A Seoul court ruled Thursday that cancer patients suing South Korean tobacco firm Korea Tobacco and Ginseng Co. (KTG) do not have enough evidence to link their diseases to negligence on the part of the companies. The court conceded the link between smoking and the plaintiffs' illnesses, but said that there was insufficient evidence to [...]
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UK Prime Minister Tony Blair said Thursday that the increasingly-controversial issue of whether Catholic adoption agencies would have to permit adoptions by same-sex couples under new equality regulations will be decided in cabinet next week. The rules would ostensibly prohibit discrimination against same-sex couples wishing to exercise their new right to adopt children , but [...]
A North Carolina state judge on Thursday issued an injunction blocking two executions until Gov. Mike Easley issues new procedures to execute capital defendants without the presence of doctors. The new execution protocol is required after the North Carolina Medical Board last week changed their capital punishment policy , taking the position that "physician participation [...]
US Army Pfc. Corey R. Clagett pleaded guilty during his court-martial on Thursday to charges of murder, attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder and conspiracy to obstruct justice, relating to the killing of several Iraqi detainees after a May 9 2006 raid in Thar Thar, a town near Samarra, in Iraq's Salahuddin province. The soldiers, [...]
US District Court Judge Melinda Harmon on Wednesday granted a motion to dismiss seven defendants from the Enron shareholder derivative lawsuit , scheduled to go to trial in April. The lead plaintiff in the case, the University of California Board of Regents, has already negotiated settlements with Lehman Brothers, Bank of America, Citigroup, JP Morgan [...]
Giovanni Di Stefano : "In the first proper legal ruling of the Iraqi High Tribunal the Court has decided to adjourn the case of my client Taha Ramadan not only based upon the submissions filed but because as a matter of law no defence lawyer had 'legally' been notified of the hearing. Under normal circumstances [...]
Italian police Chief Superintendent Chiara Giacomantonio said Wednesday that a four month-long investigation has turned up nearly 2,000 suspects believed to be involved in human trafficking in Italy. According to police, most of the human trafficking involved both minors and adults who were forced into sweatshops and prostitution. Giacomantonio also stated that most of those [...]
Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul has called for change to the controversial Article 301 of Turkey's penal code, which makes "insulting the Turkish identity" a crime. Gul, who last December conceded that the law could be changed if necessary to protect Turkey's reputation, admitted Wednesday that the law in its current state causes problems. On [...]
Oksana Chelysheva : "On 23 January 2007 the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation upheld the decision of the Regional Court of the Russian Federation to liquidate our organization, the Russian-Chechen Friendship Society. We were originally ordered to close down in October last year on the basis of a new NGO and anti-extremism law that [...]
A parliamentary committee of the Israeli Knesset voted 13-11 Thursday to grant the request of Israeli President Moshe Katsav for a three-month temporary suspension. The Knesset vote preserves Katsav's immunity even though he faces possible charges of rape, sexual harassment, abuse of power and obstruction of justice since he was granted a leave rather than [...]
