvement in organized gambling and bribery went on trial Wednesday before the Hanoi People's Court. Bui Tien Dung, a former project management head in the Ministry of Transportation , allegedly placed bets totaling $760,000 on European soccer matches and subsequently attempted to cover up the [...]

A Saudi Arabian court dismissed charges against three members of the country's religious police force and a police officer implicated in the death of detainee Ahmed al-Bulaiwi, a relative of the deceased said Tuesday. The religious police, also known as the mutaween , are employed by the Committee for the Propagation of Virtue and the [...]

Nuradin Abdi, a Somali national accused of planning terror attacks on shopping malls in the US, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists Tuesday. Under the plea agreement Abdi will serve 10 years in prison and pay a fine of $100,000. According to the DOJ press release, Abdi traveled abroad in 1999 [...]

EU Commissioner for Justice, Freedom and Security Franco Frattini is moving forward with plans to create a single European Union prosecutor and strengthen the the EU's prosecutorial body Eurojust , according to an interview with EUobserver published Wednesday. Frattini indicated that once EU leaders agree to the Reform Treaty , the commission will proceed with [...]

Amnesty International Tuesday urged the Mexican government to initiate a probe into alleged abuses by government authorities during the 2006 uprising in the Mexican state of Oaxaca , saying that "ensuring that impunity for human rights violation is not allowed to prevail" will help to deter future abuses and be an opportunity for Mexican President [...]

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf said publicly Tuesday that he has accepted the judgment of the judiciary to reinstate Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry , adding that the "four pillars" of democratic society consisting of the judiciary, legislature, executive, and media must be able to "conduct their roles without fear or favor." In July, the Supreme Court [...]

An Egyptian court rejected a petition from jailed opposition leader Ayman Nour for early release on medical grounds Tuesday, saying that evidence submitted by Nour failed to prove that his medical condition was life threatening or that his heart condition will be adversely affected by prison. Nour, who suffers from heart disease and diabetes, was [...]