A federal bankruptcy judge on Friday approved a settlement agreement between US Airways and the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation over nearly $2.7 billion in claims stemming from the airline's Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Under the approved deal, PBGC receives cash, guarantees and an ownership stake in the restructured airline to cover its claims after the airline [...]

The International Atomic Energy Agency released a report Friday that found Iran had resumed previously suspended nuclear activities, raising the possibility that the issue will be referred to the UN Security Council . The report by IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei was critical of Iran's cooperation and transparency regarding its nuclear program and confirmed that [...]

Kenyan Transport Minister Chris Murungaru has asked the UK High Court to review a July UK government decision to ban him from entering the country. British authorities did not announce the reason for the ban, but it has been widely speculated that it was due to Murungaru's links to corruption . He was involved in [...]

A Maryland judge has set trial dates for John Allen Muhammad and John Lee Malvo on charges from six Maryland deaths in the pair's 2002 DC-area sniper shooting spree. Muhammad is scheduled to stand trial May 1, 2006, and Malvo's trial will follow on Oct. 10, 2006. Both face six counts of first-degree murder in [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has withdrawn an order allowing a student to file a response to a rehearing petition by Kamehameha Schools in a lawsuit over the school's admissions policy. The court issued an order last week permitting a non-native Hawaiian to file papers in the school's appeal, but the [...]

The American Civil Liberties Union has announced that it will file a challenge to a recent ban on panhandling in downtown Atlanta. Gerald Weber, legal director for the ACLU of Georgia, said the group plans to sue the city as soon as it found a proper plaintiff for the challenge. The city has said it [...]

Nevada Attorney General Brian Sandoval has challenged a Nuclear Regulatory Commission decision on regulations for the proposed nuclear waste site at Yucca Mountain , adding to a rash of litigation that has stalled the project for years. Sandoval's office on Thursday filed a suit over the NRC's refusal to consider its petition to alter a [...]

Russia on Friday released two former Guantanamo Bay detainees from a Moscow detention center. Airat Vakhitov and Rustam Akhmyarov, who were extradited to Russia by the US in 2004, were arrested earlier this week on suspicion of plotting terror attacks in the Povolzhye region of the country. Vakhitov sued the US in June for alleged [...]

Human rights groups are pressuring the Canadian government to open a new investigation into the role the government played in allegedly allowing a number of Muslim Canadians to be imprisoned and tortured in Syria. Testimony ended Thursday in an inquiry into the detention of Maher Arar , but three rights groups said Friday the process [...]

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour wrapped up an official visit to China Friday, calling for China to release data about its use of capital punishment and urging cooperation with international standards. "It is not appropriate to say: 'We are doing this our own way'" she said, citing optimism for improvement but objecting [...]