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Darfur: The evidence of war crimes
Dramatic new evidence of the attacks on the people of Darfur by Sudanese government troops has emerged in 500 drawings by children who escaped the violence by fleeing across the border to Chad. In a ground-breaking move, the remarkable collection of images will now be submitted to the International Criminal Court (ICC), which has started proceedings against a Sudanese government minister and a militia commander accused of committing war crimes in Darfur.

GAO: $19 Billion Worth of Equipment 'Lost' in Iraq
The Pentagon cannot fully account for $19.2 billion worth of equipment provided to Iraqi security forces, government auditors said Tuesday. The finding by the Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, comes a few days after the Pentagon acknowledged that the U.S. and its allies have delivered a little more than a third of the equipment in the pipeline for the Iraqi Army and less than half of what is destined for the Iraqi police.

Police may be given power to take DNA samples in the street
The Home Office is considering giving the police the power to take a DNA sample on the street, without taking the suspect to a police station, as well as taking samples from suspects in relatively minor offences such as littering, speeding or not wearing a seat belt. The move comes as an official genetics watchdog prepares a public inquiry into the police national DNA database, following concern over the retention of samples from people acquitted of any offence, and disclosure that the database holds DNA records for one in three of British black males.

Iraq: Marines Can Get Away With Killing Civilians
A military tribunal at Camp Pendelton, released Cpl. Trent Thomas this week without ordering him to prison, despite his conviction in the murder of an Iraqi civilian last year in Hamdaniya, Iraq. Thomas is typical of most American soldiers charged with murdering Iraqi civilians. In Thomas’ case, the civilian was kidnapped and murdered in cold blood.

Watchdog reports on Menezes case
The Independent Police Complaints Commission is due to report on how the Met Police acted after the shooting of Brazilian Jean Charles de Menezes. The IPCC has examined statements issued by police after the 27-year-old was mistakenly shot dead by officers at Stockwell Tube station on 22 July 2005. He was mistaken for a suicide bomber in the wake of the 7 July London bombings and failed 21 July attacks.

Another U.S. helicopter shot down in Iraq
The U.S. Army announced today that one of its helicopters was shot down by unknown attackers in east Baghdad, and that its two crew members were rescued alive, EFE reported. According to a press release from the U.S. Command, the Apache AH-64 copter crashed after being hit in the Al Gedida district of Baghdad.
Early this month, the Iraqi resistance shot down a U.S. OH-58D helicopter, with two pilots on board who were injured, in southern Baghdad.

High Court confusion over exactly who BAA wants to ban from protesting at Heathrow
BAA suffered further embarrassment in its attempt to block a climate change demonstration at Heathrow, when a High Court judge admitted yesterday to being confused over exactly who the company wanted to ban from travelling to the airport. Amid scenes of near farce at the Royal Courts of Justice, Justice Caroline Swift, asked Timothy Lawson-Cruttenden, the lawyer representing BAA's subsidiary, Heathrow Airport Limited, to clarify the terms of the injunction he was seeking, stating: 'I have to know what I am being asked to do.'

Disaster looms in land built for peace and harmony
Politicians fear civil war as Musharraf's regime is battered by suicide attacks, civilian revolt and American threats. Decorum was abandoned as accusations ricocheted between the wood-panelled walls of Pakistan's national assembly on Monday night. "Murderers! Murderers of innocent people!" screamed an MP from a religious party, his yellow turban shaking as he wagged a finger towards the government benches.

American Missiles Smash through Treaty with Russia
The U.S. military leadership has stated for the first time that it has to decline to renew the first Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. Chief of the U.S. Strategic Command Gen. James Cartwright claimed that the decision makes a possible strike in the war against global terrorism easier. In Russia, they are worried that the United States will have potential to make a disarming nuclear strike and, with the missile defense system in Europe, avoid a counterstrike.

Iran hangs judge's killers in public
Iran hanged the killers of a judge, who had jailed several reformist dissidents, before a crowd of hundreds of people on Thursday. Majid Kavousifar and Hossein Kavousifar, his nephew, were hanged in front of Tehran's Ershad judiciary complex, where they shot dead judge Hassan Moghaddas in his car in 2005. The two were not political activists, but Tehran's public prosecutor said Majid Kavousifar had believed the judge was corrupt. The prosecutor branded the killers as 'terrorists.

US marine guilty in Iraq murder
A military jury has found a US marine guilty in connection with the murder of an Iraqi man last year, but acquitted him of two other charges of premeditated murder and kidnapping. Corporal Marshall Magincalda, was convicted on Wednesday of conspiracy to commit murder, and found guilty of larceny and housebreaking.
Magincalda, who was also cleared of making a false official statement by the six-member jury, could face life in prison.

Aborigines want apology over stolen children
Australia's Aborigines renewed calls for official recognition of past injustices on Thursday after a court awarded an Aboriginal man A$525,000 ($446,000) for being taken from his family 50 years ago. In Wednesday's landmark ruling, a court in the state of South Australia awarded Bruce Trevorrow the money in compensation and damages for being taken from his mother as a baby and given to a white foster parent without their consent.

Bomber Brown gets a lesson in power dressing
Gordon Brown spent two days at the American presidential retreat of Camp David emphasising the importance of soft power. Judging by the gift he received from George Bush, however, the message has not quite got through. Inside a large box wrapped in lurid gold paper with the presidential seal on top lay Mr Bush's idea of the perfect memento - a leather bomber jacket with Gordon Brown's name written on a black badge. It is the exact same design worn by President Bush when he stood on an aircraft carrier 30 days into the Iraq war to declare 'mission accomplished'. A Downing Street aide described the gift and gave permission for reporters to view it.