US court refuses to hear lawsuit by WWII sex slaves News
US court refuses to hear lawsuit by WWII sex slaves

[JURIST] The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Tuesday rejected a lawsuit [PDF text] against the Japanese government filed by 15 Asian women who claim Japanese soldiers forced them to act as "comfort women" [Wikipedia backgrounder], or sex slaves, during World War II. The court said it is not allowed to hear the case because the Japanese government has "absolute immunity" from defending the suit in the US for legal and political reasons. The lawsuit was filed by women from the Philippines, Taiwan, China, and South Korea, and this is the second time a US court has turned back the case. From Japan, Kyodo News has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Mayflower Compact signed

On November 11, 1620, 41 Pilgrims signed the Mayflower Compact, creating a civil government for Plymouth Colony.

Armistice signed, ending WWI

On November 11, 1918 at 11:00 AM, the Allied Powers signed an armistice with Germany, ending World War I. Armistice Day is marked every year in Europe on the "eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month" with two minutes of silence.

Indictments announced in Lockerbie bombing

On November 11, 1991, prosecutors from the United States and the United Kingdom announced their indictments in the bombing of a passenger airplane over Lockerbie, Scotland. A Scottish court convicted Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi, allegedly a former Libyan intelligence official, of the 270 murders in 2001. Read documents from the Lockerbie bombing trial.