Five suspects in the Costa Concordia cruise ship disaster asked for plea bargains at indictment hearings in Italy on Tuesday, which could leave only the captain Francesco Schettino facing trial. The five include Roberto Ferrarini, the director of ship owner Costa Crociere's crisis unit, and Jacob Rusli Bin, the luxury liner's Indonesian helmsman, as well as three other crew members. Schettino's lawyers also asked for a plea bargain but the request was immediately turned down by the prosecutor's office, leaving only five plea bargain requests before the pre-trial judge.

Britain's decade-long battle to deport radical cleric Abu Qatada had a surprise boost Friday after he vowed to return to Jordan voluntarily if its parliament ratifies a treaty barring the use of evidence obtained by torture. Abu Qatada's lawyer told a bail hearing at an immigration tribunal in London that the Islamist terror suspect was ready to return to Amman as soon as Jordanian lawmakers approve the fair trial pact with Britain.

A prolific people smuggler wanted in Australia on a string of charges, who is suspected of arranging a boat in 2011 which sank killing 200 people on board, faced an extradition hearing in Indonesia on Wednesday. Sayeed Abbas Azad, a 30-year-old Afghan, was jailed in Indonesia -- a transit hub for asylum seekers heading to Australia -- for people smuggling and harbouring foreign nationals after being arrested in 2010.

BOSTON (Reuters) - U.S. prosecutors have agreed that a teenager suspected of lying to FBI agents in the Boston Marathon bombing investigation can be released under strict conditions, according to a court filing on Monday. Prosecutors and the defense team for Robel Phillipos plan to ask U.S. Magistrate Judge Marianne Bowler to grant the 19-year-old suspect a pretrial release under strict conditions. (Reporting by Tim McLaughlin; Editing by Eric Beech)