The US Department of Justice announced Thursday that Sandy Berger , former national security advisor in the Clinton administration, will plead guilty to charges of unauthorized removal and retention of classified material. Berger is scheduled to appear in federal court Friday, facing the possibility of a year in jail and $100,000 in fines. Berger has [...]

Report, Commission on the Intelligence Capabilities of the US regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction, March 31, 2005 . Excerpt: On the brink of war, and in front of the whole world, the United States government asserted that Saddam Hussein had reconstituted his nuclear weapons program, had biological weapons and mobile biological weapon production facilities, and [...]

The International Criminal Court is investigating possible human rights violations during Colombia's 40 year civil war , and has asked the Colombian government for its help. According to ICC chief prosecutor Luis Moreno , indicators point to upwards of 1,000 casualties, kidnappings and displacements in Columbia since late 2002. The Colombian government has said it [...]

In the wake of Wednesday's second interim report of the UN's Independent Inquiry Committee into the Oil-for-Food Program chaired by former Federal Reserve head Paul Volcker, the UN has issued a charge letter to Under-Secretary-General Dileep Nair , head of the UN's Office for Internal Oversight Services (OIOS), alleging improper use of funds. The IIC [...]

Civil rights activist Fred Korematsu has died at daughter's home in California. The American-born son of Japanese immigrants who passed away Wednesday is best remembered for defiantly refusing to voluntarily submit himself to US internment camps during World War II. His conviction for violating the order to surrender to officials was upheld by the US [...]

The parliament of Turkey voted Thursday to delay the implementation of the country's new penal code until June 1. The reforms, passed in September as part of Turkey's efforts to join the European Union , were scheduled to take effect Friday, but legislators voted on the delay to allow the government more time to make [...]

Minority shareholders of embattled Russian oil company Yukos have begun to coordinate their efforts to ensure that losses incurred after Russia's dismantling of the oil company will be recouped. Shipston Group, a Bahamas-based investment fund, is coordinating the efforts and Shipston's manager said Thursday that the minority shareholders are seeking to be given a proportional [...]

The Supreme Court of Canada Thursday unanimously upheld Quebec language legislation known as Bill 101 , which makes French-speaking parents send their children to francophone schools. Under the bill, parents must have received the majority of their own schooling in English to be able to have their children educated in that language. Eight families had [...]

In Thursday's international brief, a US administration official said Wednesday night that the US would accept a pending French resolution, delayed from Wednesday , authorizing the International Criminal Court to investigate and try possible human rights abuses in the Darfur region of Sudan . The US has actively opposed the use of the ICC and [...]

The World Bank has unanimously approved the nomination of US Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz as the next president of the 184-nation development bank. Wolfowitz was seen as a controversial choice because of his role as architect of the Iraq war and his support of overseas harsh governments. Wolfowitz sought to dampen criticism by saying [...]