An Iraqi judge investigating charges against Saddam Hussein met with Kurdish officials Monday to gather information about the 1988 poison gas attack against the northern Iraq village of Halabja. The investigating judge from the Iraqi Special Tribunal visited Halabja in order to "inspect and collect information regarding the use of weapons of mass destruction against [...]

The Federal Elections Commission has asked a federal appeals court to reconsider its ruling that the FEC must write tougher rules for the enforcement of campaign financing laws. The FEC filed a petition for a rehearing en banc Monday, asking the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit to reconsider its decision in Shays [...]

Prince Talal bin Abdel-Aziz , a half-brother of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia has called for political reform in Saudi Arabia, including the introduction of a constitution and a "quasi-legislative council." He told Radio Monte Carlo that Arab rulers should introduce change before they are required to by political uprisings, which happened recently in Lebanon [...]

Israel's High Court of Justice issued a temporary injunction Sunday prohibiting the destruction of 20 synagogues in the now-evacuated Gaza Strip until further notice. The order was issued in response to requests made by a former rabbi in the Gaza strip . State prosecutors Monday asked the High Court to rescind the order and reject [...]

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez announced Sunday that his nation would take legal action against Christian evangelist Pat Robertson and could seek his extradition to Venezuela, after Robertson suggested his assassination last week. In a televised speech, Chavez said Venezuela could have Robertson extradited under international treaties and if the Bush Administration did not take action, [...]

Australian Prime Minister John Howard rejected a proposal Monday that Muslim girls be forbidden from wearing headscarves in public schools, saying that banning headscarves only would be impractical and banning headscarves only would be inconsistent. The suggestion was made by two members of Howard's Liberal Party , Bronwyn Bishop and Sophie Panopoulos , who called [...]

Iran rejected conditional negotiations with Europe concerning its nuclear program Sunday, instead voicing interest in talks with the International Atomic Energy Agency . Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi also said the United States would not be included in any negotiations . On Friday, top nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani called for additional members of the [...]

Thousands of Sunni Arabs protested the draft Iraqi constitution Monday, one day after the revised draft was presented and read to the National Assembly . The parliament did not vote to formally approve the draft, but the charter must be approved by Iraqi citizens in an October 15 referendum. Sunni negotiators have so far refused [...]

Promulgation of Emergency Orders, Mayor of New Orleans, August 28, 2005 . Excerpt: 1. A mandatory evacuation order is hereby called for all of the Parish of Orleans, with only the following exceptions: essential personnel of the United States of America, State of Louisiana and City of New Orleans; essential personnel of regulated utilities and [...]

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani has said once again that he will not sign any eventual warrant for the execution of ousted Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, and would quit instead. During an interview on al-Arabiya TV, he insisted in a clip released Sunday in advance of broadcast: "I am a man of principles. I cannot forego [...]