Elisa Mari, Pitt Law '10, files from Athens: The term lesbian comes from the Greek name of the Aegean Island of Lesvos. The island, known for its beautiful beaches and unspoiled landscapes, is also famous for being the island of the Ancient Greek female poet Sappho. Many scholars believe that Sappho's work was about the [...]

A Pennsylvania judge has ruled to allow Christian foster parent organization Bair Foundation to proceed with its lawsuit against the well-known law firm Reed Smith , rejecting four preliminary challenges by Reed Smith. The lawsuit alleges that Reed Smith overcharged Bair for representation in an employment discrimination lawsuit, billing Bair almost one million dollars despite [...]

Howard Berman (D-CA), Chairman of the US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee , released a letter obtained by JURIST on Thursday in which he urged the Bush administration to postpone an international nuclear trade deal with India until the country is required to provide permanent security to nuclear facilities and stop nuclear weapons testing. [...]

Sara Burhan Abdullah, Pitt Law LLM '08, files from Sulaimaniya: A recent incident showed me that while the Iraqi Constitution has a great deal of material from which a society based on equality of the sexes can be built, there are significant legal and cultural obstacles to obtaining that goal. I left Iraq to go [...]

Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim on Thursday pleaded not guilty to sodomy charges based on allegations by a former aide. The presiding judge ordered Anwar released on bail, ruling that he was not a flight risk. Anwar has denied the accusations, saying that they are part of a government campaign to to upset his plans [...]

Bill Fisher, Pitt Law '10, files from Croatia: In a place of such amazing beauty, culture, and history, it is heartbreaking to see the remnants of the war and witness just how fresh the wounds still are. Croatia is in a state of change and conflict, both politically and culturally. I came here to learn [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit  on Wednesday ordered  a district court to accept guilty pleas entered by three illegal aliens facing immigration charges. The defendants had entered unconditional guilty pleas to charges that they re-entered the country after having been removed previously, a violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) . [...]

 The Supreme Court of India temporarily reinstated a government ban on the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) on Wednesday, reversing the holding of the Delhi High Court , which had just lifted the ban on Tuesday. The lower court had reasoned that because the government had failed to supply any new evidence of SIMI's involvement in illegal [...]

The Iraqi Parliament has failed to agree on a draft election bill prior to adjourning for the summer on Wednesday. Kurdish legislators have strongly opposed the bill's proposal to establish a provincial council in Kirkuk made up of equal numbers of Kurdish, Arab, and Turkmeni representatives. Kurds constitute the majority in the area, and have [...]

The Constitutional Court of Thailand ruled Tuesday that the law establishing the National Counter Corruption Commission (NCCC) is appropriate under the country's current constitution . Ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his wife Pojamarn Shinawatra had filed a constitutional challenge to the NCCC statue, arguing that the law was an unreasonable violation of their rights [...]