A Jordanian appeals court has overturned the conviction of a Jordanian man for financing al Qaeda-linked terrorist Abu-Musab al-Zarqawi in an opinion obtained by the Associated Press Tuesday. According to the Court of Cassation , the original decision of the military State Security Court convicting Bilal Mansur al-Hiyari "fell short of adequate justifications and causes." [...]

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Closing arguments began Tuesday in a US government lawsuit filed against tobacco companies over five years ago. The suit went to trial eight months ago and is expected to wrap up this week. Federal prosecutors filed suit under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) , claiming the tobacco companies conspired to mislead the [...]

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Washington state GOP gubernatorial candidate Dino Rossi announced late Monday that he would not appeal the ruling of a Washington state judge upholding the heavily disputed 2004 gubernatorial election of Democratic Governor Christine Gregoire . Without expanding upon his comment, Rossi stated that the "political makeup" of the state's Supreme Court would make it almost [...]

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Speaking at a UN press conference Monday Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) said that the US Senate would confirm John Bolton as the new US ambassador to the UN by the "tiniest" of margins. Bolton, a vocal critic of the United Nations, has had a vote on his appointment delayed twice amidst accusations from Senate Democrats [...]

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Bolivian President Carlos Mesa tendered his resignation late Monday for the second time in four months following weeks of protests throughout the country. The Bolivian Congress rejected his first attempt to resign under similar circumstances in March. In an attempt to end the confrontations Mesa last week initiated a process to change the nation's constitution [...]

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The FBI Monday issued a preliminary report showing that the nation's murder rate dropped 3.6 percent in 2004, while violent crimes were down 1.7 percent. Property crimes also fell 1.8 percent. The murder rate had previously risen for the past three years. Large cities and small towns showed the biggest improvement; murders in cities of [...]

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A treaty designed to encourage regional cooperation among Balkan states in war crimes trials appeared unlikely to materialize after Croatia on Tuesday ruled out allowing extraditions of suspects. The treaty, drafted by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe , will be reviewed at a conference on Wednesday by representatives from Croatia, Serbia-Montenegro and [...]

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Following the UK's lead , Poland announced Tuesday that it may delay a scheduled October vote on the embattled European Constitution . Although France and the Netherlands had already voted agains ratifying the document, French President Jacques Chirac and German Chanceller Gerhard Schroeder have lobbied to keep the process alive . Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski [...]

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