The Amsterdam District Court adjourned the trial of right-wing Dutch politician Geert Wilders Monday after a lawyer for Wilders accused a judge of bias. After Wilders, on trial for making inflammatory statements against Islam, said he would not speak at his trial, a judge commented that Wilders seems frequently to avoid discussion of his positions. [...]

The US Supreme Court opened its October 2010 term Monday by hearing oral arguments in Ransom v. MBNA . In this case, the court is considering whether, in calculating a debtor’s “projected disposable income” during the plan period, a bankruptcy court may allow an ownership cost deduction for vehicles only if the debtor is actually [...]

Many African nations are seeing a decline in democratic rights and the rule of law despite making economic advances, according to a survey Monday by the Mo Ibrahim Foundation . The annual Ibrahim Index of African Governance , established in 2007 by Sudanese businessman Mo Ibrahim , assesses 88 indicators, including the overall governance, safety [...]

The Bangkok Criminal Court decided Monday not to drop additional charges against Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout , further delaying his extradition to the US. The court denied US and Thai requests to drop the charges of money laundering and fraud against Bout and will launch new legal proceedings , which will delay his extradition [...]

Two Israeli soldiers were convicted by a military tribunal on Sunday of using a 9-year-old Palestinian boy to search confiscated bags for explosives in during the 2008-2009 Gaza war . The boy described the incident in an affidavit to the advocacy group Defence for Children International and stated that he feared the soldiers would kill [...]

The Afghan government on Sunday began the process of assuming responsibility for the country’s security by disbanding eight Afghan and foreign private security firms and confiscating their weapons and ammunition. The banning of the firms is being conducted in accordance with a decree issued by Afghan President Hamid Karzai in August which called for the [...]

Fijian opposition leader Mahendra Chaudry was arrested by military authorities Friday for allegedly holding public meetings in violation of regulations imposed by the military government of Prime Minister Commodore Josaia Voreqe “Frank” Bainimarama . Chaudry, a former prime minister who lost power in a coup in 2000, is to be brought before the Rakiraki Magistrates [...]

The Ecuadorean government will revise a controversial austerity law following unrest and a suspected coup attempt, government officials announced Saturday. The announcement came after days of unrest , during which protesting police officers fired tear gas at President Rafael Correa , surrounded the hospital at which he was being treated, and trapped him there for [...]

The US Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) convened for the first time on Friday and approved a number of documents related to its duties under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act . The FSOC, which operates within the US Department of Treasury under the direction of US Secretary of the Treasury Timothy [...]

Halliburton Energy Services and several other companies being sued in connection with April’s Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico filed a request on Friday seeking more time to prepare their defense, the AP reports. The motion, filed in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana , seeks to postpone [...]