Following what appeared to be a puff of white smoke coming from the Sistine Chapel a few minutes ago, bells are now ringing at the Vatican indicating that Roman Catholic cardinals have elected a new pope, as yet unidentified. Observers had suggested that an election in the first days of balloting in the conclave could [...]

A former Argentine naval officer was convicted Tuesday of crimes against humanity by a Spanish court and sentenced to 640 years in prison. Adolfo Scilingo was found guilty of being aboard planes from which 30 people were thrown to their deaths during Argentina's military rule from 1976 to 1983. The trial was the first in [...]

Seventeen Afghan men held at Guantanamo Bay arrived in Afghanistan Tuesday and were being turned over to local officials, the Defense Department announced . The 17 Afghans and one detainee from Turkey all had their enemy combatant status lifted by Combatant Status Review Tribunals which concluded they had been improperly classified. A senior Afghan official [...]

Dura Pharmaceuticals, Inc. v. Broudo, Supreme Court of the United States, April 19, 2005 . Excerpt from the unanimous opinion by Justice Breyer: A private plaintiff who claims securities fraud must prove that the defendant's fraud caused an economic loss. 109 Stat. 747, 15 U. S. C. §78u—4(b)(4). We consider a Ninth Circuit holding that [...]

The US Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that plaintiffs bringing securities fraud claims cannot establish economic loss necessary for such claims by showing that stock prices were inflated at the time of purchase. In Dura Pharmaceuticals, Inc. v. Broudo , 03-932, the Court overturned a Ninth Circuit decision that plaintiffs could simply prove the stock [...]

Leading Tuesday's international brief, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has flagged and implicitly condemned threats from several high-ranking Sudanese officials warning that international personnel in the country may be at greater risk if the International Criminal Court acts against any government officials included on a UN list Annan handed over to the ICC . Annan presented [...]

The Tokyo High Court on Tuesday refused to award compensation to Chinese victims of atrocities during Japan's occupation of the country, as relations between the two countries grew increasingly tense. Ten survivors and relatives of victims of the Nanjing massacre and of Japanese military germ experiments sought about $1 million in compensation and an apology. [...]

Flaws and inadequate computer security at the Internal Revenue Service has left the personal information of millions of taxpayers open to potential theft and illegal access, according to a Government Accountability Office report issued Monday. The report also found that the IRS would be unable to tell if its information databases on tax returns had [...]

JTF-Gitmo Information on Detainees, US Department of Defense, March 4, 2005. Excerpt: The US Government currently maintains custody of approximately 550 enemy combatants in the Global War on Terrorism at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Many of these enemy combatants are highly trained, dangerous members of al-Qaida, its related terrorist networks, and the former Taliban regime. More [...]

Zacarias Moussaoui has notified the government that he will plead guilty to his alleged role in the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks if a judge finds him mentally competent, the Washington Post reported Tuesday . Moussaoui, a French citizen and the only person charged in the US in connection with the Sept. 11 attacks, indicated [...]