Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora sent a letter to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon Monday, formally requesting that the UN Security Council establish an ad hoc tribunal to investigate and try suspects in the February 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri because "all possible means" to ratify a UN tribunal proposal in the Lebanese [...]

The Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDF) and American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Texas on Tuesday requested a temporary restraining order from the US District Court of the Northern District of Texas, seeking to block an anti-illegal immigration city ordinance scheduled to take effect next Tuesday in Farmers Branch, Texas. The ordinance, [...]

Tyco International said Tuesday that it has reached an agreement to settle most of the class actions pending against it by investors who were harmed by the actions of the company's former top executives. The settlement, which is subject to the approval of the largest shareholders and the federal court, requires Tyco to establish a [...]

The Supreme Court of Pakistan reconvened Tuesday to continue hearing petitions filed by suspended Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry after adjourning Monday when a Supreme Court justice objected to the presence of more junior judges on the high court panel . Lawyers for Chaudhry told the court that Chaudhry had been pressured to resign, and [...]

Lawyers for US Rep. William Jefferson (D-LA) urged a federal appeals court Tuesday to overturn a lower court ruling that the FBI's 18-hour raid on Jefferson's congressional offices was legal. Jefferson is also seeking a court order for the return of materials seized from his office in May 2006 by the US Department of Justice [...]

Egypt's Supreme Administrative Court ruled Monday that a military trial of forty top members of the Muslim Brotherhood can go forward. The trial is scheduled to resume on June 3. The holding reverses last week's rejection of the military trial ordered by Egyptian President Hosny Mubarak . The Muslim Brotherhood characterized the ruling as a [...]

The US Department of Defense (DOD) Monday released the names and details of six former Guantanamo Bay detainees that it claims joined the fight against the US after their release from detention. Among those so identified was Mohamed Yusif Yaqub, whom Pentagon officials said became the commander of Taliban operations in Southern Afghanistan following his [...]

Security plans implemented since February by the Multi-National Force – Iraq (MNF-I) have contributed to overcrowding in Iraqi prisons, the Washington Post reported Tuesday. A UN report released in April estimated 20,000 detainees were held in Iraq-run facilities during the month of March, indicating an increase of over 3,500 detainees from the end of January. [...]

US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said in a speech to the National Press Club Tuesday that the nationwide increase in crime is due in part to the increase in gang and gun violence among teenagers. Gonzales said that the Department of Justice (DOJ) will spend $50 million this year in efforts to reduce crime in [...]

Nigeria's Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal ruled Monday that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) must provide "certified true copies" of ballots from Nigeria's contested April 21 presidential elections to embattled candidate and current Nigerian Vice President Atiku Abubakar . The ruling, which stems from petitions filed by several candidates, also required the INEC to provide [...]