A three-judge panel of the Santiago Appeals Court ruled Friday that former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet is physically and mentally fit to stand trial for the alleged murders of brothers Hector and Guido Barria Bassay by agents of his regime in 1973. The ruling contradicts one a month ago by another panel of the appellate [...]

Carhart v. Gonzales, US Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, July 8, 2005 . Excerpt: Because the Act does not contain a health exception, it is unconstitutional. We therefore do not reach the district court's conclusion of the Act imposing an undue burden on a woman's right to have an abortion. Read the full text of [...]

Leading Friday's corporations and securities law news, Big Four accounting firm Deloitte is under investigation by federal regulators. Bloomberg News is reporting that the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board accidentally released a private document to the media alleging that Deloitte's work for Navistar did not comply with established accounting standards. The board was established as [...]

Briefing on the medical treatment of US detainees, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, Steve Jones and Army Surgeon General and Commander US Army Medical Command, Lt. Gen. Kevin C. Kiley, July 7, 2005. Excerpt: The assessment findings include the following: the majority of medical personnel interviewed did not observe any abuse, [...]

Leading Friday's states brief, the Nebraska Supreme Court upheld a lower court decision today that found the state's Department of Natural Resources cannot regulate groundwater unless the legislature confers such authority. Judge John Wright, writing for the majority, stated "The department has no common-law duty to regulate the use of groundwater in order to protect" [...]

G8 leaders from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States and Russia issued a final joint statement on counter-terrorism Friday denouncing once again Thursday's terror attacks in London, and calling on UN members to reach early agreement on a draft of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism . The leaders also [...]

The US has vowed to oppose any attempt to remove politically-beleaguered Philippines President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo , dogged by allegations of election fraud , unless that is done through a constitutional process. US embassy Charge d'Affaires Joseph Mussomeli said in a Philippines radio interview Friday that the US "supports the rule of law" and firmly [...]

The US Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis Friday upheld a Nebraska federal district court ruling in Carhart v. Gonzalez finding the federal Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act unconstitutional because it lacks an exception for the health of the mother. Federal courts in San Francisco and New York have already issued similar rulings [...]

The German Finance Ministry announced Friday it would extend Germany's national terrorism coverage insurance pool for two years past its planned 2005 expiration date. The decision to extend the Extremus Versicherungs AG , enacted in the wake of 9/11, to cover damage to property and business disruption if there were a terrorist attack on Germany, [...]

Three members of Italy's far-left Red Brigades , who were among five people sentenced Wednesday to life in prison for the murder of government economic advisor Marco Biagi, were sentenced Friday to another life term for the murder of Massimo D'Antona , a professor and legal consultant to the Minister of Labour. The murders occurred [...]