Jury selection began Monday in the trial of Shaaban Hafiz Ahmad Ali Shaaban, an Indiana truck driver accused of offering to sell names of US covert operatives to Saddam Hussein's Iraqi government. Charges against Shaaban laid last March include acting as a foreign agent, violating sanctions against Iraq, conspiracy and witness tampering. Prosecutors claim that [...]

The trial of three former police officers for the murder of prominent Ukraine opposition journalist Heorhiy Gongadze has begun in Kiev. Valeriy Kostenko, Mykola Protasov and Oleksandr Popovych are accused of carrying out the killing in September 2000, but no one has yet been charged with giving the order for the murder. Gongadze was an [...]

The trial of radical Muslim cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri , charged under the UK Terrorism Act 2000 for inciting racial hatred, began in London on Monday. Hamza was arrested last May on a US extradition warrant, and was later charged in the UK on 16 counts, including urging his followers to kill non-Muslims and possessing [...]

Confirmation hearings for US Supreme Court nominee Judge Samuel Alito began Monday with Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Arlen Specter (R-PA) promising a "full, fair and dignified hearing," and Senate Democrats vowing to ask tough questions about Alito's stance on abortion, the right of privacy, constitutional powers, and equal rights. The hearings started with opening statements [...]

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on Monday denied requests by US Rep. Tom DeLay (R-TX) that the money laundering charges against him either be dismissed or sent back to a lower court for an immediate trial. The state's highest criminal court denied the requests two days after DeLay stepped down from his post as [...]

The lower house of Jordan's parliament on Sunday approved an agreement with the US which will prohibit the country from handing over Americans accused of violating international criminal law to the International Criminal Court (ICC) . The decision was met with intense opposition by the Islamic Action Front , Jordan's largest political party, and human [...]

The lower house of Jordan's parliament on Sunday approved an agreement with the US which will prohibit the country from handing over Americans accused of violating international criminal law to the International Criminal Court (ICC) . The decision was met with intense opposition by the Islamic Action Front , Jordan's largest political party, and human [...]

A top official at the US Department of Justice's Regime Crimes Liaison Office in Baghdad has suggested that the current trial of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein could end as early as June, with further trial proceedings to commence thereafter. Kevin P. Dooley told reporters that if all goes smoothly, further indictments should be served [...]

Israeli police said Monday that Palestinians who plan to run in the January 25 parliamentary elections will be permitted to campaign in Jerusalem, reversing a previous ban against Palestinian campaigning in the capital city. Senior Palestinian politician Hatem Abdel Khader said he viewed the lifted ban as an indication that Israel would also permit residents [...]

Austrian Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik has promised new efforts to revive the stalled EU Constitution during the Austrian Presidency of the EU in the first half of 2006. The draft constitution was rejected by both France and the Netherlands last year, halting further national referendums as the proposal must be approved by all 25 member [...]