A Chilean court has granted bail for former president General Augusto Pinochet, under house arrest at his ranch west of Santiago. Pinochet's house arrest began last week after a Chilean appeals court upheld a lower court order issued after a judge had ruled that Pinochet could stand trial on charges of murder and kidnapping for [...]

The entire 13-member regional election commission for the Iraqi province of Anbar, west of Baghdad in the so-called "Sunni triangle", has resigned and gone into hiding according to a local newspaper. The head of the commission said it was "impossible to hold elections" in the volatile Sunni-dominated region, which includes the flashpoint cities of Fallujah [...]

The Ukrainian Supreme Court Wednesday denied four more appeals of the December 26th presidential election results filed by allies of former prime minister Viktor Yanukovych , citing missed filing dates and improperly formulated complaints as the reasons for the rejection. While it has not been confirmed by the Court itself, Yaroslav Davydovych of the country's [...]

In Monday's corporations and securities law news, the SEC has announced that Southwest Securities Inc., a subsidiary of SWS Group Inc., will pay $10 million to settle charges of market timing of mutual fund shares. Southwest will pay back $2 million and also pay an $8 million civil penalty. Additionally, three managers will pay the [...]

A ban on smoking in enclosed public places took effect in Italy Monday in the latest European legislative move against a recognized public health hazard. As previously reported in JURIST's Paper Chase, Ireland became the first country to implement such a ban in March 2004. Norway followed in June and the British government proposed a [...]

The US Supreme Court began its 2005 calendar Monday by turning down appeals on Florida gay adoption, liability of gun manufacturers, standards for nominating presidential candidates, Worldcom securities fraud, and a host of other issues in some 500 cases. No new petitions for certiorari were granted apart from one summary disposition. Review the Court's full [...]

Trials of Coalition soldiers charged with abusing Iraqi detainees get under way Monday on both sides of the Atlantic. In the US, opening arguments are set to begin at Fort Hood, Texas, in the trial of Spc. Charles Graner Jr., accused of mistreating prisoners at the Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad. Graner's defense lawyer has [...]

CBS News is reporting that CBS has ousted four people – three executives and a producer – for their roles in preparing and reporting a story on President Bush's National Guard service which was based on false documents. The executives have been asked to resign; the producer has been terminated. The dismissals follow the report [...]

An internal probe of the scandal-ridden UN Oil-for-Food Program has concluded that although the program was plagued by mismanagement, especially in the handling of contracts, there was no evidence of corruption on the part of UN officials. The probe was conducted by the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services; its findings, in the form of [...]

Victorious Palestinian presidential candidate Mahmoud Abbas pledged to supporters in Ramallah late Sunday night that he would work towards securing the release of all Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails. Israeli officials, for their part, have already indicated they will free the Palestinian prisoners if Abbas cracks down on Palestinian rocket attacks. As previously reported [...]