US Army Pvt. Brandon Hughey , who fled to Canada after refusing a deployment order to Iraq and deserting his unit at Fort Hood, formally asked the Canadian Immigration and Refugee Board for asylum Thursday. Hughey has claimed that the war in Iraq is illegal and that he had a moral obligation to desert; he [...]

In the wake of decisive referendum defeats for the proposed EU Constitution this week in France and the Netherlands , UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw is expected to announce in the House of Commons on Monday that the legislation for a British referendum on the constitution will be suspended . The constitution needs to be [...]

Host country Sweden says it intends to push for strict new rules on polluters at the 28th Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting convening in Stockholm June 6-17. A draft proposal that has been under neogotiation for some 20 years would require companies and organizations to take appropriate precautionary measures and would hold them liable for any [...]

A federal judge Thursday ordered the US Army to release 144 photographs and four movies taken by an American soldier relating to prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib . The photographs, provided by Sgt. Joseph Darby , set off the prisoner abuse scandal in 2004 when he described them to his commander. The court order came [...]

Chelan County Superior Court Judge John Bridges said Thursday that he will issue an oral decision Monday, June 6, on a GOP challenge to the validity of votes cast in the 2004 governor's race awarded to by Democrat Christine Gregoire after multiple recounts. Lawyers for Republican candidate Dino Rossi have asked that illegal votes allegedly [...]

As anticipated , Turkey has implemented a revised penal code in satisfaction of one of two pre-conditions for its eventual accession to the European Union. Turkish president Ahmet Necdet Sezer has yet to formally approve the revision, however, and changes to the text may be in the offing after claims by opposition aprties that last-minute [...]

JURIST Guest Columnist Elena Baylis of the University of Pittsburgh School of Law says that while Darfur may be a dream case for the International Criminal Court, the value of the International Criminal Court for Darfur is yet to be seen… On March 31, 2005, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 1593, referring the [...]

Thomas, et al. v. City of Seattle, Hankin, et al. v. City of Seattle, United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, June 2, 2005 . Excerpt: In this case we search for the proper balance between, on the one hand, the vibrant rights of free speech and assembly in an open society and, [...]

Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende wrote to the Dutch Parliament on Thursday formally saying that his government wished to withdraw its motion calling for approval of the EU constitution. Over 62% of Dutch voters turned out Wednesday to reject the proposed EU charter in a referendum by a resounding margin of 62% to 38%. [...]

Former Qwest Communications International CFO Robin Szeliga was charged with insider trading Thursday based on accusations that she improperly earned $410,000 on a stock sale. Szeliga reached a plea agreement and a change-of-plea hearing has been scheduled for next month. She is the highest-ranking former official to be charged in the criminal investigation of an [...]