The US Supreme Court Wednesday heard arguments on how far First Amendment protection should stretch for government whistleblowers who claim retaliation for their speech. In Garcetti v. Ceballos , an employee in the Los Angeles District Attorney's office claimed he was retaliated against after he testified for the defense in a case in which he [...]

A Kosovo Albanian rebel indicted on war crimes charges was put on trial Wednesday before a special Serbian court, but the trial adjourned immediately after opening. Anton Lekaj, a former member of the Kosovo Liberation Army , is the first ethnic Albanian to go on trial before the Serbian tribunal. Lekaj has been indicted for [...]

Hundreds of demonstrators Wednesday gathered again outside the prison where several men convicted in the 2002 Bali bombings had been held, calling for the execution of the bombers on the third anniversary of the attacks . The surging crowd eventually broke down gates at the Kerobokan prison, although order was quickly restored. The three had [...]

Northwest Airlines asked a federal bankruptcy judge Wednesday to void labor contracts if its employee unions do not agree to concessions worth $1.4 billion a year . The attempted savings are part of the airline's larger plan to reduce costs by $2.5 billion after the fourth-largest US airline filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in September [...]

The EU on Wednesday approved new rules requiring telecommunications companies to retain records of phone and e-mail communications for up to a year to aid in anti-terror efforts in Europe. EU justice ministers approved the requirement over privacy and cost concerns after several years of debate on the issue. The rules oblige phone companies to [...]

A federal judge on Wednesday blocked New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer from investigating national banks' lending practices, which Spitzer believed to be charging minorities higher interest rates on home mortgage loans. US District Judge Sydney H. Stein ruled in favor of the Clearing House Association , an organization that represents federally chartered commercial banks [...]

The US Department of Justice has issued an apology for thefts by US soldiers of valuables belonging to Hungarian Jews found on a Nazi train captured at the close of World War II. The DOJ apologized for the "improper conduct" of some soldiers, who reportedly stole a variety of items from the "Gold Train," which [...]

The former CEO of Refco , one of the largest commodities brokerage firms in the world, was charged with securities fraud Wednesday for an alleged $430 million debt to the company that he hid from investors. Phillip R. Bennett, who was forced out of his position with the company on Monday, is accused of hiding [...]

The trial of 45 Italian police and medical staff accused of unlawful violence against protesters at the 2001 G8 summit in Genoa opened Wednesday. The charges stem from violent clashes between protestors and police outside the summit, resulting in injuries to more than 100 people and one death . Few of the accused were in [...]

AP is reporting that Iraq's parliament speaker has said that the National Assembly has approved a compromise deal on the Iraqi constitution . Under the deal , a commission will be established to consider future amendments to the charter, which would then be voted on by the National Assembly and thereafter submitted to the public [...]