A bill due to be considered in the Russian state Duma next week would allow Russian President Vladimir Putin to circumvent the two-term limit on presidents set by the Russian Constitution . The legislative amendment introduced Thursday by United Russia lawmaker Alexander Moskalets would allow Putin to run again if he stepped down before his [...]

Afghanistan began to register voters Saturday for the parliamentary elections scheduled for September 18, a day after UN Special Representative Jean Arnault told the UN Security Council that greater security will be necessary to prevent violence at the polls. The Wolesi Jirga and Provincial Council election has been threatened by the Taliban and regional militants [...]

An Italian judge ruled Saturday that Calisto Tanzi , founder and CEO of Italian dairy and juice company Parmalat , will stand trial in the $18 billion fraud case that caused the company's downfall. Parmalat Finanziaria SpA admitted in 2003 that a $5 billion account with Bank of America was fake, leading investors to lose [...]

A jury found Donald Fell guilty for murder in federal court Friday allowing the jurors to next determine if he should receive the death penalty, which has not been applied in Vermont for nearly 50 years. In November 2000, Fell and his friend kidnapped Terry King in Vermont and killed her in New York, and [...]

An official with Iran's Guardian Council said early Saturday local time that hardline Tehran mayor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had a commanding lead over former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani in the country's run-off presidential election. With roughly 12.9 million of 22 million ballots counted, Ahmadinejad had taken 61% of the vote, thanks largely to widespread support among [...]

Leading Friday's corporations and securities law news, affiliates of both Sprint and Nextel plan legal action relating to the companies' planned merger. In a filing with the SEC today, Nextel Partners , a Washington state company that distributes Nextel services, declared its intention to vote on forcing a stock buy-out by the new company. US [...]

Leading Friday's states brief, Florida Governor Jeb Bush Friday signed legislation overhauling Florida's state growth and development guidelines for the first time in twenty years. The legislation calls for $1.5 billion of state money to be spent on highways, water facilities and classrooms in the next year. Senate bills 360 , 444 , and 362 [...]

Leading Friday's international brief, the special criminal tribunal created by the Sudanese government to begin the process of trying individuals alleged to have committed war crimes in Darfur is reportedly questioning its legal status to try certain individuals in light of the recently opened investigation by the International Criminal Court . Several Sudanese government ministers [...]

Iran state television announced Friday that the Iranian Interior Ministry would extend the polling hours of the country's second presidential runoff election for the fifth time. The voting started at 9 AM local time and was scheduled to end at 7 PM, but has now been extended until 11 PM at the request of many [...]

The World Tribunal on Iraq on Friday accused the US of committing war crimes during the invasion of Iraq and claimed the United States has caused more deaths in Iraq than former dictator Saddam Hussein. The tribunal, a group of NGOs, intellectuals, and legal experts with no binding authority is based on so-called Russell Tribunal [...]