Leading Monday's international brief, Sudanese Speaker of the National Assembly Ahmad Ibrahim al-Tahir has announced that the Sudanese Parliament will approve the draft interim constitution scheduled for final reading on Wednesday, July 6. The Sudan Parliament adopted a resolution Sunday presented by Chairman Ismail al-Haj Musa of the Interim Constitution Formulation Committee calling for the [...]

US Army Reserve PFC Lynndie England , accused of abusing prisoners at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison, faces new court-martial proceedings, including arraignment and a pre-trial hearing beginning Thursday at Fort Hood. On May 4, a military judge rejected England's guilty plea to charges of conspiracy, maltreatment of prisoners, and indecent acts, because her story could [...]

Rwandan legal representatives arguing Monday at the beginnng of public hearings before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague dismissed allegations that Rwandan troops had committed human rights violations in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and argued the world court did not have jurisdiction to hear the case. Congo filed suit with the [...]

The International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna begins a five-day conference Monday to consider toughening international laws governing the security of nuclear power stations. Representatives from over 100 countries will discuss amending the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material , a treaty that applies to the transport, domestic storage and peaceful use of [...]

In an interview with the Dubai-based Al-Arabiya satellite television station aired Sunday , a half-brother of Osama bin Laden offered to pay for the legal defense of al-Qaida leader in the event of his capture. Yeslam Binladin is one of 54 sons and daughters of the late Saudi construction magnate Mohammed bin Laden , who [...]

Report to the President 2004, Information Security Oversight Office, issued to the President on March 31, 2005 and publicly released July 1, 2005 . Excerpt: This report provides information on the status of the security classification program as required by Executive Order 12958, as amended, "Classified National Security Information." It includes statistics and analysis concerning [...]

A committee of lawyers created for Saddam Hussein's defense team has filed a writ of habeas corpus in the US requesting that he be taken out of Iraq for his upcoming trial, a move anticipated as far back as December . The committee, led by Ziad al-Khasawneh , argues that a proceeding before the Iraqi [...]

US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales made a surprise visit to Iraq Sunday to meet with US soldiers, Justice Department officials currently training Iraqi judges and law enforcement officers, and his counterparts in the Iraqi government. Gonzales commended the country's efforts to secure democracy and the rule of law amidst recent attacks by insurgent forces. He [...]

A new federal Information Security Oversight Office report indicates that 15.6 million documents were classified by the US government in 2004, almost double the number from 2001, leading to a cost to taxpayers of $7.2 billion. At the same time, the declassification process, which makes historical documents available to the public, has slowed from 204 [...]

Iraqi government spokesman Laith Kubba admitted Sunday that Iraqi security forces have commited abuse and torture in fighting the Sunni-led insurgency in Iraq. Kubba said that government ministers are concerned. Mohammed Hamed Qader, a Kurdish Islamic member of parliament, says that he was recently beaten and insulted after being taken into police custody and is [...]