Dutch prosecutors Monday began to present their case against two former leaders of the Afghanistan secret police, charging Hesamuddin Hesam and Habibullah Jalalzoy with a litany of war crimes. Both men were officers in the Khad , a group established and monitored by the KGB when the nation was under the control of a Soviet-backed [...]

The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention reported Monday that pre-trial detention conditions in South Africa "fall short of international guarantees." The report comes after a two-week trip in which group members interviewed detainees in several detention centers in the cities of Pretoria, Johannesburg, Polokwane, Musina, Bloemfontein and Cape Town. Among the group's concerns were [...]

Members of the European Parliament are busy trying to correct the problems faced by the now rejected European constitution . A core group of MEPs have been charged with preparing a proposal to address and recommend corrections to the obstacles that lead to the constitution's rejection , and suggest action in the meantime. Current plans [...]

The Wall Street Journal reported Monday that Christopher Cox , chairman of the US Securities and Exchange Commission , plans to put into operation a rule that would allow the government to take a stronger role as watchdog over the massive US hedge-fund industry. In his first major interview since being sworn in as chairman [...]

Trials commenced Monday at the UN-backed International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda for four former Rwandan officials, including two government ministers suspected of taking part in the 1994 genocide that killed 800,000 people. Ex-interior minister Edouard Karemera, ex-industry and mines minister Joseph Nzirorera and ex-director general for foreign affairs Mathieu Ngirumpatse were all accused of giving [...]

Authorities in Los Angeles said Monday that two people have been charged with fraud in the first federal case involving alleged fraudulent donation solicitations related to Hurricane Katrina relief. Tino Lee, 44, of Burbank and Gina Liz Nicholas, 19, of Glendale California, were charged Friday with posing as American Red Cross volunteers and collecting more [...]

A hearing in the appeal of imprisoned oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky over his tax fraud conviction was delayed Monday due to confusion over who would lead his defense. The court hearing the appeal announced a postponement on Wednesday after Khodorkovsky's attorney, Genrikh Padva, failed to appear due to health reasons. Khodorkovsky has refused to allow [...]

Wire services are reporting that two former Tyco executives have been sentenced to between 8 1/3 and 25 years in prison after having been found guilty of securities fraud, grand larceny and conspiracy earlier this year. Former Tyco International CEO Dennis Kozlowski and former CFO Mark Schwartz were convicted of stealing hundreds of millions of [...]

The Iraqi government on Monday announced that a nephew of Saddam Hussein has been sentenced to life in prison for providing funding to the insurgency in the country. The verdict was the first against a member of the toppled leader's family. Ayman Sabawi is the son of Sabawi Ibrahim al-Hassan , a half brother of [...]

Building Confidence in US Elections, Commission on Federal Election Reform, September 19, 2005 . Excerpt from an accompanying press release, quoting Carter: Elections are the heart of our democracy. The Help America Vote Act of 2002 made an historic contribution, but one law is not enough. The American people are losing confidence in the system, [...]