Washington, D.C.

Terror detainees to be notified of rights next week

All 594 terrorist suspects held at the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, will be notified next week of their right to contest their detention in U.S. federal court and of their option to appear before a military panel to challenge their status as an “enemy combatant.”

Gordon England, the Navy secretary who is overseeing the process at Guantanamo Bay, told a Pentagon news conference Friday that he chose James McGarrah, a rear admiral in the Navy Reserve, to be the “convening authority” who will select the panel members, whom he called a “neutral party.”

Moscow

American editor of Russian Forbes edition shot to death

The American editor of Forbes Magazine’s Russian edition and author of a book about tycoon Boris Berezovsky was shot to death late Friday, the magazine said.

Paul Klebnikov, 41, was hit four times outside the magazine’s office and died in a rescue-squad vehicle, Russian news reports said. The radio station Ekho Moskvy said shells of two different caliber were found, indicating at least two assailants.

Police could not be reached for comment, but the killing was confirmed in a statement by Forbes publisher Steve Forbes.

New Jersey

Gay couples may register as domestic partners

When the South Orange clerk’s office opened at 12:01 a.m. today to register couples under the state’s new domestic partner law, Marty Finkle and Mike Plake planned to be first in line.

The law, signed by Gov. James E. McGreevey in January, allows gay partners to make medical decisions for each other and file joint state tax returns. It does not, however, legalize gay marriage and offers far fewer rights than those given to heterosexual married couples.

“This is the next step on our way to full recognition of marriage rights,” said Finkle, who fought for the law.

New Jersey is the fifth state in the nation to officially recognize same-sex couples. Domestic partner benefits have been granted in California and Hawaii. Vermont has approved civil unions and Massachusetts recently legalized same-sex marriage.

Egypt

Entire cabinet resigns; new prime minister appointed

President Hosni Mubarak’s cabinet resigned Friday, and the longtime leader appointed a relative outsider as prime minister, further consolidating his power at a time of growing calls for political, social and economic change.

State-run television broke into its regular programming to report that Mubarak named Ahmed Nazief, the 52-year-old former state minister for communications and information, to replace Egypt’s prime minister of the past four years, Atef Obeid.

The resignations of Obeid and 32 ministers were announced after an emergency cabinet meeting late Friday, marking the first cabinet reshuffle since July 2002.