U.S. NAVAL STATION GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba — The recent conviction of Australian kangaroo-skinner turned globetrotting jihadist David Hicks may, at least temporarily, bring an end to years of judicial power struggles that have surrounded the creation of a special war crimes tribunal here. However, while the special tribunal will bring some form of justice for men like Hicks and other high-profile detainees — including admitted Sept. 11 plotter Khalid Sheikh Mohammed — the fate of hundreds of lesser-known prisoners is still undetermined. As Hicks inked a deal in late-March to plead guilty to providing material support for terrorism in exchange [...]
BANGKOK, Thailand — The quaint 1956 Hollywood musical “The King and I,” which most people might regard as innocuous, probably would have been banned in Thailand under broadening definitions of “national security” now being cited by military coup leaders to justify their increasing censorship. But in any case, the movie, starring the late Yul Brynner and Deborah Kerr, is already outlawed under another device that curbs public opinion, the increasingly catch-all “les majeste” rule. Brynner’s singing and dancing routine has long been considered by the authorities to insult the institution of the Thai monarchy, and to distort Thai history. The [...]
BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe — At a meeting held in a Catholic church here Saturday, dissident and Christian leaders from Zimbabwe and around Africa called for the removal of Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe’s 83-year-old president, and urged the country’s people to unite and fight for their rights. The prayer meeting was organized by the Save Zimbabwe Campaign, a coalition of churches, students, labor groups and opposition political parties that is fighting for democracy in Zimbabwe.In his speech at meeting at St. Patrick’sHall in Makokoba suburb, Rev. Morris Nduri, the secretary general ofMalawi´s Presbyterian Church, was among those who said Zimbabweans should remove Mugabe’sgovernment [...]
