Ali Ahmad Kurd, the newly-elected president of the Pakistan Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), called ousted Pakistan Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry the "constitutional" chief justice of Pakistan Wednesday, and said Chaudhry would "soon be restored" to his former post. Chaudhry was removed from his position as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan [...]
The UN General Assembly (UNGA) on Wednesday adopted by 185-3 a resolution urging the US to lift its longstanding embargo on Cuba . Only the US, Israel, and Palau voted No; Micronesia and the Marshall Islands abstained. This is the seventeenth consecutive year the Assembly has approved such a non-binding measure, with this year registering [...]
The US House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on Wednesday issued a report revealing that top Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials opposed FDA regulations that preempt consumers’ ability to bring tort claims against drug manufacturers. The report said that career FDA officials objected to a 2006 regulation revising the so-called Physician Labeling Rule [...]
Ecuador selected a new temporary Supreme Court on Wednesday via lottery, but the judges picked plan to reject their appointments. The previous Supreme Court was abolished under a new constitution that took effect last week. The temporary court that has now been set up in its place has designated 21 out of 31 former judges [...]
Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Wednesday called for the addition of a clause to the pending US-Iraqi security agreement that would shield detainees from transfer to Iraqi custody in order to avoid risk of torture. The group wants a provision that would allow prisoners a "legitimate chance" to contest their transfer, along with provisions that [...]
Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman announced Wednesday he is calling a special session of the state legislature on November 14 to amend Nebraska's so-called 'safe haven' law . The law, which went into effect in July, was intended to protect infants and prohibits prosecution of parents when a child is left in a licensed hospital. Under [...]
Ontario Superior Court Justice Douglas Rutherford Wednesday convicted Ottawa software developer Mohammed Momin Khawaja on seven counts related to an alleged plot to bomb targets in the UK. Khawaja was specifically accused of designing a remote detonator and providing other support to a group that was last year convicted of planning to detonate a large [...]
An Indonesian court on Wednesday sentenced former Bank Indonesia (BI) chief Burhanuddin Abdullah to five years in prison on corruption charges for knowingly approving the misappropriation of $10 million of the central bank's funds. Governor of BI from May 2003 until May 2008, Abdullah was arrested in April following an investigation by Indonesia's Corruption Eradication [...]
A criminal court sitting in Damascus Wednesday sentenced twelve dissidents accused of inciting sectarian strife to two and a half years in prison, according to the National Organization for Human Rights in Syria . The convicted were all leaders of the pro-democracy Damascus Declaration for Democratic National Change (DDDNC) group. They were found guilty on [...]
An Australian state court Wednesday sentenced suspected terrorist Joseph "Jack" Thomas to nine months in prison for possessing a falsified passport. Justice Elizabeth Curtain of the Supreme Court of Victoria released Thomas in consideration for his time served in prison, the prolonged delay in his prosecution, and his lack of prior convictions. Thomas, known in [...]
