The Supreme People's Court of China on Tuesday issued new guidelines for limiting capital punishment in Chinese courts, according to the state-run Xinhua news agency. The guidelines rely on a policy of "justice tempered with mercy" and instruct courts to issue the death penalty only to those who commit "extremely serious" crimes. According to the [...]

The acting head of the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti said Tuesday that while conditions are currently stable, the Haitian people must turn in the thousands of prisoners that escaped when the January 12 earthquake destroyed prisons and jails. Edmond Mulet called upon the residents of Haiti to turn over to authorities the more than [...]

The Office of Immigration Statistics of the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released a report Wednesday estimating that the total number of illegal immigrants living in the US fell to 10.8 million during the year ending in January 2009. The DHS calculates the "unauthorized resident population" by subtracting the number of legal permanent residents, [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled Tuesday that strip searching all incoming inmates does not violate the Fourth Amendment and is necessary to prevent illegal substances from entering prisons. San Francisco Sheriff Michael Hennessey had enacted the policy to strip search new inmates in response the rising amount of drugs and [...]

The England and Wales Court of Appeal on Wednesday ruled that the government must disclose the seven previously withheld paragraphs outlining the alleged torture of former Guantanamo Bay detainee Binyam Mohamed . In rejecting the government's appeal, the court found that, "publication of the redacted paragraphs would not reveal information which would be of interest [...]

An Iranian court sentenced one person to death and eight others to prison on Tuesday for their involvement in protests last December. The men were arrested for participating in protests that interrupted the Shia Muslim celebration of Ashura. The unidentified man sentenced to death becomes the twelfth person to receive capital punishment for involvement in [...]

Nigerian Vice President Goodluck Jonathan will assume the role of president after the parliament voted on Tuesday for him to take over for ailing President Umaru Yar'Adua . Jonathan reluctantly accepted the presidency under the circumstances and asked for the country to pray for Yar'Adua as he continues to battle a heart condition. The parliament's [...]

Former Intel Capital executive Rajiv Goel pleaded guilty to insider trading charges on Monday in connection with the probe surrounding Galleon Group hedge fund founder Raj Rajaratnam and former hedge fund consultant Danielle Chiesi. The US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York alleged that: From 2007 through 2009, Goel and Rajaratnam (who [...]

The International Criminal Court (ICC) will consider a petition from the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) calling for an investigation into recent violence in Jos, Nigeria, according to a response letter sent to SERAP Monday. SERAP lawyer Femi Falana welcomed the ICC's response, saying: This is an important decision; we look forward to the [...]

The Philippine Department of Justice (PDOJ) on Tuesday charged 197 people with murder in connection with the November massacre in the semi-autonomous Maguindanao province that left 57 dead. Among those charged is Andal Ampatuan Sr., a former political ally to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo , head of a Muslim clan, and former governor of Maguindanao province. [...]