On a state visit to China during a six-day Asia tour , President Bush Sunday pressed Chinese President Hu Jintao to expand religious, political and social freedoms in the country and later suggested to reporters that if more religious rights were granted other liberties would follow. The President’s remarks during his third official trip to [...]

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Iran's parliament voted Sunday to require the government to block International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors from its nuclear facilities if Iran is referred to the UN Security Council for regulatory violations. This is the second time Iranian deputies have attempted to force the government into a position concerning the nuclear inspectors; in September, parliamentarians [...]

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Former Romanian defense minister Ioan Mihai Pascu has acknowledged that US planes carrying detainees may have refueled in the country, but has denied the existence of a secret CIA-run prison there.  His comments, published Saturday in Evenimentul Zileli are the first by a senior Romanian official with access to military information that appear to confirm press [...]

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US Senator Brian Dorgan (D-ND) released a letter Friday confirming that allegations raised by an ex-Defense Department contractor regarding no-bid contracts awarded to a Halliburton subsidiary for work in Iraq have been turned over to the US Department of Justice (DOJ) for possible investigation. The letter, from Defense Department Assistant Inspector General John R. Crane, [...]

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The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit announced Friday that it will return to its New Orleans headquarters in January. Following Hurricane Katrina in September, the appeals court temporarily moved to Houston, Texas and has operated from the Bob Casey United States Courthouse. The court will shut down Houston operations around December [...]

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US DOJ Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald indicated in court documents Friday that his investigation into the CIA leak case will return to a grand jury. Three weeks ago, a previous grand jury indicted former Vice President Dick Cheney chief of staff I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice . In [...]

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