Israeli and Palestinian human rights groups Wednesday filed a joint petition demanding that the Israeli Air Force stop causing sonic booms over Gaza, calling supersonic flights over the area “collective punishment against the civilian population” in a statement . Physicians for Human Rights-Israel and the Gaza Community Mental Health Program petitioned the Supreme Court of [...]

The trial of 13 alleged members of the Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group charged with conspiracy in the 2004 Madrid train bombings is set to begin Thursday in Brussels. The suspects, most of whom were arrested last year in Belgium, are accused of providing financial and other support to the Madrid bombers, as well as being [...]

A federal judge Wednesday refused to overturn the conviction of an aide to Osama bin Laden despite expressing doubts about the US government's handling of its case. US District Judge Kevin Duffy, in a 109-page ruling, wrote that he had serious reservations in upholding the conviction of Wadih El-Hage due to the suppression of evidence [...]

The US military lawyer representing Australian Guantanamo Bay detainee David Hicks on Wednesday requested an independent investigation into Hicks' allegations of abuse at the hands of prison officials. Hicks, who was apprehended in Afghanistan in December 2001, alleged that he suffered sexual and physical abuse by US interrogators. Hick’s lawyer, Marine Major Michael Mori , [...]

The UN Human Rights Committee urged in a report Wednesday that Canada open an investigation into allegations that its law enforcement agencies cooperated in the torture of several Canadian citizens detained in Middle Eastern countries. UN rights experts said they were "concerned" about reports that Canada cooperated with Syria in the arrest and torture of [...]

Arab nations are quietly pressing Syria to fully cooperate with the international investigation into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri following Syria's criticism Tuesday of a UN resolution ordering Syria to cooperate and opening the door for sanctions if the government does not comply. In a show of support for the UN [...]

Libya will abolish capital punishment in a step towards commuting the death sentences of five Bulgarian nurses and Palestinian doctor according to Asharq Al-Awsat, a London-based paper citing Arab diplomats close to the Libyan government. The nurses and doctor were sentenced by a Libyan court to death by firing squad last year for having caused [...]

Senate Democrats are calling for confirmation hearings for US Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito to be held in 2006. According to Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) , ranking member on the Senate Judiciary Committee, "There's no way you can do an honest hearing by the end of December, or a fair hearing." Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) [...]

American lawyer Joshua Colangelo-Bryan , who is currently representing six Bahraini men being held without charges at Guantanamo Bay , said Tuesday that prisoners at the US facility are becoming increasingly desperate. Colangelo-Bryan witnessed a suicide attempt at Guantanamo two weeks ago when his client, detainee Jumah Dossari , asked to use the restroom then [...]

Outlining a $7.1 million plan to prepare for a possible bird flu epidemic , President Bush has asked Congress to devise a plan to provide liability protection for vaccine manufacturers. In his speech Tuesday, Bush said that extending liability protection was key to encouraging vaccine production in the US: I'm also asking Congress to remove [...]