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Guatemala trial of Rios Montt has likely collapsed: lawyers

May 21, 2013 21:45
By Mike McDonald GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) - The trial of former Guatemalan dictator Efrain Rios Montt has likely collapsed after the country's top court struck down his conviction for genocide, defense and prosecution lawyers said on Tuesday. Rios Montt was sentenced on May 10 to 80 years in prison for genocide and crimes against humanity, a conviction hailed as a landmark for justice in the Central American nation where as many as 250,000 people were killed in a 1960-1996 civil war.

Duffy expense controversy sent back to closed-door Senate committee

The Canadian PressMay 21, 2013 16:49
OTTAWA - Conservative senators have sent Mike Duffy's controversial improper expenses back to the same closed-door committee that initially reviewed them, rejecting a Liberal bid to have the matter referred directly to the police. Liberal Senate Leader James Cowan argued late Tuesday night that the committee on internal economy had lost credibility with Canadians and the police should take over.

Nova Scotia chief justice slams jury no-shows, reminds public of duty to attend

The Canadian PressMay 21, 2013 15:46
HALIFAX - The chief justice of Nova Scotia's Supreme Court criticized people today who don't attend jury selection at the start of a criminal trial. Chief Justice Joseph Kennedy ordered sheriffs to find and bring before him the 95 prospective jurors who didn't show up at his court. Kennedy said the no shows amounted to 40 per cent of those who were asked to attend. Two other judges in Nova Scotia have recently highlighted the problem by ordering absentee jurors to appear before them and have imposed fines ranging from $50 to $200.

Spain's King Juan Carlos meets with Bill Clinton

Agencia EFEMay 21, 2013 15:45
Madrid, May 21 (EFE).- King Juan Carlos on Tuesday welcomed former U.S. President Bill Clinton to Zarzuela Palace, where the pair discussed the economic outlook for Spain and the European Union. Clinton, who arrived in Madrid on Monday evening, met with Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy before his appointment with the king.

Iran bars candidates for presidential election

May 21, 2013 15:32
By Marcus George DUBAI (Reuters) - Iranian authorities barred two potentially powerful and disruptive candidates from running in next month's presidential election on Tuesday, ensuring a contest largely among hardliners loyal to the clerical supreme leader. Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a veteran companion of the Islamic Republic's founder, a former president and thought potentially sympathetic to reform, was denied a place on the ballot by the Guardian Council of clerics and jurists, state media said.

Iran's Rafsanjani barred from standing for president

Agence France-PresseMay 21, 2013 15:01
Iran's moderate ex-president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and a former government official Esfandiar Rahim Mashaie have been barred from contesting the June 14 presidential election, the interior ministry said Tuesday. Eight candidates won approval to stand -- five conservatives close to supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as well as two moderate conservatives and a reformist, the ministry said in a statement.

Former RCMP Musical Ride member sues, says colleagues dragged her through feces

The Canadian PressMay 21, 2013 13:31
OTTAWA - A Mountie who was once part of the famed Musical Ride is suing the national police force, alleging she was sexually assaulted, harassed, repeatedly doused in cold water and dragged through horse feces by colleagues. In a statement of claim filed in Ontario Superior Court, Staff Sgt. Caroline O'Farrell and her lawyers say the cruel behaviour she suffered in the 1980s left her with post-traumatic stress, led to a marriage breakdown and stunted her prospects with the force.

Guatemala high court overturns ex-strongman's conviction

Agencia EFEMay 21, 2013 13:31
Guatemala City, May 21 (EFE).- Guatemala's Constitutional Court overturned former dictator Efrain Rios Montt's genocide conviction and ordered a partial retrial. Rios Montt was sentenced to 80 years in prison for the deaths of 1,771 Ixil Indians between March 1982 and August 1983 as part of a counter-insurgency campaign. By a vote of 3-2, the Constitutional Court threw out the verdict and the sentence - as well as the acquittal of another defendant - and ordered the trial court to repeat the segment of the process that took place between April 19 and May 10.

Chinese escape Karachi bomb ahead of Premier Li's arrival in Pakistan

May 21, 2013 13:30
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - A roadside bomb exploded near the seafront in Karachi on Tuesday likely targeting a van full of Chinese port workers, police said, a day before Chinese Premier Li Keqiang arrives in the capital, Islamabad. No one was hurt. Karachi, the nuclear-armed country's key port, is home to 18 million people. It typically sees about a dozen murders a day, a combination of political killings, attacks by the Pakistan Taliban and sectarian militant groups, and street crime.

Top Hungary court rejects appeal to block constitution changes

Agence France-PresseMay 21, 2013 13:16
Hungary's constitutional court threw out Tuesday an appeal by the country's parliamentary ombudsman to annul a controversial set of constitutional changes which have drawn ire from the EU. The so-called "fourth amendment" -- which among other things curbs the powers of the constitutional court and reinstates controversial measures its judges had ruled void -- was approved by Hungary's parliament in March and came into force on April 1.
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