Hedge fund manager Och-Ziff Capital Management Group LLC (Och-Ziff) has agreed to pay a $412 million settlement, of which up to $213 million are criminal penalties imposed in connection with a widespread scheme involving the bribery of officials in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Libya—a violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) [...]

The European Commission on Thursday announced that it has sued the United Kingdom (UK) for failure to protect harbor porpoises as ordered by the European Union‘s (EU) Habitats Directive . With the species population dwindling as a byproduct of mass fishing, the Commission awarded harbor porpoises an “unfavorable” designation. This designation required the UK to [...]

Alabama’s Chief Supreme Court Justice Roy Moore was suspended on Friday by the Court of the Judiciary , for violating judicial ethics by ordering state probate judges to ignore a federal court order requiring them to grant marriage licenses to homosexual couples. Moore issued the edict in January, and that edict resulted in his effective [...]

The Kyrgyzstan Supreme Council on Thursday voted in favor of holding a constitutional referendum that would give more power to the country’s prime minister. Should the related parliamentary bill be passed in two more readings, the referendum will be held in December and introduce new constitutional provisions that expand the powers of cabinet and parliamentary [...]

A federal judge on Thursday issued a temporary injunction against Arkansas’ suspension of Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood . Republican Governor Asa Hutchinson terminated the Medicaid funding last year following national controversy ignited by video recordings of Planned Parenthood’s practices. That same year, District Judge Kristine Baker forced the state to provide funding to three [...]

The US Supreme Court on Thursday granted certiorari in eight cases following its September 26 conference. In Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District the court will determine what level of educational benefit school districts must confer on children with disabilities to provide them with the free appropriate public education guaranteed by the Individuals with [...]

The Supreme Court of Nevada ruled Thursday that the funding provision of the state’s Education Saving Account (ESA) program is unconstitutional under the Nevada Constitution . In its opinion the court did not address the merit of the program as a whole, but effectively halted implementation until the financial issue can be resolved. The system [...]

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia has condemned the passage of the 9/11 bill , called the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA) , that would allow the families of 9/11 victims to fie civil suits for damages against the country. Pointing out that US’ own top leaders, including President Barack Obama [...]

The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) on Thursday condemned an airstrike launched by unmanned aerial vehicle that struck a civilian home killing 15 and injuring 13, including one child. The airstrike, apparently targeting Islamic State (IS) militants, was conducted during the early morning hours of Thursday in the eastern district of Achin where civilians [...]

A teen blogger in Singapore was sentenced to six weeks in jail on Thursday for “wounding religious feelings” after he pleaded guilty to posting comments on the Internet criticizing Christianity and Islam. The 17-year-old defendant, Amos Yee, told reporters he thought the sentence was very fair . However, others have criticized the sentence as deterring [...]