The US Supreme Court on Wednesday heard oral arguments in Lockhart v. US , a case in which it will decide whether the US government can use part of a person's Social Security benefits to pay overdue student loans. Justices appeared unsympathetic to the claims of James Lockhart, who argued that he needed all of [...]

Only days after President Bush nominated Judge Samuel Alito to a seat on the US Supreme Court , the group of 14 senators who helped diffuse a Senate showdown over judicial nominees showed signs of splitting. Known as the "Gang of 14," the influential group of seven Republicans and seven Democrats offered diverging opinions on [...]

The Central Intelligence Agency has held and interrogated some of its most important al Qaeda suspects at a Soviet-era compound in Eastern Europe, the Washington Post reported Wednesday. According to current and former intelligence officials and diplomats from three continents, the secret facility is part of a larger covert prison system that has set up [...]

Syria on Wednesday released 190 political prisoners, a move observers said was likely aimed at avoiding further confrontation with the US and UN. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad ordered the pardons, which included some members of the banned Muslim Brotherhood group and more than 50 Kurds imprisoned following riots in 2004. State news agency SANA said [...]

Israeli and Palestinian human rights groups Wednesday filed a joint petition demanding that the Israeli Air Force stop causing sonic booms over Gaza, calling supersonic flights over the area “collective punishment against the civilian population” in a statement . Physicians for Human Rights-Israel and the Gaza Community Mental Health Program petitioned the Supreme Court of [...]

The trial of 13 alleged members of the Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group charged with conspiracy in the 2004 Madrid train bombings is set to begin Thursday in Brussels. The suspects, most of whom were arrested last year in Belgium, are accused of providing financial and other support to the Madrid bombers, as well as being [...]

A federal judge Wednesday refused to overturn the conviction of an aide to Osama bin Laden despite expressing doubts about the US government's handling of its case. US District Judge Kevin Duffy, in a 109-page ruling, wrote that he had serious reservations in upholding the conviction of Wadih El-Hage due to the suppression of evidence [...]

The US military lawyer representing Australian Guantanamo Bay detainee David Hicks on Wednesday requested an independent investigation into Hicks' allegations of abuse at the hands of prison officials. Hicks, who was apprehended in Afghanistan in December 2001, alleged that he suffered sexual and physical abuse by US interrogators. Hick’s lawyer, Marine Major Michael Mori , [...]

The UN Human Rights Committee urged in a report Wednesday that Canada open an investigation into allegations that its law enforcement agencies cooperated in the torture of several Canadian citizens detained in Middle Eastern countries. UN rights experts said they were "concerned" about reports that Canada cooperated with Syria in the arrest and torture of [...]

Arab nations are quietly pressing Syria to fully cooperate with the international investigation into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri following Syria's criticism Tuesday of a UN resolution ordering Syria to cooperate and opening the door for sanctions if the government does not comply. In a show of support for the UN [...]