The US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit Friday ruled that the "cap-and-trade" policy, to be implemented in 2010 by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to regulate electrical power plant mercury emissions, is effectively invalid. The policy would permit power plants whose mercury emissions exceed the regulatory cap to buy "credits" from other power [...]
A French court Friday sentenced Jean-Marie Le Pen , leader of France's far-right National Front party , for making public comments minimizing the World War II Nazi occupation of France. The charges stem from a 2005 interview with the right-wing weekly magazine Rivarol , in which Le Pen said that the occupation was "not particularly [...]
Court-martial proceedings began Friday for US Army sniper Sgt. Evan Vela , charged in connection with the killings of unarmed Iraqi civilians near Iskandariyah. In opening statements, Vela's lawyer said that he was only following a superior's orders and that Vela was sleep-deprived and unable to think clearly on the morning of one of the [...]
The Nebraska Supreme Court Friday ruled that execution by electric chair is "cruel and unusual" punishment and therefore prohibited by the Nebraska constitution . In State v. Mata, an appeal by convicted murderer Raymond Mata Jr. against his 2000 death sentence, the court found that since unconsciousness and death are not instantaneous, many condemned prisoners [...]
Two civil rights organizations filed a complaint Thursday against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in federal district court in San Francisco, alleging that DHS failed to respond to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request regarding department policies on questioning and searching travelers returning to the United States from overseas. The Asian Law Caucus [...]
Thai investigators formally asked state prosecutors Friday to bring new charges against former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his wife Pojamarn Shinawatra for allegedly concealing assets. Pojamarn returned to Thailand from self-imposed exile last month to face corruption and fraud charges. She was arrested upon arriving in Thailand, and was released on bail after [...]
Two new judges, Sheikh Hakim Ali of the Lahore High Court and retired judge Mohammad Farrukh Mahmood, were sworn in to the reconstituted Supreme Court of Pakistan by Chief Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar Friday, bringing the regular membership of the court up to 16. They follow three other judges appointed to the high court in [...]
A Cambodian genocide survivor Friday testified against former Khmer Rouge official Nuon Chea at a pre-trial hearing before the Extraordinary Chambers in the Court of Cambodia (ECCC) , marking the first time that a victim has ever taken the stand against a former Khmer Rouge official. Cambodian-American human rights activist and author Theary Seng testified [...]
French authorities questioned a second "rogue trader" Friday in their investigation into the massive financial losses of French Bank Societe Generale , Le Monde reported Friday. The French newspaper reported that French authorities questioned the undisclosed trader about `his relationship with Jerome Kerviel , who stands accused of "breach of trust," "falsifying and using falsified [...]
A federal judge on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit filed by business groups challenging the Legal Arizona Workers Act , saying that the law does not overstep the federal government's authority to regulate immigration. Civil rights groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund filed the lawsuit in [...]
