Updating a Saturday report on JURIST's Paper Chase, US military officials Sunday raised the casualty total from Saturday's late-night attack on the infamous Abu Ghraib prison to 56, including 44 Americans and 12 detainees. Al Qaeda has claimed responsibility . At least 40 insurgents fired rocket-propelled grenades against the facility and exploded two car bombs [...]

Former US Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell Saturday joined the Democratic party chorus opposing Republican threats to ban Senate filibusters of judicial nominees. Delivering the Democrats' Saturday radio address, Mitchell chided Republicans for seeking to overturn a 200-year old Senate practice in the face of Senate approval of some 95% of Bush judicial appointees. The [...]

Apostolic Constitution Universi Dominci Gregis , Pope John Paul II, given February 26, 1996 . Excerpt: The Shepherd of the Lord's whole flock is the Bishop of the Church of Rome, where the Blessed Apostle Peter, by sovereign disposition of divine Providence, offered to Christ the supreme witness of martyrdom by the shedding of his [...]

Pope John Paul II has died, according to Vatican sources. He was 84. An announcement has just been made in Italian and English on Vatican Radio, monitored over the Internet from Pittsburgh. Vatican Radio's 105 Live FM service has posted a memorial page in black. John Paul's health had been deteriorating gradually for years due [...]

AP is reporting that a co-ordinated insurgent attack on the notorious Abu Ghraib prison {JURIST news archive] in Baghdad has resulted in 18 US casualties. 5:25 PM ET – An updated AP story has increased the US casualty count to 20.

A US military judge ruled Friday that Army sergeant Hasan Akbar is competent to stand trial for a grenade attack that killed two Army officers in Kuwait in 2003 . Sgt. Akbar faces multiple charges of premeditated murder and attempting premeditated murder under Article 118 and Article 80 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. [...]

Zimbabwe opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai Saturday rejected the official results of national parliamentary elections held Thursday. The official tally gave President Robert Mugabe's ruling party 74 seats, while Tsvangirai's party, the Movement for Democratic Change , is said to have won 40 seats. The results came amid allegations of widespread fraud designed to ensure Mugabe's [...]

Kyrgyzstan's deposed president Askar Akayev agreed Saturday to resign. Earlier in the day, the Kyrgyz Supreme Court had ruled that presidential elections would proceed on June 26 whether Akayev formally resigned or not. Under current law, a president must resign before the parliament is allowed to vote on holding new elections. The court's exception comes [...]

In an annual report to Congress Friday, the US Department of Justice Office of Legislative Affairs revealed that the government applied for and was granted a record number of special warrants in 2004. The report submitted by Assistant Attorney General William E. Moschella , revealed a 75 percent increase in the number of special warrants [...]

The US Department of Justice claimed Friday in court papers that contractors for the former Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq can be sued for profiteering under the Federal False Claims Act . Lawyers for the US government contend that the Act, enacted to curb war-profiteering, applies to contracts issued by the CPA from its inception [...]