Weekday News Wrap: Friday, January 4, 2013

04 Jan Weekday News Wrap: Friday, January 4, 2013

• A “senior Al-Qaeda figure” was killed in Yemen via a US drone strike yesterday, along with two others.
• For more on the SDNY’s decision granting summary judgement to the US government about the FOIA suit we covered yesterday, Bloomberg covers it here, Politico has a story here, the ACLU has a press release here, the New York Times has a story here and an op-ed here, the Washington Post weighs in here.
• A Pakistani man accused by British authorities of being an al Qaeda operative was extradited from Britain to the United States to face terrorism charges.
• The Volokh Conspiracy has a post about the International Criminal Court and Palestine in light of the recent UN General Assembly resolution granting Palestine upgraded observer state status.
• The US Justice Department reached a $1.4bn settlement with Transocean Ltd., the owner of the drilling rig that sank after an explosion killed 11 workers and spawned the massive 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
• Argentina has reasserted its claim over the Malvinas Islands, also known as the Falkland Islands, and urged Great Britain to relinquish its control over them in a letter from President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner.
• Life imitating art? “Green Card” actor Gerard Depardieu has been granted Russian citizenship so he can escape the 75% super-tax on the rich in his native France.
• Iran’s top nuclear negotiator has agreed to hold talks with the six powers later this month, an exact date and place are yet to be determined.

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