Thousands of Sunni Arabs protested the draft Iraqi constitution Monday, one day after the revised draft was presented and read to the National Assembly . The parliament did not vote to formally approve the draft, but the charter must be approved by Iraqi citizens in an October 15 referendum. Sunni negotiators have so far refused [...]

Promulgation of Emergency Orders, Mayor of New Orleans, August 28, 2005 . Excerpt: 1. A mandatory evacuation order is hereby called for all of the Parish of Orleans, with only the following exceptions: essential personnel of the United States of America, State of Louisiana and City of New Orleans; essential personnel of regulated utilities and [...]

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani has said once again that he will not sign any eventual warrant for the execution of ousted Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, and would quit instead. During an interview on al-Arabiya TV, he insisted in a clip released Sunday in advance of broadcast: "I am a man of principles. I cannot forego [...]

Mayor Ray Nagin ordered the entire US city of New Orleans (population 484,674) evacuated Sunday in advance of the anticipated Gulf Coast landfall Monday morning of Hurricane Katrina , currently described by the National Weather Service as a "potentially catastrophic" Category-5 storm packing winds of nearly 175 miles per hour . New Orleans has long [...]

Omri Sharon , a member of the Israeli Knesst and the son of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon , was indicted Sunday on charges of forgery, perjury and violating campaign finance laws, stemming from his fund raising activities for his father's election campaigns. The Israeli Justice Ministry believes Omri Sharon created ficticious companies to conceal illegal [...]

From Monday Iranian judges will be allowed to carry handguns and may shoot if they feel threatened, according to an official speaking Sunday after the fourth attack on an Iranian judge in four weeks. Tehran criminal prosecutor Fakhroldin Jaffarzadeh told the Iranian Students News Agency that “All judges from prosecutors’ offices will carry firearms from [...]

Egypt Saturday released from prison Mahmoud Ezzat, secretary-general of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood opposition group. Ezzat was arrested in May in a crackdown on political protests, days before the country's referendum on a constitutional amendment introducing multi-candidate presidential elections . The Muslim Brotherhood has been outspoken in its opposition to President Hosny Mubarak and believes [...]

California Attorney General Bill Lockyer is seeking a court order requiring warning labels on foods that contains acrylamide , a chemical found in potato chips and french fries that the state believes may cause cancer. Lockyer filed a lawsuit in Los Angles Superior Court Friday against nine fast food companies and snack food makers, including [...]

A revised draft of the Iraqi constitution was presented and read out to Iraq's National Assembly Sunday, but continuing Sunni objections to the charter's stance on federalism, de-Baathification and other sensitive issues precluded a vote on the document and the Assembly adjourned without formally approving it. The Assembly speaker, a Sunni, was not in the [...]

List of changes sought by Sunni negotiators to the draft Iraqi constitution , presented by Iraqi Culture Minister Nouri Farhan al-Rawi, Minister of State for Women's Affairs Azhar Abdel-Karim, Minister of State for Provincial Affairs Saad al-Hardan, Industry Minister Osama al-Najafi and Deputy Prime Minister Abed Mutlaq al-Jbouri, August 27, 2005 : _The drafting committee [...]