Tens of thousands of Israeli settlers gathered in Jerusalem Sunday evening at the start of a scheduled 24-hour protest against a plan by Israeli Prime Minister Arial Sharon to remove all 21 Israeli settlements from Gaza and four smaller settlements from the West Bank this summer. The settlers, organized by the Yesha Settlers Council are [...]

The trial to determine responsibility for the massive 1999 fire in the Mont Blanc Tunnel , which runs between Italy and France, opened today in France. The fire, which killed 39 people and burned for more than 2 days, is believed to have been started by a truck carrying flour and margarine. Two hundred plaintiffs [...]

Israeli officials have told the US that Israel will reexamine the cases of Palestinians in East Jerusalem whose land was seized by Israel due to the building of the security fence . The US had expressed concern over the seizure of the land by local officials, in part because of the current attempts by the [...]

Speaking in Nigeria Sunday, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan urged the UN Security Council to consider sanctions against Sudan for "gross violations of human rights". Annan cited a UN report, due to be released this week, that found that "serious violations of international humanitarian law and gross violations of human rights have taken place." The report [...]

The deputy head of the Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq Monday revised upwards the latest estimate of turnout in Sunday's Iraq elections, telling AFP that "We still don't have a final number but we can say it was better than expected. The final percentage could be between 60 and 75 percent." Late Sunday Baghdad time [...]

Here's a run-down of law-related events, expected developments and live webcasts on JURIST's docket for Monday, Jan. 31. On Capitol Hill, the US Senate will convene for regular business at 1 PM ET today and will consider the nomination of Samuel Bodman for secretary of energy. Watch a live webcast via C-SPAN. Tennessee Gov. Phil [...]

Preliminary Assessments of January 30 Election Process, International Mission for Iraqi Elections , January 30, 2005 . Excerpt: The absence of deadlines for resolutions on claims and complaints by the electoral authorities, notification to political entities and candidates of decisions on certification, announcement of preliminary electoral results and publication of official results is a matter [...]

Late reports out of the northern Iraqi city of Mosul Sunday say that the poll there, although it drew more voters than expected, was burdened by glaring irregularities, perhaps not surprising in view of the fact that the Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq had to send a quickly-trained replacement team to the city after local [...]

The Canadian-based International Mission for Iraqi Elections , a multinational group of election experts set up in December to monitor the January 30 vote and make recommendations for improvements in the Iraqi electoral process, issued a preliminary report from its offices in Amman, Jordan, on Sunday praising the poll but stressing a need for greater [...]

Another former Guantanamo Bay prisoner has come forward with allegations of torture and abuse by US personnel. Sunday's UK Independent newspaper has disclosed that British national Moazzam Begg , one of four Britons released from the facility last week , wrote a 25-page report of his imprisonment that includes allegations of torture, repeated assault, and [...]