Turkish police on Monday detained 19 retired military officers, including four generals, in connection with an alleged 2003 coup plot, before the chief prosecutor intervened. Istanbul Chief Prosecutor Aykut Cengiz Engin stopped police from arresting up to 90 suspects, replacing two lower-level prosecutors. The alleged coup plot, known as the Balyoz Security Operation Plan , [...]
A Paris judge has charged French oil company Total with bribery and complicity in connection with a scandal involving the UN's Iraq Oil-for-Food program , the company's lawyer confirmed Tuesday. Total announced the court's decision in its annual report last week but maintained that the company followed UN policy and acted lawfully . Total CEO [...]
Former Russian oil executive Mikhail Khodorkovsky on Tuesday took the stand at his trial and called for the case against him to be dismissed for lack of evidence. Khodorkovsky and his business partner Platon Lebedev are charged with embezzling USD $25 billion worth of oil produced by their Yukos oil company. Defense lawyers for Khodorkovsky [...]
Two separate court-martial proceedings against former Sri Lankan army chief Sarath Fonseka were adjourned Tuesday. The trials, originally set to resume Tuesday, were postponed due to an ongoing case in the Sri Lankan Court of Appeals , which is examining the legality of the court-martials. Fonseka faces two separate court-martials, charging him with participating in [...]
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) will seek a record civil penalty of $16.375 million against Toyota Motor Corporation for a four-month delay in notifying the agency about a problem with "sticky" gas pedals in various car models, US Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced Monday. The fine, which would become the largest [...]
Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry signed three anti-abortion bills into law Monday. The first bill prohibits abortions performed because of the gender of the fetus. The second bill creates the Freedom of Conscience Act and protects medical employees who refuse to participate in procedures such as abortion based on religious beliefs. The third bill regulates the [...]
Lawyers for an Algerian national detained at Guantanamo Bay on Monday filed an emergency motion in the US District Court for the District of Columbia to block the detainee's transfer to his home country. Petitioner Ahmed Belbacha renewed his request for an administrative stay of a February court order mandating the transfer. The motion alleges [...]
An Egyptian criminal court on Sunday ordered 16 members of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) released on bail , including deputy chairman Mahmoud Ezzat and spokesperson Essam al-Erian. The members of MB, which has been banned in Egypt , were arrested in February and charged with plotting to overthrow the Egyptian government. The MB has called [...]
Australia confirmed Monday that it will accept three Cuban asylum seekers currently held at the Guantanamo Bay Migrations Operation Center. The center, utilized by the US military after the recent Haitian earthquake to house mainly Haitian asylum seekers, is not affiliated with the US detention center at Guantanamo Bay. Upon the announcement, Australian Minister for [...]
The US Customs and Border Protection has arrested 115 Haitians who have crossed the border illegally since the January 12 earthquake , according to Sunday reports. Mark Henry, operations officer for the Border Patrol's Swanton sector , which covers 261 miles of the US-Canada border from New Hampshire through Vermont to New York said that [...]
