A US Department of Defense spokesperson Monday dismissed allegations made by two former military prosecutors that the military tribunals at Guantanamo Bay are "rigged" and often deprive defendants of evidence that could help prove their innocence. Defense Department spokesman Lawrence Di Rita told reporters that the DOD Inspector General conducted a full investigation into the [...]

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Leading Monday's states brief, the California Supreme Court ruled today that a private country club must offer spousal discounts to same-sex domestic partners. The court found that the country club's policy of allowing members' spouses to golf for free while charging members' domestic partners was "impermissible marital status discrimination." In the majority opinion, Justice Carlos [...]

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Iran announced on Monday that it would resume uranium enrichment, effectively ending recent negotiations with the European Union . The International Atomic Energy Agency had urged Iran to continue with the negotiation process , but Iran's only concession was a two-day delay in restarting the program to allow inspectors to observe the dismantling of UN [...]

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The UN Human Rights Committee has criticized Yemen for not incorporating many of its 2002 recommendations for civil and political rights in the country. Some major concerns of the Committee were judicial independence, inequality for women, domestic violence, 'honor killings', the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM) , and alleged serious rights violations used to [...]

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Former rebel leader John Garang , who eventually made peace and joined the Sudanese government as a vice-president, died over the weekend in a helicopter crash, sparking riots and threatening to destabilize the region. Officials in Sudan said Sudan People's Liberation Army/Movement leader Garang and 13 others died after the presidential helicopter he was traveling [...]

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