Trial proceedings began Monday in Turkey for Syrian al Qaeda militant Loa'i Mohammad Haj Bakr al-Saqa , who is charged with masterminding and securing finances for the November 2003 bombings in Istanbul . Security forces say that al-Saqa was a bomb making expert and a top figure in Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network in [...]

Leading Monday's international brief, an Afghani man is on trial for criminal charges punishable by death related to his conversion from Islam to Christianity over 16 years ago while working for a Christian aid organization in Pakistan. Abdul Rahman has been charged with converting to a "false religion" under Afghanistan's criminal law, which incorporates Islamic [...]

Libyan leader Colonel Muhamar Gaddafi has declared that Saddam Hussein remains the legal leader of Iraq, citing the US-led invasion of the country as "a war waged against the wishes of the United Nations." In an interview with an Italian television news program, Gaddafi, who having gained power in 1969 is the Arab world's longest [...]

International election observers said Monday that this weekend's elections in Belarus , which secured a third term for Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko , were "severely flawed" and failed to meet democratic standards. Lukashenko, whom the Bush administration has referred to as "the last dictator in Europe" was credited with 82.6 percent of the vote, citing [...]

In the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks , US government lawyers discussed ways to search the homes and businesses of suspected terrorists without court approval at the same time they debated warrantless electronic surveillance , according to a report in the current issue of US News & World Report. A January 19, 2006 [...]

The last annual meeting of the UN Commission on Human Rights in Geneva was delayed again Monday as the body waits for a procedural vote by the UN Economic and Social Council in order to proceed. The Commission met for only a few minutes when the chairman announced that the ECOSOC vote on substantive elements [...]

The sentencing trial of Zacarias Moussaoui will resume on Monday after being stayed last week to allow for investigation of misconduct by Transportation Security Administration lawyer Carla Martin. Defense attorneys are set to cross-examine FBI Agent Harry Samit, who has testified that Moussaoui's lies after his August 2001 arrest prevented the government from taking steps [...]

Philippine Defense Secretary Avelino Cruz said Monday that the country's military would not go on a "witch hunt" as it investigates the involvement of army soldiers in last month's failed coup attempt against Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo . Cruz did indicate, however, that it was necessary for the army to cleanse its forces of violators [...]

UK Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs Lord Falconer has suggested that new laws should be enacted requiring loans to political parties to be publicly disclosed. In letters to all UK political parties, Lord Falconer has proposed that a ban on secret party loans be included in the Electoral Administration Bill which [...]

Thousands of opposition supporters rallied in Minsk Sunday to protest what they claimed were the rigged results of the Belarus presidential election, defying threats of a government crackdown. Current president Alexander Lukashenko , who has ruled for 12 years, is expected to win his third five-year term by a landslide, and early exit polls suggest [...]