The US Supreme Court issued an order June 1 allowing the government more time to appeal a ruling that mandates release of photos allegedly depicting detainee abuse in Iraq and Afghanistan. The order, issued by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, follows a Justice Department request and grants a 30-day delay, extending the deadline to appeal from June 9 to July 9. Congress is currently considering legislation that would exempt the disclosure of certain photographs under the Freedom of Information Act in cases where the secretary of defense certifies that such disclosure would endanger US personnel. (Jurist, June 1)

Canadian Guantánamo Bay detainee Omar Khadr June 1 asked to have his US military lawyers dismissed for arguing and disagreeing among themselves. The disputes among the members of Khadr's US defense team arose from chief defense counsel Col. Peter Masciola's efforts to dismiss Lt. Cmdr. William Kuebler as lead counsel for Khadr after Kuebler filed a formal complaint against Masciola alleging a conflict of interest.

An AP story in Montana's Billings Gazette June 1 notes that Scott Roeder—the suspect in the slaying of abortion provider Dr. George Tiller, gunned down while serving as an usher during Sunday services at his Lutheran Church in Wichita, Kansas—was a member of the radical right group the Montana Freemen, who gained fame for their long stand-off with law enforcement in the mid '90s. It also notes the two-faced stance of the "legitimate" anti-choice movement in their supposed disavowal of the slaying:

The UN Human Rights Council May 27 dropped a Swiss-EU draft resolution calling for an investigation into possible war crimes during Sri Lanka's recently-concluded war on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and adopted Sri Lanka's counter-resolution. Of the 47-member Council, 29 voted for Sri Lanka's resolution, 12 against and six abstained. UN human rights chief Navi Pillay told the Council there is credible evidence both the armed forces and LTTE grossly violated international law.

Georgian and Ukrainian troops neutralized simulated suicide bombers and a "mock mob" at Vaziani military base near Georgia's capital Tbilisi May 31, rounding up month-long NATO-led military exercises that have angered Russia. Troops from two other members of members of NATO's Partnership for Peace program—Macedonia and Bosnia—also participated. (AP, May 31)

The Obama administration urged the Supreme Court May 29 to reject a petition filed by 14 Chinese Uighurs held at Guantánamo Bay seeking their release. Taking the same stance as the Bush administration, the Obama White House argued in its reply brief that although the Court has the power to order the release of detainees, it cannot order them released into the US. The Uighurs are no longer officially imprisoned, but they cannot leave Guantánamo until the government finds a country willing to accept them.

The United Kingdom's Defense Ministry admitted this week that their pilots in Afghanistan are firing an increasing number of "enhanced blast" thermobaric weapons, designed to kill everyone in buildings they strike. Since the start of the year, more than 20 of the US-designed missiles, which have what is officially described as a "blast fragmentation warhead," have been fired by pilots of British Apache helicopters. A total of 20 were also fired last year.

Three men convicted of involvement in a May 28 bomb attack that killed 25 and injured over 100 at the Amir al-Momenin mosque in Iran's eastern city of Zahedan, Sistan-Baluchistan province, were hanged May 30. The Jundallah militant group claimed responsibility for the blast, with a spokesman confirming the attack to Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya TV. Iranian officials say the attack aimed at provoking disorder before the presidential elections. US State Department Spokesman Ian Kelly denounced the attack and rejected the notion that the White House had a hand in it. (Press TV, Iran, May 30)