The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed fraud charges Tuesday against General Electric Co. (GE) , resulting in GE agreeing to pay a $50 million settlement . The SEC accused GE of misleading investors in 2003 and 2003 by reporting false and misleading information in its financial statements. GE accounting executives allegedly approved accounting [...]

The Moscow Military District Court on Wednesday began the retrial of three men acquitted of involvement in the 2006 shooting death of journalist Anna Politkovskaya . The Russian Supreme Court ordered the retrial of Sergei Khadzhikurbanov, Dzhabrail Makhmudov, and Ibragim Makhmudov in June after prosecutors argued the trial judge made procedural errors. As Wednesday's trial [...]

A special panel of federal judges on Tuesday ordered California to reduce its prison population by nearly 43,000 inmates, finding that the prisons are overcrowded. Two inmates had brought a challenge against the state's prison system, alleging that the overcrowding had resulted in a failure to provide adequate physical and mental health care, depriving them [...]

The US Senate on Tuesday began debate on the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to the US Supreme Court. While it is believed that Sotomayor will be confirmed to replace retiring Justice David Souter , Senate Republicans renewed their objections to Sotomayor prior to the beginning of the debate. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) called [...]

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il on Tuesday pardoned US journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee during a visit from former US president Bill Clinton , according to a state media report. The journalists were arrested in March for allegedly crossing into North Korea while reporting on North Korean defectors for Current TV and were subsequently [...]

Coleman, et al. v. Schwarzenegger, Special Panel of Judges of the US District Courts for the Eastern District of California and the Northern District of California, August 4, 2009 . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here. Latest commentary available here.

The UK Parliament Joint Committee on Human Rights released a report Tuesday calling for an independent inquiry into allegations regarding government complicity in the torture of UK terrorism suspects in Pakistan and elsewhere. Maintaining that complicity in torture is a violation of international human rights obligations, the committee examined how complicity can be defined and [...]

Niger held a referendum Tuesday on a proposed constitution that would allow President Mamadou Tandja to remain in office. Tandja had previously promised to step down when his second five-year term expires in December, but if the new constitution is approved, he will be allowed to remain in office for three more years and could [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit on Monday upheld a 20-year prison sentence and a 10-year Internet ban imposed on a man convicted of receiving child pornography. Paul Thielemann, who pleaded guilty to one count of receiving child pornography challenged his prison as well as the conditions of his supervised release, which [...]

The Pakistan National Assembly , the lower house of parliament, on Tuesday unanimously approved the Prevention of Domestic Violence Act, 2008 , moving a step closer to outlawing domestic violence in the country. Under the proposed legislation, women, children, and domestic employees would be protected from physical, mental, and sexual assaults. Victims could be relocated, [...]