French territories cast their votes on the EU constitution Saturday with the "No" campaign leading in the polls. One survey on Friday indicated a narrowing of the majority's lead in opposing the charter, offering hope to President Jacques Chirac who has been leading the "Yes" campaign . Another survey, however, showed an increase in "No" [...]

Closing Statement by US Ambassador Jackie W. Sanders, Special Representative of the President for the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons to the 2005 Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, May 27, 2005. Excerpt: While this Review Conference did not reach consensus, we did break new ground. This Review Conference is the [...]

The Bush administration has asked the US Second Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn a decision made last year by a US District Court preventing the government from conducting secret searches of communications records. The District Court ruling came in a case considering whether an ISP was required to release records to the FBI. The [...]

The Johannesburg High Court has banned the release of a newspaper article revealing a corruption scandal involving the nation's ruling African National Congress (ANC) , requiring South Africa's leading independant newspaper, the Mail and Guardian , to prevent the distribution of its entire 45,000 issue run. Last week, the newpaper ran the first article in [...]

Former US nuclear weapons workers can soon start filing claims for compensation for exposure to radiation and other industrial toxins while working on cold-war era nuclear weapons. The program details were released for living workers on Friday, but the government has already implemented a program for the survivors of deceased workers and has paid more [...]

The Bush administration Friday refused a request to extradite Cuban exile Luis Posada Carriles to Venezuela, citing inadequate supporting evidence. Carriles is suspected of bombing a plane carrying 73 people to Caracas and has been charged by US authorities for entering the country illegally. The request had been a source of conflict between the US [...]

Leader of the banned Batasuna party , the political wing of Basque separatist group ETA , Arnaldo Otegi was freed on bail Friday after two days in a Madrid prison. Otegi was freed after his lawyer put up $400,000 euros to secure his release from the high-security prison. He had previously served a four-year term [...]

The former national finance director of the Hillary Rodham Clinton Senate campaign, David Rosen, was acquitted Friday of two counts of making false statements to the Federal Election Commission. Prosecutors argued that Rosen lied to conceal the mounting costs of a 2000 fundraising event, disclosing only $400,000 in in-kind contributions, when the actual total was [...]

Mayor of New Paltz Jason West will face trial for attempting to marry same-sex couples last year, New York's highest court announced Friday. West faces 24 misdemeanor counts for violating the state's domestic relations law by marrying couples without licenses, making him subject to fines with a possibility of up to one year in jail. [...]

Prosecutors in Romania on Friday charged translator Muhamed Munaf and Arab businessman Omar Hayssam with orchestrating the kidnapping of three Romanian journalists held for 55 days in Iraq. The two men were specifically charged with "initiating, funding and coordinating the March 28 kidnapping." Prosecutors believe that Hayssam hoped to remake his image, tarnished by involvement [...]