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Britain's Prince Harry going to Iraq
Legal World News |
2007/02/22 16:59
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Prince Harry will be sent to Iraq, Britain's Ministry of Defence said Thursday. He will join his regiment, the Blues and Royals, in Iraq as part of a long-planned rotation of troops. He will become the first royal to see combat since his uncle, Prince Andrew, served in the Falklands war against Argentina in 1982. The Defence Ministry has said he might be kept out of situations where his presence could jeopardize his comrades. |
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Zimbabwe police ban political rallies in capital
Legal World News |
2007/02/22 10:55
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Police imposed a three-month ban on political rallies and protests Wednesday in the Zimbabwean capital of Harare after a political rally held Sunday by opposition group Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). Despite a court order instructing police not to interfere with the rally, police used tear-gas and water cannons to break up the crowd gathered to see Morgan Tsvangirai begin his presidential campaign. Opposition group members said police chased and beat people and made several arrests. The police force said the ban was necessary to prevent further disorder. |
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DOJ unveils religious discrimination education initiative
Headline News |
2007/02/22 02:53
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US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales unveiled the First Freedom Project (FFP) Tuesday afternoon, a new Department of Justice initiative aimed at stricter enforcement of laws against religious discrimination and educating the public about their rights in this area. The DOJ will hold training seminars across the US in conjunction with the program, and the FFP website includes instructions on how to file a religious discrimination complaint with the DOJ. The program was prompted by a DOJ report, also released Tuesday, that describes how the DOJ's Civil Rights Division has "dramatically increased enforcement" of religious discrimination laws between 2001 and 2006. Gonzales made the following remarks during a Wednesday meeting of the Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention:
The Department of Justice has actively pursued cases involving religion not just in access to education and public facilities, but in equal access to housing, lending, and employment as well. Over the past six years, we have had many successes. We've launched scores of investigations involving religious discrimination in education and housing, a sharp and marked increase in the Justice Department's enforcement of these important federal protections. We have fought to maintain and make clear the crucial distinction between improper government speech endorsing religion and constitutionally protected private speech endorsing religion. Why should it be permissible for an employee standing around the water cooler to declare that 'Tiger Woods is God,' but a firing offense for him to say 'Jesus is Lord'? These are the kinds of contradictions we are trying to address... As part of our ongoing efforts to strengthen and preserve religious liberty in this country, I am unveiling today a new initiative: the First Freedom Project. Under this program, the Department will build on our extensive record of achievement in this area and commit to even greater enforcement of religious rights for all Americans. |
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TX legislators move to rescind governor's HPV vaccine order
Legal Career News |
2007/02/22 02:51
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Lawmakers in Texas advanced a bill Wednesday to rescind the governor's executive order requiring that school-age girls receive a vaccine to prevent cervical cancer. The House of Representatives' Public Health Committee voted 6-3 in favor of the bill, which is sponsored by more than 90 of the 150 House members. The bill provides, in part, that "immunization against the human papilloma virus may not be required for a person's admission to any elementary or secondary school," and it explicitly pre-empts "all contrary executive orders of the governor." The committee voted after hearing hours of public testimony late into the night Monday. The House committee also unanimously approved another bill designed to increase public awareness of HPV and the vaccine. |
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7 more Guantanamo Bay detainees to Saudi Arabia
Legal World News |
2007/02/21 17:47
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Seven Saudis formerly detained at Guantanamo Bay arrived in Saudi Arabia after US authorities granted their release earlier this week.
The Saudi Press Agency reported their return, and noted that Interior Minister Prince Nayef bin Abdul-Aziz "expressed his appreciation at the level of co-operation with the US authorities, hoping that this step will pave the way to free all remaining Saudis soon". The former detainees will remain in custody in Saudi Arabia until the government has finished its investigation into any possible link the men may have with militant organizations. In December, Saudi Arabia freed eighteen former Guantanamo Bay detainees "after meeting necessary legal conditions." Earlier in December, sixteen Saudis were released from Guantanamo to Saudi Arabia. The Saudi Arabian government was holding that group of transferees to investigate whether they have ties to terrorist groups. A total of 60 Saudi detainees have now been released from Guantanamo Bay, according to AP statistics, with another 67 remaining in custody. |
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Crown requests jail time for 75-year-old fraudster
Court Feed News |
2007/02/21 14:31
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A prosecutor wants federal prison time for a 75-year-old former lawyer who bilked his elderly clients of millions of dollars. Gordon McGilton's spotless reputation as a volunteer, church member and veteran lawyer specializing in wills was exactly why people trusted him, Crown prosecutor Francois Drolet said yesterday. He said McGilton abused that trust by misappropriating $1.7 million of his elderly clients' money. Defence lawyer Jeffrey Boro said his client has a heart condition and is legally blind, and asked that McGilton serve two years less a day under house arrest when he's sentenced on April 10. McGilton has had to sell his Westmount home and lives in a small apartment with his wife, Boro said. McGilton transferred the stolen money to a company owned by his cousin who was investing in a bogus Nigerian oil investment. |
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