Police arrested four suspects before dawn Wednesday morning in Birmingham, England, while searching for men wanted in last week's failed London bomb attacks . Reports from local media indicate that one of the men, subdued with a stun gun by police, was a suspected bomber, although police would not confirm a BBC report that the [...]

After sending a draft back to lawmakers for reconsideration earlier this month, King Mswati III of Swaziland has signed a new constitution for the sub-Saharan African nation amid concerns that it is undemocratic and designed to maintain the monarch's political power over the country. Copies of the finalized charter constitution were not released to journalists, [...]

As briefly noted yesterday in JURIST's Corporations and securities brief, WorldCom ex-CFO Scott Sullivan and two other executives have reached civil settlements over their roles in WorldCom's disastrous accounting fraud that bankrupted the company. Sullivan – who famously testified against recently-convicted WorldCom founder Bernard Ebbers – and the executives David Myers and Buford Yates plead [...]

In an interview with the Associated Press reported Tuesday, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said he would reconsider his predecessor John Ashcroft's policies on public access to government information. In October 2001 Ashcroft tightened existing policies on information requests, requiring federal agencies to carefully consider national security, law enforcement concerns, and personal privacy before releasing information [...]

US lawmakers trying to block a Chinese takeover bid for US oil firm Unocal prior to an crucial shareholders' vote next month have added an amendment to an energy bill that would push back by more than four months the start of a US government review of the bid by China National Offshore Oil Corp. [...]

A new draft of the Iraqi constitution published Tuesday in Baghdad's Al-Sabah newspaper declares "Islam is the official religion of the state and is the main source of legislation," raising the concern of US authorities , especially regarding the future of women's rights . The draft, which follows earlier unpublished drafts circulating in media reports [...]

US Senators approved a provision Tuesday which permits US military bases to continue holding Boy Scouts events. The 98-0 vote was a tag-on to a larger bill outlining the Defense Department's policy for 2005. The provision was sponsored by former Boy Scout Senator Bill Frist who said its support was necessary in order to diffuse [...]

A Senate floor debate began Tuesday to discuss a proposed Gun Liability Law that would prevent lawsuits against gun manufacturers, dealers and trade associations when crimes or accidents involving firearms occur. Republican Senator Jeff Sessions said the legislation would stop "unjust lawsuits" intended to "drive gun manufacturers out of business." Democrats have voiced their opposition [...]

US Supreme Court nominee John Roberts wrote an opinion Tuesday, dismissing a class-action suit brought by firefighters and federal law enforcement officers who sought increased disability benefits upon retirement. The retirees were hoping to gain higher benefits before meeting the threshold requirements of reaching the retirement age of 50 and serving for over 20 years. [...]

A Mexican court Tuesday refused to issue a warrant for the arrest of former Mexican president Luis Echeverria for his alleged involvement in the 1971 "Corpus Christi massacre," leading to the deaths of nearly a dozen student protesters. The current president of Mexico, Vicente Fox , had called for an investigation into the massacre and [...]