Retiring US Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor called for clearer rules regarding prisoner detention and interrogation during a speech at West Point Thursday. O'Connor said the situations at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay reflected the confusion of soldiers and a need for guidance. The US Supreme Court has ruled that foreign-born detainees should have [...]

The Kansas Supreme Court ruled Friday that illegal underage sex cannot be punished more harshly if it is homosexual. The case before the court involved convicted sex offender Matthew Limon , who was sentenced to 17 years in prison for performing a sex act on a 14-year-old boy when he was eighteen. If the underage [...]

The European Commission agreed Friday to negotiate with Bosnia to form a cooperation agreement that may result in the country's full membership to the European Union. The commission said that in order for talks to move forward, Bosnia should improve relations with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia , adopt public broadcasting laws, [...]

Report of the International Independent Investigating Commission Established Pursuant to Security Council Resolution 1595 (2005) . Excerpt: The present report details progress made in the implementation of Security Council resolution 1595. In that resolution, adopted on 7 April 2005, the Security Council, condemning the 14 February 2005 terrorist attack in Beirut, Lebanon, that killed former [...]

Press briefing on the opening of the Saddam Hussein trial, by Iraqi government spokeman Laith Lubba and Chief Investigating Judge Raid Juhi, Baghdad, October 19, 2005. Read the full transcript via MNF-Iraq.

The parents of a brain-damaged girl in the United Kingdom won a partial victory Friday when a High Court judge lifted a non-resuscitation order if she were to fall seriously ill. The judge's decision came on the second birthday of Charlotte Wyatt , who has never left the hospital since she was born prematurely in [...]

US v. Hossein Afshari, US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, October 20, 2005 . Excerpt: The Constitution does not forbid Congress from requiring individuals, whether they agree with the Executive Branch determination or not, to refrain from furnishing material assistance to designated terrorist organizations during the period of designation. Read the full text [...]

Iraqi and US officials are working to repair technical difficulties that occurred during the opening day of the Saddam Hussein trial earlier this week, which was broadcast around the world. Troubles including a courtroom audio signal that faded in and out, inability to see defendants' faces, and an English translation that continually broke up were [...]

Tajikistan's Education Ministry on Friday banned female Muslim students from wearing headscarves in secular schools. Education Minister Abdudjabor Rakhmonov said wearing the hajib, a traditional Muslim head covering, violates the country's constitution and education laws. Tajikistan is a secular nation but 90 percent of its citizens are Muslims. France enacted a similar ban in 2004 [...]

Official campaigning began Friday for Kenya's controversial draft constitution, on which a referendum will be held November 21 . The proposed draft has divided the country over issues including presidential power controls, separation of church and state, and distribution of government powers. Kenya's political parties have squabbled over the document and an unsuccessful bid was [...]