Leading Friday's states brief, the Nebraska Supreme Court upheld a lower court decision today that found the state's Department of Natural Resources cannot regulate groundwater unless the legislature confers such authority. Judge John Wright, writing for the majority, stated "The department has no common-law duty to regulate the use of groundwater in order to protect" [...]

G8 leaders from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States and Russia issued a final joint statement on counter-terrorism Friday denouncing once again Thursday's terror attacks in London, and calling on UN members to reach early agreement on a draft of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism . The leaders also [...]

The US has vowed to oppose any attempt to remove politically-beleaguered Philippines President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo , dogged by allegations of election fraud , unless that is done through a constitutional process. US embassy Charge d'Affaires Joseph Mussomeli said in a Philippines radio interview Friday that the US "supports the rule of law" and firmly [...]

The US Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis Friday upheld a Nebraska federal district court ruling in Carhart v. Gonzalez finding the federal Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act unconstitutional because it lacks an exception for the health of the mother. Federal courts in San Francisco and New York have already issued similar rulings [...]

The German Finance Ministry announced Friday it would extend Germany's national terrorism coverage insurance pool for two years past its planned 2005 expiration date. The decision to extend the Extremus Versicherungs AG , enacted in the wake of 9/11, to cover damage to property and business disruption if there were a terrorist attack on Germany, [...]

Three members of Italy's far-left Red Brigades , who were among five people sentenced Wednesday to life in prison for the murder of government economic advisor Marco Biagi, were sentenced Friday to another life term for the murder of Massimo D'Antona , a professor and legal consultant to the Minister of Labour. The murders occurred [...]

Kyrgyzstan Prosecutor General Azimbek Beknazarov has announced that his government will deport 13 of 29 detained Uzbek refugees accused of participating in a May uprising in in the eastern Uzbek city of Andijan , rejecting claims the refugees would face torture in Uzbekistan. Kyrgyzstan is also considering a request to extradite 231 additional refugees currently [...]

Leading Friday's international brief, G8 leaders ending their two-day summit in Scotland issued a final statement saying that they deplored "recent events" in Zimbabwe that have resulted in hundreds of thousands of individuals being left homeless due to the destruction of their dwelling places, and urged Zimbabwean authorities to "end this campaign now, address immediately [...]

The Pentagon announced Friday that four detainees being held at Guantanamo Bay are to be released after Combatant Status Review Tribunal determination that they no longer pose a threat. No details about the detainees were provided. The quasi-judicial tribunal, set by the US Defense Department to address concerns over indefinite detentions , reviews inmate files [...]

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi announced Friday at the G8 summit that his country will begin withdrawing 300 of its 3,000 troops from Iraq as early as September, depending on security conditions. The announcement comes amid concerns of increased tension between the US and Italy following the accidental March killing of an Italian agent by [...]