France's highest administrative body ruled Monday that Sikhs are permitted to wear their turbans in drivers' licence photos, overturning a case involving a Sikh who refused to take off his turban for the photo. The ruling by the Council of State could open the way for others, including Muslims wearing head scarves , to obtain [...]

The US military on Monday issued a statement acknowledging the death of a detainee, later revealed to be former Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Hamza al-Zubaidi . The statement said Zubaidi, one of Saddam Hussein's top deputies after the first Gulf War, died in US custody last week. Al-Zubaidi is generally considered responsible for the violent [...]

US Ambassador to the UN John Bolton Monday criticized the expected dismissal of Carina Perelli , chief of the UN's Electoral Assistance Division in charge of organizing and promoting free elections, just 10 days before December 15 elections in Iraq. Bolton told reporters that a probe into Perelli's department began in December 2004 and findings [...]

The trial of Vladimir Arutunyan , the Georgian man who attempted to assassinate US President George W. Bush with a grenade when Bush was visiting the former Soviet state earlier this year, began Monday. Arutunyan is accused of throwing a grenade at Bush while the president was addressing a crowd in the main square of [...]

Following a brief recess prompted by a defense team walkout and an emotional outburst from Saddam Hussein, the trial of the former Iraqi dictator and seven co-defendants resumed Monday afternoon with the testimony of Ahmed Hassan Mohammed , an eyewitness to the 1982 Dujail torture and murders for which the defendants are charged. Mohammed took [...]

Former Egyptian presidential candidate Ayman Nour was detained on Monday, indicating that he may be sentenced soon on forgery charges. Nour's lawyer said that the court presiding over the trial ordered that Nour be detained until December 10, and that Nour's sentence will be handed down that day. Nour finished second to Egyptian President Hosni [...]

The US Supreme Court on Monday granted certiorari in two cases, including one involving the insanity defense in criminal trials. In Clark v. Arizona, the Court will consider the constitutionality of an Arizona law that limits admission of evidence of a mental defect and prohibits the defense that the accused did not understand the nature [...]

Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered that possible amendments to a bill regulating non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the country be drafted within the next five days. The NGO proposal, approved by the Duma in November , would greatly increase state control over NGOs by requiring them to register with a state commission and imposing financial [...]

France has signaled opposition to a proposal from British Prime Minister and current EU president Tony Blair to allow cameras into the EU's main decision-making body, the Council of the European Union , during legislative debates. Blair has said that making the decision-making process more transparent would increase support for EU initiatives. France has opposed [...]

In official remarks prior to her departure for Europe Monday, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said that the US government's efforts to protect its citizens have been "misunderstood." Noting European officials' concerns about the CIA's use of extraordinary rendition , Rice asserted that the US government has used rendition for decades when traditional extradition [...]