[JURIST] AP is reporting that in its Monday session in Beijing China's National People's Congress has approved an anti-secession law authorizing the use of "non-peaceful means" against Taiwan as a last resort in reunification.

9:02 PM ET - China's Xinhua news agency now has more and has posted the full text of the anti-secession law in English as well as the Presidential order promulgating it immediately. The most controversial clause of the new legislation is Article 8:

In the event that the "Taiwan independence" secessionist forces should act under any name or by any means to cause the fact of Taiwan's secession from China, or that major incidents entailing Taiwan's secession from China should occur, orthat possibilities for a peaceful reunification should be completely exhausted, the state shall employ non-peaceful means and other necessary measures to protect China's sovereignty and territorial integrity. The State Council and the Central Military Commission shall decide on and execute the non-peaceful means and other necessary measures as provided for in the preceding paragraph and shall promptly report to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress.

[JURIST] US District Judge Rosemary M. Collyer [official profile] late Saturday blocked out-of-country transfers of 13 Yemeni detainees held by the US at Guantanamo Bay pending a hearing on their lawyers' request for 30-days notice to allow investigation of whether they might face torture or indefinite detention in their home countries. The lawyers filed their action after learning earlier this week that the US planned to transfer large numbers of Guantanamo prisoners abroad [JURIST report] to foreign facilities where they might be endangered and would not be able to challenge their detentions in US federal court. Additional actions have already been filed by lawyers for other Guantanamo prisoners and still more are expected to be filed Sunday. The New York Times has additional coverage of the story. Also Saturday, the Defense Department announced it had transferred three Guantanamo detainees to Afghanistan, Maldives and Pakistan for release after Combatant Status Review Tribunals [DOD backgrounder] found them to have been improperly classified as "enemy combatants." Read the full DOD press release.

[JURIST] The Spanish Interior Ministry [official website in Spanish] said Saturday that it had arrested some 41 people, including seven lawyers, for money laundering of some $337 million that may have involved funds from troubled Russian oil company Yukos [corporate website; JURIST Hot Topic news archive]. The international money laundering operation is the largest ever discovered in Spain; the Yukos money appears to have come from Russia via the Netherlands. Bloomberg has more. From Madrid, El Mundo provides local coverage in Spanish.