The Australian Government on Wednesday introduced legislation aimed at reinforcing current cybercrime laws and improving Australia’s international cybercrime security. Australian Attorney General Robert McClelland and Minister for Home Affairs and Justice Brendan O’Connor announced that the Cybercrime Legislation Amendment Bill of 2011 aims to provide Australian agencies with better access to international Internet information collections, [...]

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Bahrain’s Lower National Safety Court sentenced 20 activists on Wednesday—eight to life in prison—for anti-government protests conducted earlier this year. The convicted were charged with “plotting to topple the leadership of the Kingdom of Bahrain,” but rights organizations have denied this, stating that all convicted were protesters exercising freedom of speech. The 20 protesters are [...]

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JPMorgan Chase & Co reached a $153.6 million settlement Tuesday for fraud charges brought by the US Securities and Exchange Commissionn(SEC) for allegedly misleading investors during the housing crisis. A settlement was reached when JPMorgan agreed to pay a $133 million fine, in addition to $20.6 million for fraudulent profits and interest. This settlement is [...]

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Syrian President Bashar al-Assad Tuesday granted amnesty for “crimes” committed before June 20 during the protests that began earlier this year, according to a decree published in Syrian state media. Minister of Justice Judge Tayseer Qala Awwad said the decree pardons those serving sentences who are suffering with terminal illnesses except for serious crimes such [...]

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A Chilean appeals court on Monday ordered the temporary suspension of a USD $10 billion hydroelectric dam project in Patagonia. HidroAysen , a private Chilean venture, seeks to build five dams whose construction was approved by the Chilean government in May. The Puerto Montt court approved three petitions challenging government authorization of the dam construction [...]

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Former Croatian prime minister Ivo Sanader on Monday dropped his appeal of a Zagreb extradition request, thereby compelling him to face corruption charges in Croatia. Sanader’s lawyers said that the former prime minister dropped the appeal after media speculation suggesting the appeal process could tarnish Croatian accession to the European Union (EU) . Sanader is [...]

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