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By Will Dunham WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Inspections of two Iraqi-run jails, prompted by the recent discovery of a bunker packed with mistreated prisoners, found overcrowding and signs of prisoner abuse, a senior U.S. commander said on Friday. Iraqi and American inspectors made the new findings at a Baghdad facility on December 20 and one in Tal Afar on Wednesday, a U.S. military official said. The ...

LONDON (Reuters) - The Muslim Association of Britain said on Friday it was sending an envoy to Gaza to try to secure the release of three British hostages. Human rights worker Kate Burton was abducted with her visiting parents on Wednesday in southern Gaza, near the border with Egypt. Ziad Aloul, a member of the Association, will leave for the region early on Saturday unless the hostages have been released, a spokesman for the London-based group said. The Association on Friday condemned the k ...

By Deborah Charles WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department is investigating who disclosed a secret domestic eavesdropping operation approved by President George W. Bush after the September 11 attacks, officials said on Friday. "We are opening an investigation into the unauthorised disclosure of classified materials related to the NSA," an official said on condition of anonymity. Earlier this month, Bush acknowledged the programme and called its disclosure to The New York Times "a s ...

HONOLULU, Hawaii (AP) -- "Lost" stars Michelle Rodriguez and Cynthia Watros were arraigned on charges of drunken driving Thursday, nearly a month after both actresses were arrested in separate cars. Watros, 37, who plays Libby on ABC's hit castaway drama, planned to return to court January 12 to plead guilty, according to her attorney, Lanson Kupau. "She made a mistake. She's very remorseful and she wants to take responsibility for her actions," Kupau said in an interview. "She realizes, unde ...

NEW YORK (CNN) -- A U.S. soldier on leave from the Army was arrested Thursday for allegedly firing into the air and killing a young mother as she looked out her fifth floor apartment window, authorities said. U.S. Army Pvt. Danny Carpio, 23, is accused of randomly firing a gun in Queens late Wednesday. One bullet struck 28-year-old Selina Akthel in the head, killing her instantly, said Kevin Ryan ...

MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin (AP) -- A mob of teens who attacked a 50-year-old motorist, nearly killing him, included at least three reputed gang members who hit him with a bottle, struck him in the face with a ball of ice and jumped off a car onto him, a prosecutor said. The three, two boys age 16 and a third age 14, appeared Thursday in juvenile court and were ordered held while the investigation continues into the Monday night beating of Samuel McClain. Witnesses and other suspects say the three be ...

By Nita Bhalla PORT LOUIS (Reuters) - India will offer overseas citizenship to millions of people of Indian origin, giving them opportunities to own land and property and invest in financial markets, an Indian diplomat said on Friday. India's constitution does not provide for dual nationality, but due to longstanding demands by the Indians in the diaspora, the government has introduced a new 'overseas citizenship of India' (OCI) scheme to accommodate them. Although the scheme is not offering  ...

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Justice Department has opened an investigation regarding the recent leaks about the classified domestic surveillance program run by the National Security Agency. The New York Times was the first to report the story on December 16th and officials confirmed its existence to CNN and other organizations. "The Justice Department has opened an investigation of the unauthorized ...

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - At least five people were killed and 23 wounded when two mortars hit a busy street in central Baghdad on Friday, officials said, the latest in a surge of attacks after a largely peaceful election this month. One mortar hit a coffee shop, killing people as they played dominoes, while the other demolished a car, police said. "These people were just sitting here, what did they do to deserve this?" said a man who gave his name as Hussein, saying he had witnessed the coffee shop ...

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - An American teenager ran away to Baghdad over Christmas and survived probably the most dangerous destination in the world before being packed off home by the U.S. military, U.S. officials said on Friday. Farris Hassan, the 16-year-old son of Iraqi immigrants to Florida, showed up at the Baghdad bureau of an American news agency on Tuesday and recounted a tale of foolhardy daring by a would-be journalist on a far-fetched school project, the Associated Press said in a report o ...