Wilner, et al. v. National Security Agency, et al., US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, December 30, 2009 . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here. Latest commentary available here. JURIST has more on the Freedom of Information Act.

The French Constitutional Council rejected a tax on carbon emissions Tuesday, stating there were too many exemptions for polluters in the plan. The tax, set to go into effect on January 1, 2010, was part of the 2010 Finance Act and was intended to reduce carbon emissions in order to slow climate change and to [...]

Bryan v. McPherson, et al., Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, December 29, 2009 . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here. Latest commentary available here.

South Korean officials announced Monday that President Lee Myung-bak plans to pardon former Samsung Chairman and CEO Kun-Hee Lee on tax fraud charges he was convicted of in 2008. Lee had faced a suspended three-year prison term after an additional breach of trust conviction against him was vacated . The already lenient sentence given to [...]

The state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) confirmed Tuesday that police have detained a US citizen for illegally entering North Korea. The KCNA did not disclose the identity of the individual, but it is suspected to be US-Korean rights activist Robert Park. A spokesperson for Pax Koreana, a rights group associated with Park, said that [...]

British national Akmal Shaikh was executed Tuesday by the Chinese government after being convicted of bringing almost nine pounds of heroin into the country. Following Shaikh's 2007 arrest and November 2008 death sentence, rights groups have urged the Chinese government not to carry out the punishment , arguing that Shaik suffers from mental illness. British [...]

Afghan president Hamid Karzai on Tuesday appointed a delegation to begin an investigation of ten civilian deaths, including eight schoolchildren, that are thought to have occurred during a raid by international forces in Kunar province. The raid in the Narang district occurred on December 26th, and allegedly involved NATO forces , though their involvement has [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled Tuesday that police must face an "immediate threat" from an offender before using a taser gun to subdue them. Sacramento County police officer Brian McPherson had shot Carl Bryan with a taser gun during a traffic stop causing him to fall face-first on the asphalt, [...]

A Vietnamese court on Monday sentenced pro-democracy dissident Tran Anh Kim to five and a half years in prison for subversion under Article 79 of the Vietnamese penal code. During a four-hour trial Kim admitted being to member of the banned groups Democracy Party of Vietnam and Bloc 8406 . He could have faced the [...]

US President Barack Obama on Monday announced steps the federal government is taking to address air travel security following the Friday attempt by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab to detonate an explosive device on Northwest Airlines Flight 253. He said that as soon as the attempted attack was discovered, officials increased screening requirements and increased the number [...]