Russia's Prosecutor General has requested that the British government extradite business tycoon Boris Berezovsky on charges of plotting a coup against Russian President Vladimir Putin . In an interview with a Russian radio station in January, Berezovsky labeled Putin's regime as 'anti-constitutional' and having 'lost all legitimacy', advocating the forceful removal of Putin from office. [...]

Balvir Singh Multani and Balvir Singh Multani, in his capacity as tutor to his minor son Gurbaj Singh Multani v. Commission scolaire Marguerite-Bourgeoys and Attorney General of Quebec, Supreme Court of Canada, March 2, 2006 . Read the full text of the judgment. Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

Ali Hamza Ahmad Sulayman al Bahlul , a Guantanamo detainee from Yemen charged with conspiring to commit murder, to attack civilians and civilian objects, and terrorism, boycotted his military commission hearing again Thursday, this time on the grounds that the attorney appointed to defend him, US Army Major Tom Fleener , is his enemy and [...]

The Georgia Senate passed a bill Thursday that would allow Georgians to use deadly force when they feel threatened in public areas. Bill 396 extends Georgia's current law by extending the right to use deadly force beyond private property, saying that citizens have no duty to retreat even if it is possible to do so [...]

The US Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee voted 12-1 Thursday to send a lobbying oversight bill to the full Senate, but the bill was stripped of a provision establishing an independent office with oversight over congressional ethics issues. The Lobbying Transparency and Accountability Act of 2005 as approved would expand the definition of [...]

The US Senate has approved a long-term renewal of the USA PATRIOT Act by a vote of 89-10 . The vote was expected after the Senate approved amendments to the USA PATRIOT and Terrorism Prevention Reauthorization Act of 2005 which incorporate additional civil liberties protections: allowing recipients of Section 215 subpoenas for information in terror [...]

Members of the US Senate Judiciary Committee Thursday began hammering out an immigration reform bill in the face of several competing proposals that have bitterly divided lawmakers. Committee Chairman Senator Arlen Specter's Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006 has come in for sharp criticism from the American Bar Association (ABA) , which opposes key provisions [...]

Libya freed 130 political prisoners on Thursday, among them 85 members of the Islamist opposition group Muslim Brotherhood , some of whom have been held since 1998. In 2002, the now-abolished People's Court sentenced the Brotherhood members for treason for participating in unauthorized political activity, which is a serious crime in Libya. The court sentenced [...]

The Mississippi House Public Health Committee has approved a bill that would prohibit most abortions in the state, and Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour (R) has said that he plans to sign the legislation if both houses of the Mississippi Legislature approve it. The bill, which only allows exceptions to save a woman's life, would tighten [...]

An Italian parliamentary commission has concluded that the Soviet Union backed the 1981 assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II by Mehmet Ali Agca , in a report released on Thursday. The commission argues that the Soviets conspired to kill the pope because of his support for Poland's Solidarity labor movement and his role in [...]