A US Marine Corps commanding officer ordered Tuesday that charges be dismissed against Marine Capt. Lucas McConnell for failing to report the killing of 24 Iraqi civilians at Haditha . McConnell was granted immunity from prosecution by Lt. Gen. James Mattis , commanding officer at Camp Pendleton , California, in exchange for his cooperation in [...]

France's National Assembly , the lower house of the French parliament, Tuesday debated a new immigration bill proposing tightened requirements for foreigners seeking to join immigrant relatives in France. The bill comes after a campaign promise by French President Nicolas Sarkozy to toughen the country's immigration policy, a move already begun by the introduction of [...]

Lawyers for Brent Wilkes , a defense contractor connected to disgraced former Congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham , have subpoenaed 13 members of Congress to testify at Wilkes' October 2 trial. All of the lawmakers, including former House Speaker Dennis Hastert , have said they will not comply with the orders, because according to House Rules [...]

The US House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Tuesday announced an investigation into whether State Department Inspector General Howard Krongard interfered with a fraud investigation related to construction of a new US embassy in Baghdad to protect the Bush administration from "political embarrassment." In a letter to Krongard requesting his cooperation in the investigation, Committee [...]

US Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell pushed for new and permanent changes to a recently passed temporary surveillance law in a statement to the House Judiciary Committee Tuesday. The Protect America Act 2007 , passed by Congress in August, gives the Executive Branch expanded surveillance authority for a period of six months while Congress [...]

The Communist Party of Nepal – Maoists (CPN-M) announced Tuesday that it is vacating the interim government and boycotting future elections until its demands for parliament to immediately declare the country a federal democratic republic were met. Senior members of the Maoist party, who say that they have secured over one million signatures on a [...]

Two advocacy groups in the Philippines said Tuesday that children are often the victims of extrajudicial killings, citing statistics compiled by Karapatan (The Alliance for the Advancement of People's Rights) . The Salinlahi Alliance for Children's Concerns and the Gabriela Women's Party criticized Philippine President Gloria Arroyo , saying that instances of human rights violations [...]

Iranian-American journalist Parnaz Azima, a reporter for Radio Farda , left Iran Tuesday after months of being held in the country on security-related charges. A spokesperson for Radio Farda's parent service Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) told AP that Azima will soon arrive in the United States. Azima was granted permission to leave Iran September [...]

The Maryland Court of Appeals on Tuesday ruled 4-3 that the state's 1973 law banning same-sex marriage is constitutional. In reversing the judgment of the lower Circuit Court, Maryland's highest court held that a law defining marriage as between one man and one woman neither denies individuals fundamental rights nor discriminates illegally on the basis [...]

The Zimbabwean parliament began debate Tuesday on a draft constitutional amendment bill that could essentially give Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe the authority to appoint his successor. The changes would allow the parliament to appoint a new president should the incumbent step down before the end of his term; there is speculation that Mugabe will step [...]