German engineer Gotthard Lerch went on trial in Mannheim, Germany, Friday on charges that he aided Libya’s abortive efforts to build a nuclear bomb. Lerch is widely known as a member of a clandestine network led by A.Q. Kahn , which investigators believe supplied Iran and North Korea with nuclear capabilities. Khan, the father of [...]

Narrowing a controversial Tuesday order , US District Judge Leonie Brinkema has ruled that the US government will remain precluded from introducing aviation evidence tainted by TSA attorney Carla Martin in its case against would-be hijacker Zacarias Moussaoui but will be allowed to introduce new untainted aviation evidence along the lines of an alternate remedy [...]

The French government on Friday condemned violent protests against the recently passed First Employment Contract (CPE) labor law. A group of student and union demonstrators clashed with French authorities around the Sorbonne University in Paris Thursday, where 187 protesters were detained for setting minor fires, overturning cars in the street, and throwing objects at police, [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit on Friday ruled 2-1 in a three-judge panel decision that Tennessee can offer a pro-life specialty license plate even though it does not offer a pro-choice license plate to state drivers. The lawsuit, filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee on behalf of Planned [...]

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is making slow progress in its efforts to set up a regional human rights watchdog, officials from the organization announced Friday. Representatives from the four member countries suggesting the establishment of the institution, the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia, met and discussed potential cooperation on issues including migrant [...]

China's practice of "internet management" continued Friday with a 10-year sentence for Ren Ziyaun, a teacher found guilty of "subversion of state power" after posting "The Road to Democracy" and other essays on the Internet. According to Human Rights in China , the article asserted the right of the people to violently overthrow tyranny . [...]

Leading Friday's environmental law news, the US Environmental Protection Agency has ruled against a petition from the state of North Carolina to force the cleanup of coal-fired power plants in other states that North Carolina argued contribute to its air pollution problems. The petition was based on the "good neighbor" provision (Sec. 126) of the [...]

Provisional findings concerning the death of S. Milosevic, letter from Public Prosecutor's Office, The Hague, to the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, March 17, 2006 . Read the full text of the letter. Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

Liberia has formally asked the Nigerian government to transfer former Liberian President Charles Taylor so that he can face war crimes charges at the Special Court for Sierra Leone . Liberia's transfer request is similar to an extradition request, but Taylor would be turned over to the court for prosecution not to Liberian officials. Taylor [...]

Allen Abney was released from US military custody Thursday evening after his arrest last week for deserting the US Marine Corps in 1968. Abney, now a Canadian citizen, was born in the United States, but grew up in Canada. He joined the Marines in 1968, but fled to Canada after completing basic training in North [...]