Three House Democrats have called for an official investigation into voting machine irregularities during the 2004 election. Congressmen Robert Wexler of Florida, Jerrold Nadler of New York, and John Conyers of Michigan sent a letter to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) Friday outlining several incidents that they learned about in the days following the election. [...]

Here's a run-down of law-related events, expected developments and live webcasts on JURIST's docket for Monday, Nov. 8. The US Supreme Court hears arguments in two cases Monday, with the first to begin at 10 AM ET. In Devenpeck v. Alford (case summary from Duke Law School), the Court will decide whether an arrest violates [...]

Iran, Britain, France and Germany reached a preliminary agreement in Paris Sunday on Iran's use of nuclear technology. Details of the agreement were not revealed, but an Iranian negotiator says "fundamental principals had been agreed ." While Iran denies the existence of a secret nuclear weapons program, Europe has called for full suspension of all [...]

A referendum in Macedonia designed to block a law that gave its Albanian minority greater rights has failed due to a low turnout. The law, already passed by the Macedonian parliament, redraws local boundaries in the former Yugoslav Republic, and gives the 25% Albanian minority more say over schools, health care policy and jobs. Proponents [...]

The Taliban-related group holding 3 UN workers hostage in Afghanistan has agreed to forego other demands relating to their release in exchange for the release of 26 prisoners, some believed to be held at Guantanamo Bay. A list was given to Afghan officials Sunday and the group has given the government until Tuesday to comply. [...]

The UN Security Council late Saturday issued a statement condemning Ivory Coast air force raids again rebel cities in which eight French peacekeepers attached to the UNOCI (United Nations Operation in the Ivory Coast) were killed, leading to French retaliation in which five Ivory Coast war planes were destroyed, virtually obliterating the government air force. [...]

Authorities in Ghana have arrested 7 people believed to be plotting the overthrow of President John Kufuor (official biography). The suspects are former and current members of the military and the plan allegedly included sabotaging the upcoming presidential election. President Kufuor is expected to win a second term in the December 7 vote. BBC has [...]

Following up on a story first reported Saturday afternoon on JURIST, Iraq's interim government has declared a 60-day state of emergency covering the whole country except for the Kurdish north. Early reports coming out of Kuwait had suggested that the declaration would only apply to central provinces. An Iraqi spokesman said the declaration came in [...]

Sunday's New York Times highlights the way Chief Justice Rehnquist's illness has affected the state of the US Supreme Court. The Times also covers the first person to be sentenced for violating a new federal law designed to protect hospital patient's privacy, and a federal appeals court's decision concerning the Energy Department's plan to store [...]

Iraqi government sources Saturday unveiled a plan to proclaim emergency laws in troubled central areas of Iraq, including Falluja and Ramadi. A spokesperson for the Iraqi Interior Ministry stated that the emergency laws could be imposed without declaration and would restrict land and water transportation. In addition, a civilian curfew will be enforced and a [...]