An Islamic cleric accused by Washington of collaborating with al-Qaeda said Monday he will only support a government based on Islam in his new role as head of a militia that controls Somalia's capital and much of the country's south. "Somalia is a Muslim nation and its people are also Muslim, 100%," Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys told The Associated Press in his first comments to the media since being named head of the Islamic militia over the weekend. The militia defeated U.S.-backed secular warlords and seized Mogadishu and much of the south this month. Last week it struck a mutual recognition deal with the largely powerless U.N.-backed interim government. Aweys, who is on a U.S. list of people with alleged ties to international terrorism, was appointed leader of the militia Saturday, replacing a more moderate cleric who agreed to negotiate with the interim government. None of the militia leaders who voted for the surprise change in leadership has publicly explained the reason for it. ...
http://www.usatoday.com
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Editor - 11:30:00 06-26-06
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 Campaign Finance Rules Struck Down by U.S. High Court |
The U.S. Supreme Court dealt a blow to efforts to reduce the role of money in political campaigns, striking down Vermont caps on contributions and candidate spending. The justices, voting 6-3, said for the first time that a state's donation limits were so low they violated the free speech clause of the Constitution. Vermont's contribution caps, as low as $200 for some races, were the most restrictive in the nation. ``We must recognize the existence of some lower bound,'' Justice Stephen Breyer wrote in the court's lead opinion. ``At some point the constitutional risks to the democratic electoral process become too great.'' By the same vote, the court also reaffirmed a 30-year-old decision barring states from curbing candidate spending. ...
http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000087&sid=aCfVerNfxGZo&refer=home
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Editor - 11:25:00 06-26-06
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| China media face disaster fines |
China is considering imposing financial penalties on media outlets which report emergency incidents without prior government agreement. Media organisations could face fines of more than $10,000 if they disobey. It is unclear when the regulations might come into force and whether they cover international media organisations as well as local ones. China's authorities have always exerted tight control over the coverage of emergencies. They often impose news blackouts on stories they feel might damage the image of the Communist Party. Last year, officials in north-east China at first covered up a toxic chemical spill in the Songhua River, which meant nine million residents in the city of Harbin were without public water supplies for nearly a week. These proposed new rules are part of an ongoing government campaign to tighten up on China's already limited media freedoms. ...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/5116928.stm
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Editor - 11:20:00 06-26-06
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| Alito Breaks Tie to Uphold Kansas Death Penalty Law |
New Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito broke a tie Monday to rule that Kansas' death penalty law is constitutional. By a 5-to-4 vote, the justices said the Kansas Supreme Court incorrectly interpreted the Eighth Amendment's protection against cruel and unusual punishment to strike down the state's death penalty statute. The Kansas court said the state's death penalty law improperly forced jurors to impose a capital sentence even if they believed that the prosecution and defense evidence were equal in weight.But the justices disagreed. Writing for the majority, Justice Clarence Thomas disputed the claim by critics that the law created "a general presumption in favor of the death penalty in the state of Kansas."...
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,200970,00.html
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Editor - 11:16:00 06-26-06
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| Judge Blocks Georgia From Forcing 8 Sex Offenders to Move Away From Bus Stops |
A federal judge on Monday blocked Georgia from targeting eight individuals with its sweeping law that would bar sex offenders from living near school bus stops. Many states have barred offenders from working and living near schools, but Georgia's law goes father by restricting them from living or working within 1,000 feet of a school bus stop. The temporary restraining order by U.S. District Judge Clarence Cooper applies only to the eight plaintiffs in a lawsuit filed by the Southern Center for Human Rights. ...
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=2119753
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Editor - 10:07:00 06-26-06
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| UN reports decline in opium farming |
Opium poppy farming has been almost eradicated in Asia's Golden Triangle, the border zone between Burma, Thailand and Laos that was once the world's biggest supplier of opium, according to a UN report published today.The area of land being used for poppy cultivation was down 22% worldwide, reflecting declines in the world's three biggest producers of opium: Afghanistan, Burma and Laos.The UN's 2006 World Drug Report described south-east Asia as an "overlooked success story", where governments had succeeded in slashing poppy cultivation. Laos, once the world's third biggest heroin producer, declared itself free of poppy cultivation in February. It used a "carrot and stick" approach, striking agreements with farmers to stop growing poppies or risk seeing their fields destroyed. The Burmese government reduced the area under cultivation by 26% to 32,800 hectares (127 square miles) last year....
http://www.guardian.co.uk/afghanistan/story/0,,1806489,00.html?gusrc=rss
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Editor - 10:02:00 06-26-06
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