President Bush on Monday urged Congress to re-authorize the USA Patriot Act, the widely-criticized legislation passed in the wake of September 11. "We must not allow the passage of time or the illusion of safety to weaken our resolve in this new war," said Bush while attending the formal swearing-in ceremony of new Attorney General [...]

Apple Computer and Sony will appear in a French court over claims that their respective music download sites, iTunes and Connect, are deceptive and force customers to buy other products which are tied together. The French consumer group Union Federale des Consommateurs–Que Choisir has initiated the lawsuits, and claims that Sony and Apple limit consumer [...]

Israeli Internal Security Minister Gideon Ezra has told the Jerusalem Post that he is in favor of placing certain radicals opposed to Prime Minister Sharon's plan to pull out of the Gaza Strip in administrative detention, i.e hold them without trial . Israel has so far only used this measure for Palestinian militants. Ezra cited [...]

Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm backed off her earlier support for displaying the Ten Commandments in the state Capitol, and said on Monday that she now believes such a display would be unconstitutional. On Friday, the governor had said she did not object to such a display. "I know that will make some people mad. But [...]

Leading Monday's corporations and securities law news, insurance giant American International Group (AIG) announced it has received subpoenas from New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer and the SEC "relating to investigations of nontraditional insurance products and certain assumed reinsurance transactions and AIG's accounting for such transactions." AIG said it will cooperate with the probe. Spitzer, [...]

Amnesty International has issued a Valentine's Day warning that "conflict diamonds," gems whose sale finances war, terrorism, and human rights abuses, are still being imported into the US due to loopholes in Customs procedures. The 2003 Clean Diamond Trade Act prohibits most imports that do not comply with the Kimberly Process Certification Scheme, but Amnesty [...]

The Pentagon announced on Monday that it is investigating eight additional Air Force contracts to determine if they were a product of illegal influence or manipulation by Darleen Druyun. Druyun, a former Air Force official, was convicted last year of giving preferential treatment to Boeing on a tanker lease deal. After leaving the Air Force, [...]

British legal experts on the BBC news program Panorama have warned that a civil marriage between Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles might not be allowed under existing legislation. The 1836 Marriage Act, which permitted marriages outside the church, contained an exemption for the royal family. Experts are divided on whether the 1949 Marriage Act, [...]

Alleging negligence over their failure to provide warning of the impending disaster, Austrian and German victims of the December tsunami in Asia will file suit in the US against the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) in Washington and the tsunami warning center in Hawaii, a lawyer for the group said Monday. A yet-to-be announced [...]

The Council of Europe , the continent's top human rights watchdog, has rejected overtures by Moscow to stop monitoring Russian compliance with the Council's code of ethics, citing the nation's continued lack of respect for human rights. COE Secretary General Terry Davis, beginning a three-day visit to Russia Monday , said in particular that Russia [...]