The Thailand Constitutional Court agreed Thursday to hear arguments in a case against five political parties, including the ruling Thai Rak Thai party, the main opposition Democrats , and three smaller parties, for allegedly "acting against democratic rule" during April's annulled parliamentary elections . Last month Thailand's Election Commission unanimously recommended that the five parties [...]
France's far-right National Front leader Jean-Marie Le Pen , who surprised observers with his strong performance in the 2002 French presidential election , will be put on trial in Paris for allegedly denying how brutal the Nazi occupation of France was during World War II, according to French judicial officials Wednesday. The charges stem from [...]
House Majority Leader Jim Boehner (R-OH) on Wednesday scheduled seven more House hearings through the end of July on comprehensive immigration reform , and characterized the first round of hearings as a success for House Republicans who support strict enforcement-focused legislation. The new hearings, save one, will all be held in Washington DC, and will [...]
Lord Michael Levy , chief fundraiser for British Prime Minister Tony Blair , returned to a police station for questioning Thursday after he was arrested by Scotland Yard Wednesday in connection with a growing "cash for honors" scandal . The police official leading the investigation, Deputy Assistant Commissioner John Yates, described Levy's arrest as "integral" [...]
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Thursday that the US Department of Defense (DOD) decision to apply the Geneva Conventions to detainees in US military custody "strengthens the international rule of law, and is true to the U.S.'s strong tradition of respect for civil liberties." A statement released by Annan's spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, reads, in full: [...]
Massachusetts lawmakers on Wednesday decided to postpone a vote on a proposed state constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage until after the November election, just days after the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled that the same-sex marriage ban can be placed on the ballot for voter approval , if the legislature approves the amendment. Massachusetts [...]
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday signed a law that shortens the conscription term and wipes out five accepted reasons for military draft deferments. The law, passed by both houses of parliament in June, reduces required military service from two years to one and a half starting in 2007, and then to one year in [...]
Indian authorities have detained approximately 350 people for questioning in connection with Tuesday's Mumbai train bombings , which killed over 200 people and wounded 700. Police Inspector S. Goshal said Thursday that none of the detainees have been formally arrested or charged, but that authorities brought the detainees in to help investigate the Tuesday bombing. [...]
US Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA) and other leading Republican members of the House Armed Services Committee on Wednesday pushed for legislation authorizing military commissions for terror suspects detained at Guantanamo Bay during a committee hearing on how the government should proceed in bringing terror suspects to justice following the Supreme Court decision in Hamdan v. [...]
The US military revealed Wednesday that Saddam Hussein and three of his co-defendants are five days into a hunger strike in protest of trial court procedures and the killings of three of their defense lawyers, which they believe occurred because of inadequate security provided by US forces. Defense lawyer Khalil al-Dulaimi, who claims the hunger [...]