Washington, D.C.

Guantanamo detainees denied right to U.S. courts

A federal judge ruled Wednesday that suspected Taliban and al-Qaida fighters held in Cuba do not have a right to U.S. court hearings, allowing the military to hold them indefinitely without filing charges.

The 600 men held at the U.S. Naval Base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, are not in the United States and thus do not fall under the jurisdiction of federal courts, U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly said.

The ruling involved two Britons and an Australian as well as 12 Kuwaitis who brought a separate complaint. A lawyer for the Kuwaitis said they would appeal.

New York City

Sept. 11 ideas suggested

Some 4,500 people have written to Mayor Michael Bloomberg suggesting Sept. 11 be commemorated with the lighting of 3,000 candles, a national holiday or the tolling of church bells.

One woman suggested the bells ring from all halls and churches from 8:45 a.m., the time the first plane hit the World Trade Center, until 10:29 a.m., when the second tower fell.

One respondent asked that a candle for each of the more than 3,000 victims of the four hijacked planes be floated in New York Harbor.

Suggestions arrived from around the United States and as far away as Great Britain in a campaign that ended Wednesday to suggest ways to commemorate the anniversary.

Washington, D.C.

Democrats attack tax havens

Democrats are exploiting the issue of U.S. companies relocating to offshore tax havens with an eye on the fall elections.

In a legal move known as a “corporate inversion,” a company sets up a shell headquarters in a tax haven such as Bermuda while keeping most operations and jobs in the United States, potentially saving millions of dollars in U.S. taxes.

In 2001, 26 companies now located in Bermuda or another tax haven had more than $1 billion in federal contracts, according to Democratic research. Harken Energy Corp. and Halliburton Co., linked to President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney, have set up subsidiaries in tax-haven countries.