Indonesia's Supreme Court has replaced two judges in the trial of Newmont Mining Corporation on charges that it polluted Buyat Bay, near its mine . The high court ruled that the two were not qualified to hear environmental cases. Newmont is confident it will win the criminal case, saying no crime was committed though evidence [...]

A Maryland employee of the National Institutes of Health has been charged under the Terrorism Prevention Act with spreading false information and making a hoax for threatening a tax assessment board with anthrax. Michelle Ledgister, 43, lost a claim for relief with the Broward County Property Appraiser's Office for land she owns in Parkland, Florida. [...]

US ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad said Tuesday in Baghdad that protecting women's rights was "a fundamental requirement for Iraq's progress". Leaked drafts of the Iraqi constitution have reportedly contained provisions that would apply strict Islamic law to such personal matters as marriage, divorce, and inheritance, significantly limiting women's rights. US Secretary of Defense Donald [...]

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement division of the US Department of Homeland Security has announced over 1,000 gang-related arrests so far this year, including 582 in just the past two weeks . DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff gave details of Operation Community Shield at a press conference Monday. The program was designed to use immigration laws [...]

Kyrgyz prosecutor Nurlan Jeenaliyev said Monday that Kyrgyzstan will return 15 Uzbek refugees back to their home country over the objections of the UN and some rights groups. The announcement came after weeks of diplomacy about the status of hundreds of Uzbeks who sought asylum in neighboring Kyrgyzstan in May after Uzbek forces crushed an [...]

Ashjan Ahmad al-Bukhari, an Egyptian lawyer, has become the first woman to join Egypt's presidential race, which for the first time will allow multiple candidates this year. However, doubts remain about the validity of her candidacy, since at least 250 elected officials need to approve a candidate for them to appear on the ballot. President [...]

Zimbabwe dropped a second treason charge against opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai on Tuesday, clearing him of charges. Tsvangirai, leader of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), was acquitted of plotting to kill President Robert Mugabe in 2004. This second charge was for leading protests urging Zimbabweans to oust Mugabe . AFP has more.

After strong Congressional opposition to an $18.5 billion offer from the China National Offshore Oil Company Ltd. (CNOOC) and a $17.3 billion bid from Chevron, CNOOC has announced that it will drop its offer completely instead of raising it . China's offer led Chevron to increase its offer and alarmed Congress, which feared Chinese control [...]

Despite newly-uncovered e-mails from former US military prosecutors that characterize the military tribunals at Guantanamo Bay as "rigged" and "a fraud", the Australian government is still backing a military trial for detained Australian David Hicks . Australian Prime Minister John Howard said Tuesday that he was told that the e-mails had already been investigated by [...]

Khalil Dulaimi, an Iraqi defense lawyer for Saddam Hussein , said Tuesday that he is boycotting the former president's trial after a man allegedly grabbed Hussein by the arm at a hearing last Thursday and tried to attack him . Dulaimi is refusing to rejoin the proceedings until the attacker, who Dulaimi believed to be [...]