Paris attacks: France to hold service two weeks after massacre

France is to hold a national memorial service for the 130 people who died in the Paris attacks two weeks ago. Friday's service in central Paris will bring together 1,000 people, including President Francois Hollande as well as survivors and victims' families. A minute's silence will be held and the names of all the victims read out.

Pfizer didn't need an inversion to avoid paying US taxes

Pfizer's declaration that it intends to merge with Allergan and cut taxes by moving its tax home to Dublin from New York City has set off something of a furor. The deal, which may not technically be a tax inversion, functions similarly. President Obama has called inversions unpatriotic, the Treasury has tried to block them, and an array of political and government figures have criticized them. Tax inversions pose a quandary, but by focusing on them too narrowly we might easily overlook an important truth: Companies haven't needed tax inversions to avoid American taxes. They've already got mountains of earnings stored overseas, well over $2 trillion and, quite likely, much, much more. That’s because global tax rules give American multinationals enormous incentives to park their earnings outside the United States even without inversions. What the executives of America's largest companies are doing is entirely rational and often in the interest of their shareholders. But it means that those of us who pay income taxes in the United States are being forced to pick up the slack.

COP21: Public support for tough climate deal 'declines'

Public support for a strong global deal on climate change has declined, according to a poll carried out in 20 countries. Only four now have majorities in favor of their governments setting ambitious targets at a global conference in Paris. In a similar poll before the Copenhagen meeting in 2009, eight countries had majorities favoring tough action. The findings will make sober reading for global political leaders, who will gather in Paris next week for the start of the United Nations climate conference, known as COP21. It's being billed as the best opportunity in six years to achieve a significant advance on tackling rising temperatures.

Black Friday: cyber-thieves 'target Christmas shoppers'

Cyber-thieves are preparing malware and spam campaigns in a bid to catch out retailers and shoppers during the run-up to Christmas, experts say. One gang had updated the sophisticated malware it used to target tills in stores. There had also been an increase in spam and phishing emails crafted to catch out people seeking bargains. And some crime groups had made fake copies of popular shopping apps in a bid to steal payment-card data.

Saudi Arabia 'to execute more than 50 convicted of terrorism'

Amnesty International has expressed alarm at reports that the authorities in Saudi Arabia are planning to execute dozens of people in a single day. The newspaper Okaz said 55 people were awaiting execution for "terrorist crimes", while a now-deleted report by al-Riyadh said 52 would die soon. They are thought to include Shia who took part in anti-government protests. Amnesty said that given the spike in executions this year, it had no option but to take the reports very seriously. The group believes at least 151 people have been put to death in Saudi Arabia so far this year - the highest recorded figure since 1995.

Federal government bargaining to get immigration ruling this term

The Obama Administration on Tuesday volunteered to forego its right to respond to states' filings opposing the new immigration policy in exchange for an expedited process that would have the challenge decided this term. Following a February district court ruling in favor of the states, affirmed by the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, the government appeals to the Supreme Court urging that it lift a stay on President Obama's new immigration policy, the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents program (DAPA). The program, announced by the president in November, 2014, would allow the undocumented alien parents of some American citizens to stay in the US. Twenty-six states challenged the program, based upon, among other concerns, the alleged violation of federalism that would take place were the federal government to grant undocumented immigrants license to reside in, and benefit from, the states. The states have now requested additional time to file briefs in response to the government's appeal. In a letter to the Supreme Court, Solicitor General Donald B. Verrilli, Jr. noted that, in order for the case to be heard by the end of the term in April, the government requests the states be granted no more than eight days, rather than the 30 requested.

Germany violated anti-abortion activist's human rights - ECHR

Germany was wrong to ban an anti-abortion activist from distributing leaflets near a clinic and naming doctors involved on his website, the European Court of Human Rights says. The court ruled that it violated the man's rights to freedom of expression. Klaus Guenter Annen was ordered to stop handing out the leaflets and publishing the names of doctors in 2007. The rise of US-style anti-abortion protests has caused controversy amid claims women feel harassed. Annen said the ruling was a "victory for freedom of expression for all of Europe".

Petrobras scandal: Brazil billionaire Andre Esteves arrested

One of Brazil's richest businessmen and a top senator have been arrested as part of the sweeping corruption probe into state oil giant Petrobras. Andre Esteves was arrested at his home in Rio de Janeiro. Documents were seized both from there and from the bank he heads in Sao Paulo. At the same time, the leader of the governing Workers Party in the Senate, Delcidio Amaral, was also arrested. Both men are accused of obstructing the course of the investigation.

EU air-traveler terror proposal to be widened

The European Union will probably broaden a plan for airlines to give national governments in Europe information on passengers because of heightened terrorism concerns following this month’s attacks in Paris, said a leading EU lawmaker. The draft law covers flights within the EU rather than only air travel to and from the 28-nation bloc. The planned measure relates to the "passenger name record," including seat number, reservation date, payment method and travel itinerary.

BHP rebuts UN 'toxic waste' claim at Brazil dam

Australian mining giant BHP says mud spilled by the devastating collapse of a dam at a Brazilian mine is not toxic. On Thursday the UN said the dam burst at the Samarco mine unleashed a flood equivalent to "20,000 Olympic swimming pools of toxic mud". The incident earlier this month in Minas Gerais state left 13 people dead, devastating several villages. Eleven people are still missing. The noxious river has trailed 500km from the mine into the Atlantic Ocean. The mining giant said in a statement the waste water in the dam, a by-product of iron ore extraction known as tailings, did not pose any threat to humans.

Law firm plunges 50% on 'whiplash' law changes

Australian-listed law firm, Slater & Gordon saw its share price lose over half of its value on Thursday after UK government announced changes to payouts for personal injury claims.

Bar exam passage rates nationwide keep dropping

The last time we checked in on bar passage rates, the results weren’t looking too rosy for law school graduates who took the July 2015 exam. The numbers still seem to be in a downward spiral, most recently demonstrated in California. While the Golden State didn’t see quite as large a drop as some other states, the percentage of first-time test takers who passed the exam fell to 60% from 61.4% a year earlier on the July exam. Among first-timers who attended American Bar Association-accredited schools, the rate dropped about a percentage point to 68%.