The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has ruled that several contractors responsible for dredging the Mississippi River, which some claim exacerbated damage from Hurricane Katrina , cannot be held liable since the contractors were acting under Congress' express authorization. The plaintiffs' suit claimed that dredging in the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet (MRGO) [...]
The US Supreme Court heard oral arguments Monday in two cases. In Graham County Soil & Water Conservation Dist. v. United States ex rel. Wilson , the Court heard arguments on the scope of the public disclosure jurisdictional bar of the False Claims Act, to determine if the Act allows federal jurisdiction in suits based [...]
The trial of alleged Nazi war criminal John Demjanjuk began in Germany on Monday. It marks the first time a Nazi war crimes trial will focus on a low-ranking foreigner rather than a commander. The Ukrainian-born Demjanjuk faces 27,900 accessory accounts stemming from his alleged involvement as a guard at Sobibor concentration camp. It is [...]
China is considering lifting a 20-year-old ban that keeps foreigners with HIV/AIDS from entering the country, according to a China Daily report Monday. Vice-Minister of Health Huang Jiefu said that he hopes the ban will be lifted before the upcoming Shanghai Expo in May, which is expected to draw four million tourists. China's Ministry of [...]
A judge in India on Monday removed the defense lawyer for Mohammad Ajmal Amir Kasab , the lone surviving suspect of last year's Mumbai terror attacks . Specially appointed judge M.L. Tahiliyani removed defense lawyer Abbas Kazmi after finding that Kazmi lied when he denied being informed of the Special Public Prosecutor's intent to examine [...]
A former judicial official of China's southwest Chongqing Municipality, Wu Xiaoqing, was found dead Saturday while detained and facing charges for taking a large amount of bribes. In a statement to China Daily, the Chongqing Municipal Government said that Wu's cellmates alerted the guards, who found that while hidden from security cameras Wu had committed [...]
The US Supreme Court on Monday granted certiorari in three cases. In Morrison v. National Australia Bank , the Court will consider whether foreign investors are entitled to bring fraud-on-the-market claims under Section 10(b) of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 when the stock purchased was that of a foreign company on a foreign [...]
An Algerian court on Sunday sentenced Guantanamo Bay detainee Ahmed Belbacha to 20 years in prison for being part of an "overseas terrorist group." Belbacha has been cleared for release from the US military prison facility but has said he does not want to return to his home country of Algeria for fear of torture [...]
Former UK attorney general Peter Goldsmith warned former prime minister Tony Blair that the planned invasion of Iraq could be illegal, according to a letter leaked to the Iraq Inquiry , confirmed by the Daily Mail on Sunday. The July 2002 letter laid out the reasons that Goldsmith believed the Iraq invasion might be illegal, [...]
The US Supreme Court on Monday vacated and remanded a decision by the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit that required the Pentagon to release photos of abused detainees in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Court remanded Dept. of Defense v. ACLU for further consideration under Section 565 of the Department of Homeland Security [...]
