A federal judge has refused to dismiss a defamation lawsuit against US Rep. John Murtha (D-PA) and ruled that Murtha must provide a deposition in the case. US Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich , who is facing charges for his alleged role in the killing of 24 Iraqi civilians, brought the defamation and invasion [...]

Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda , the newly elected successor to former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe , said Friday that he plans to submit a new anti-terrorism law to parliament that will allow Japan to continue to refuel allied ships in the Indian Ocean connected to Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. The original legislation authorizing [...]

Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki Thursday refused to sign a bill that would have limited the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission (KACC) to only investigating crimes committed after 2003. The amendment, deleting portions of the 2003 Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Act , would have made it impossible for the commission to continue investigations into some of the country's [...]

A military panel Friday found US Army Spc. Jorge G. Sandoval not guilty of murder in the shooting deaths of three unarmed Iraqis but convicted him of planting evidence to cover up the shootings. Sandoval, along with Staff Sgt. Michael A. Hensley and Sgt. Evan Vela, was charged with premeditated murder and wrongfully placing a [...]

The government of Cuba Thursday detained at least forty protesters who gathered outside the Ministry of Justice to demand humane treatment for the country's estimated 250 political prisoners. All but one of those detained were released on Friday, but former political prisoner Jose Luis Garcia Perez, who was released in April, reported that he had [...]

Over 1,000 demonstrators faced off with riot police in Lima, Peru Thursday, demanding the release of former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori . Fujimori was extradited to Peru Saturday following the Supreme Court of Chile's decision last week that Fujimori should be extradited on human rights and corruption charges. Fujimori is accused of approving death squad [...]

The government of the Philippines has used an immigration blacklist , consisting of 504 people allegedly linked to al Qaeda or the Taliban, to ban its critics from entering the country, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Friday. The Philippines government confirmed the blacklist, but said it was created to prevent disturbances during a meeting of [...]

The US will donate $5 million to the UN-backed tribunal established to investigate and try suspects in the 2005 murder of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri , US Ambassador to the United Nations Zalmay Khalilzad announced Thursday. Khalilzad said the financial supportreflects our commitment to the process of accountability for political murder and assassination [...]

The Supreme Court of Pakistan dismissed legal challenges Friday to a bid by current Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf to run for another term as president while still serving as chief of the Pakistani army. The challengers had also opposed Musharraf's bid to avoid a general election by seeking re-election from the outgoing parliament and provincial [...]

The US Department of Defense has formally allowed fourteen "high-value" terrorism suspects held at Guantanamo Bay the right to request lawyers, the Washington Post reported Friday. The move could pave the way for the "high-value" detainees to challenge their status as enemy combatants in the US District Court for the District of Columbia . In [...]