A federal judge has given preliminary approval to a $3.2 billion settlement agreement between Tyco International , Tyco's former auditor PricewaterhouseCoopers , and investors who were harmed by fraudulent accounting practices orchestrated by Tyco's former top executives. Judge Paul Barbadoro, however, said Friday that he will scrutinize the allocation of the settlement funds based on [...]
Bangladeshi authorities arrested former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wazed following a raid on her home Monday, accusing Hasina of extorting approximately $1.16 million from two businessmen. Hasina is also accused of involvement in the political assassination of four rivals during her tenure in office from 1996 to 2001. Hasina has denied the allegations, and supporters [...]
Peruvian Extradition Unit Chief Omar Chehade on Sunday criticized a Chilean court ruling denying a Peruvian request for the extradition of former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori , characterizing it as slanted and partial decision. Chehade also indicated that Peruvian officials may travel to Chile to discuss Peru's appeal of the extradition denial with judges on [...]
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles confirmed Sunday that it has reached a $660 million settlement with 552 plaintiffs in multiple outstanding clergy sexual abuse lawsuits against its priests. The settlement, which still must be approved by a judge, is the largest so far announced in the US clergy sex abuse scandal in the [...]
A controversial new anti-terrorism law took effect in the Philippines Sunday despite the objections of local Roman Catholic bishops , opposition politicians, and activists who mounted small protests across the country marking the occasion. The Human Security Act 2007 , signed in March, authorizes the 72-hour detention of suspects without charge and allows for surveillance, [...]
Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Barham Saleh announced Saturday that Ali Hassan al-Majid, often called "Chemical Ali", will be hanged in the Kurdish town of Halabja where a notorious 1988 gas attack by Saddam Hussein's forces during the 1988 "Anfal campaign" led to the deaths of over 5000 Kurds, many of them children. In late June, [...]
JURIST Contributing Editor Ali Khan of Washburn University School of Law says that Pakistan's Supreme Court should resolve the legal dispute between suspended Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and President Pervez Musharraf by delivering a bold ruling in favor of judicial independence… Professional consensus, Islamic traditions, and the Constitution all favor a bold decision by [...]
Russian President Vladimir Putin formally suspended Russia's participation in the Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) Treaty Saturday, signing a presidential decree prohibiting NATO inspection and verification at Russian military facilities as well as ending conventional weapons limitations. Russia said the step was necessary due to "extraordinary circumstances," a reference to US plans to locate [...]
A group of six Democratic senators sent a letter to the US State Department Friday, urging Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to take more steps to ensure that detainees transferred out of Guantanamo Bay will not be subjected to torture. The letter, signed by Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Edward Kennedy (D-MA), Barack Obama (D-IL), Patrick [...]
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Friday announced the proposed launch of two oversight offices dedicated to reviewing the DOJ's National Security Division and the FBI's compliance with privacy laws, saying that the new offices will expand the scope of its oversight beyond the DOJ's "traditional oversight role" [...]
