Mexican authorities on Thursday detained former Assistant Attorney General Noe Ramirez, one-time head of Mexico's anti-drug operation in the Assistant Attorney General’s Office Specializing in Organized Crime (SIEDO) , accusing him of receiving monthly payments of $450,000 from the Pacifico drug cartel in exchange for confidential information regarding government anti-drug enforcement efforts. Attorney General Eduardo [...]

The Uruguayan Parliament on Thursday failed to override the presidential veto of a bill that would have decriminalized abortion. In the special meeting of the General Assembly, Uruguayan representatives and senators failed to achieve the requisite three-fifths majority in each house to override a veto by President Tabare Vazquez . The bill had passed the [...]

The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) may have withheld information from the US Department of Justice and other agencies regarding a plane carrying a US missionary family shot down over Peru in 2001, according to excerpts released Thursday from a classified report by the CIA Inspector General dated August 25. The plane was shot down by [...]

Sweden's parliament on Thursday approved the European Union (EU) reform charter known as the Treaty of Lisbon by a wide margin. There were 243 votes for, 39 against, and 67 absent or abstaining votes . The vote made Sweden the 24th member of the EU to ratify the measure. The Treaty of Lisbon was signed [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit on Thursday affirmed a district court decision that individuals cannot sue school districts to seek specific enforcement for provisions listed in the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLBA) . The Newark Parents Association brought a lawsuit against the Newark Public Schools (NPS) system alleging that NPS [...]

The California Court of Appeals ruled Thursday that the residency requirements associated with Proposition 83 amount to additional punishment for sex offenders . Proposition 83, or Jessica's Law, prohibits sex offenders from living within 2,000 feet of any school or park where children regularly gather. The court did not intend to challenge the legitimacy of [...]

President of the Global Justice Center Janet Benshoof said Thursday that judges who participated in the trials and convictions of 60 political activists in Myanmar last week are co-conspirators of crimes against humanity and should be referred to the International Criminal Court (ICC) . In a statement, Benshoof explained that the circumstances of the hearings [...]

Private security contractors operating in Iraq will no longer be able to claim immunity from Iraqi laws under the new Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) with the Iraqi government, Bush administration officials said in a briefing for security firms Thursday. US and non-Iraqi contractors had been immune to prosecution under Iraqi law since 2003 under [...]

Russia's State Duma Friday approved amendments to the Russian Constitution that would extend presidential terms from four to six years and terms for Duma members from four to five years. The measure, which passed 392-57, was framed by supporters as a way to provide political stability in light of the country's economic difficulties, but the [...]

US Attorney General Michael Mukasey collapsed Thursday evening during a speech to the Federalist Society . Mukasey was rushed to George Washington University Hospital , where he remained Friday morning . Peter Carr, spokesperson for the US Department of Justice (DOJ) released a statement early Friday, saying: The Attorney General is conscious, conversant and alert. [...]