ICC in Action: International judges sentenced former Liberian President Charles Taylor to 50 years in prison Wednesday, saying he was responsible for "some of the most heinous and brutal crimes recorded in human history" by arming and supporting Sierra Leone rebels in return for "blood diamonds," the Associated Press reports.
Reward: A former home appraiser will receive $14.5 million as part of a whistleblower lawsuit that accused subprime lender Countrywide Financial of inflating appraisals on government-insured loans, his attorneys said Tuesday, according to Reuters.
Patent Wars: High-tech behemoths in a range of businesses like mobile computing and search and social networking have been suing one another to protect their intellectual property from what they see as the blatant copying and cloning by their rivals. Regardless of the legitimacy of their claims, the aggressive litigation could have a devastating effect on society as a whole, short-circuiting innovation, the New York Times reports.
No Child Waiver: The Obama administration granted Maryland and seven other states waivers from the most onerous requirements of No Child Left Behind, the main federal education law, but declined Tuesday to approve similar requests from Virginia and the District, The Washington Post reports.
Family Feud: During his long and controversial career, Samsung Electronics Co. Chairman Lee Kun Hee has transformed his family’s dried-fish and produce company into the world’s biggest maker of TVs and mobile phones, challenging Apple Inc. and Sony Corp. in the process. Now he must contend with lawsuits that his older brother and sister are waging in an attempt to win a slice of the family wealth, Bloomberg reports.
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