Police arrested in Denver, Colorado, some 230 protestors Saturday when they blocked a Columbus Day parade route. The protesters were trying to draw attention to the genocide and history of American Indians. Many carried signs; some called Columbus a "savage" and others said "Not Genocide, Celebrate Pride."

The annual parade is sponsored by the Order of the Sons of Italy organization. Carter Barnard, a member of the Sons of Italy, said that the protestors had no right to stop the parade. "We have a permit for the parade," he said. "We don't try to stop them from their celebrations." AP has more.

Both houses of Congress passed a bill Saturday that expands the access of rape victims and convicted felons to DNA testing. HR 5107 - termed the Justice for All Act of 2004 (text here) - was approved by voice vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. The bill now goes to President Bush, who is expected to sign it into law.

The bill increases funding for processing the current backlog of DNA samples from rape kits and death row cases, and provides testing monies for current inmates whose cases might benefit from the introduction of DNA evidence. The bill places a burden on the prosecution to prove that DNA testing is not necessary for the first five years after conviction, and then switches the burden to the defense to show that there is justification for proceeding with new DNA testing. Legislative details on HR 5107 are available here. House Judiciary Committee chairman James Sensenbrenner has issued this press release on the bill's passage. AP has more.

Early reports out of Zimbabwe (official government website) Saturday state that the goverment of that country is planning to add an amendment to the already controversial NGO bill that would expand the prohibition of international rights organizations to those involved in educating the public on anti-corruption programs and issues of public transparency and accountability. The Non-Governmental Organizations bill proposes to forbid international rights organizations from operating within the borders of Zimbabwe, as well as cutting government funding for those local organizations that attempt to 'influence governance issues.' The amendment defines 'governance issues' as identical for local groups as it is for international groups, as well as outlawing groups 'furthering and facilitating the interests or activities of a political party.'

The NGO bill was presented to Zimbabwe's Parliament this week and will be under consideration for the next week at least. The US State Department has issued a condemnation of the law, stating that it threatens the general elections to be held in the country in March of 2005. News 24 has more.

The validity of Afghanistan's national election was thrown into doubt Saturday after reports of widespread voting irregularities prompted 15 candidates running in opposition to Interim President Hamid Karzai to declare a boycott of the poll, the results of which they say they will not recognize. BBC News has more; see the latest reports from correspondents on the ground in their Afghan election weblog. Afghan election officials nonetheless continued with the vote, which has now concluded. A UN official said Friday that ballot counting is expected to take two to three weeks. Reuters has more.

UPDATE: The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan has posted this English-language press release from Afghanistan's Joint Election Management Board on the reported irregularities, issued at 4 PM Kabul time Saturday, just as the polls were scheduled to close:

The JEMB has received reports that a number of candidates are alleging a variety of irregularities and problems with the electoral process and calling for the election to be halted and for the votes already cast to be invalidated.

Given the complexities of this electoral process, there have inevitably been some technical problems, which the Electoral Secretariat has been addressing during the day. Nevertheless, the JEMB is encouraged that the voters of Afghanistan have turned out in large numbers and that the process overall has been safe and orderly. The JEMB is also aware that many people are still eagerly waiting in line for their opportunity to vote in this historic election. Halting the voting at this point is unjustified and would deny these individuals their fundamental right to vote.

Accordingly, the JEMB has directed the Electoral Secretariat to continue operations in order to give all eligible Afghans who wish to vote the opportunity to do so.

The JEMB wishes to reassure voters, candidates, and observers that procedures exist to receive, investigate, and decide on complaints. All complaints and irregularities raised with the JEMB will be thoroughly investigated and taken into account when the JEMB deliberates on the extent to which the election accurately reflects the will of the Afghan people.

The JEMB will request, and has received assurances from the United Nations and domestic observer organizations that they will provide, full cooperation in the investigations that will be required. Additional resources will be provided to the JEMB to ensure that these investigations are carried out as expeditiously and thoroughly as possible. Candidates may, as is required by the principle of due process of law, participate fully in the process of hearing and investigating complaints.