The federal grand jury investigating the leak of a CIA operative’s identity adjourned on Wednesday after meeting for three hours with Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald and his deputies. The grand jury's term, which is set to expire in three days, can be extended by Chief US District Judge Thomas Hogan at Fitzgerald's request. Though Fitzgerald [...]

The Bush administration announced Wednesday that on November 8 it plans to reinstate rules that ensure workers on federal Hurricane Katrina projects receive fair wages that are close to the amount of local wages on similar projects. In the days following Hurricane Katrina, the President signed an executive order suspending provisions of the 1931 Davis-Bacon [...]

The British government's proposed Terrorism Bill passed its first test in the House of Commons Wednesday, despite a 16 MP-strong rebellion of Labour Party backbenchers against the government and continued disagreement from opposition parties over controversial detention provisions. The bill, championed by Prime Minister Tony Blair , passed with the support of most Conservatives. The [...]

Uzbek prosecutors in the trial of 15 men accused of plotting a rebellion in Andijan on Wednesday sought prison sentences of between nine and 20 years for the suspects. Prosecutors urged the court to issue a 20-year sentence for five men, an 18-year sentence for three, and 17 years in jail for four, as well [...]

US Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Arlen Specter (R-PA) previewed a range of confirmation questions for controversial US Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers Wednesday. In a letter , he told Miers she should expect inquiries about the war on terror and whether she would give "special deference" to President Bush. Specter also said he wanted to [...]

Lebanese prosecutors have charged two men in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri , sources reported Wednesday. The two men, brothers Ahmad and Mahmoud Abdel-Al, were both named last week by a report by a UN commission investigating the killing as being allegedly involved in the bomb plot. Ahmad Abdel-Al is a member [...]

A German court on Wednesday found four Middle Eastern men guilty of links to al Qaeda and of plotting to attack Jewish targets in Germany, and the four were sentenced to between five and eight years in prison. The four men, arrested in 2002 for alleged plots against two Jewish-owned discos in Dusseldorf and a [...]

The British Cabinet included a plan to ban smoking in enclosed public places as part of its Health Improvement Bill Wednesday, exempting from the prohibition pubs and bars that don't serve food. The Department of Health initiated research in June for the ban, resulting in plans by Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt to ban smoking in [...]

French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy presented the country's anti-terrorism bill to the Cabinet Wednesday, rejecting claims that the provisions of the bill would infringe on civil rights and create a police state. The bill, proposed in response to the London bombings , is intended to fill gaps in France's earlier anti-terror laws by making flight [...]

Amnesty International condemned Spain and Morocco for human rights violations against all migrants and asylum-seekers of sub-Saharan origin Wednesday. Immigrants attempting to use Morocco as a conduit to Europe have recently met increased security forces along the Spanish border, resulting in violent clashes and claims of excessive use of force. Following a 10-day trip to [...]