South Korea’s Top Prosecutor Sees Progress on Grand Juries

Posted June 15th, 2011 at 12:20 am (UTC-5)
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South Korea's prosecutor general says it will likely be two to three more years before a grand jury system is introduced in the country.

Kim Joon-Gyu told a small group of foreign correspondents “it takes time,” during a mostly off-the-record session at a Seoul hotel on Wednesday.

Kim has been pushing for the widespread introduction of grand juries in South Korea, where the power to indict individuals is primarily in the hands of prosecutors.

Legal authorities say they are waiting for approval by the National Assembly to implement the system.

Kim went public with his advocacy of the grand jury system one year ago following a bribery and sex scandal involving about 100 current and former prosecutors in Busan.

South Korea has already introduced a public jury system, but the verdicts of the citizen committees, usually composed of nine people, are not legally binding. Kim defended that system, saying that in practice, prosecutors are following their recommendations.

Grand juries, in U.S. federal courts, comprise between 16 and 23 citizens. Prosecutors present evidence to the juries, which must decide whether the evidence is sufficient for a case to go to trial.

The United States is one of the few legal systems utilizing a grand jury system, which originated in the 12th century in England.

Kim met with foreign correspondents ahead of two significant international conferences in the South Korean capital. From June 26 to 29, Seoul hosts the annual meeting of the International Association of Prosecutors and from June 29 to July 2, the World Summit of Prosecutors General, Attorneys General and Chief Prosecutors. Kim is vice president of the first group.

Study: Britain Corruption on the Rise

Posted June 15th, 2011 at 12:05 am (UTC-5)
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An international monitoring group says institutional corruption in Britain is a growing threat and government responses to combat the problem are inadequate.

Transparency International's two-year study finds British political parties, prisons, parliament, and professional sports are areas most susceptible to corruption. The group cites political bribery, prison smuggling, and match-fixing as particular concerns.

While over a dozen government agencies and departments in Britain are tasked with fighting corruption, the study claims the overall response is uncoordinated and complacent.

US Official: US Wants to Avoid Mistakes With North Korea

Posted June 14th, 2011 at 10:35 pm (UTC-5)
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A top U.S. diplomat says the United States is prepared to resume talks with North Korea, but it wants to avoid the mistakes made in previous negotiations with the communist nation.

Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg told Foreign Policy magazine in an interview published Tuesday that no policy is the right policy forever. On North Korea, he said that the U.S. government's basic conviction has been a preparedness to engage in negotiations, but also a desire to avoid the mistakes of the past.

Steinberg is the second-ranking official in the State Department and has been involved in planning major U.S. policies in Asia and elsewhere. He is scheduled to leave the post next month.

In the interview, Steinberg stressed the importance of listening to various points of view and engaging with people outside of government. He gave Secretary of State Hillary Clinton credit for listening to different perspectives on almost every major policy.

Steinberg also said the departure of any expert from the government does not signal a major change in policy. He said policy ultimately comes from the top leaders such as President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton, and that they have dealt with Asian issues for two-and-a-half years in their current positions.

North Korea has abandoned six-nation talks on dismantling its nuclear weapons programs in exchange for aid and energy. Since the last round of talks in December 2009 in China, North Korea has conducted a series of missile tests and a nuclear test. In the past year it also carried out two military attacks on South Korea, which killed 50 people.

In recent months Pyongyang has signaled a desire to return to the disarmament talks. But the international community has asked for proof that Pyongyang's intent is serious.

China, North Korea's closest ally and a party in six-nation talks, has repeatedly called for a resumption of the stalled negotiations.

Syria Widens Crackdown in North and East

Posted June 14th, 2011 at 9:50 pm (UTC-5)
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Syrian security forces have expanded their deployment to strategic regions in the north and east of the country in an attempt to crush the popular uprising against authoritarian President Bashar al-Assad.

Activists and residents said Tuesday that tanks and armored vehicles had deployed to the eastern cities of Deir al-Zour and al-Boukamal, a region near the Iraqi border dominated by tribal clans.

Almost daily protests have taken place in Deir al-Zour, and clashes have broken out in al-Boukamal. The area borders Iraq's Sunni heartland and the two sides are linked by numerous family ties and trade routes.

In the north, thousands of civilians fled the town of Maaret al-Numan Tuesday as elite troops loyal to Mr. Assad advanced on the city.

Over the past few days, security forces have arrested hundreds of people following sweeps through nearby Jisr al-Shughour and surrounding villages, after the government accused “armed groups” of killing 120 security personnel.

But residents and soldiers who have deserted said those killed were civilians and security forces who had mutinied, refusing to shoot protesters and joining anti-government demonstrators.

Turkish officials say the number of Syrian refugees who have crossed into the country has topped 8,500. Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Cicek Tuesday said nearly half of the refugees are children.

Turkish news reports say Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan phoned Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Tuesday and again urged him to avoid violence and enact reforms.

The latest military moves are being carried out by the government's most trusted forces, many of them members of the Assad family's minority Alawite sect.

An offshoot of Shi'ite Islam, the Alawites represent about 11 percent of Syria's population, which is overwhelmingly Sunni.

On Monday, refugees reaching Turkey said elite Syrian forces were combing villages back home and arresting men between the ages of 18 and 40. Others told of a scorched-earth campaign with men in black uniforms pouring gasoline on farmlands.

The wave of arrests followed the assault on Jisr al-Shughour by troops backed by tanks and helicopter gunships. Residents say loyalist units led by President Assad's brother, Maher al-Assad, led Sunday's crackdown, which they say was sparked by a mutiny last week when some soldiers refused to shoot protesters and joined the anti-government side.

U.S. State Department spokesman Mark Toner said Tuesday it was clear that “Syria has taken a page out of Iran's playbook” by employing brutal tactics that Iran used after the disputed 2009 re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

He said the U.S. believes there is clear evidence that Iran is actively helping Syria as it clamps down on protesters.

Syria has banned most foreign journalists, making it difficult to verify accounts of events.

Rights groups say more than 1,300 people have been killed since President Assad launched a crackdown on anti-government dissent in March.

Wisconsin Collective Bargaining Law Reinstated

Posted June 14th, 2011 at 9:45 pm (UTC-5)
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The top court in U.S. state of Wisconsin has reinstated a controversial law cutting out most collective bargaining rights of state workers.

The 4-3 ruling Tuesday overturns an earlier decision by a lower court that state officials did not follow correct procedures in publishing the law. The Wisconsin Supreme Court said the judge had overstepped her authority in interpreting the legislature’s operating procedures.

The collective bargaining measure was pushed through the Wisconsin legislature by Republican lawmakers and signed by Governor Scott Walker after weeks of massive protests at the capitol and an attempt by Democratic lawmakers to block the vote by fleeing to another state.

Walker has argued the collective bargaining restrictions are a necessary part of his plan to close Wisconsin’s growing deficit.

Opponents of the law and others like it in other states accuse supporters of attempting to bust the unions for political gain.

Czech Republic Sends Endangered Horses to Mongolia

Posted June 14th, 2011 at 9:35 pm (UTC-5)
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A Czech military jet headed to Mongolia Tuesday with four special passengers — rare wild horses.

The Prague Zoo sent the Przewalski horses on their 6,000 kilometer journey as part of the zoo's effort to reintroduce the endangered animals to their native habitat.

Upon arrival in the Mongolian capital of Ulan Bator, they will be trucked another 280 kilometers to a western reserve.

Przewalski horses are smaller than regular domestic horses and can be identified by their short erect manes.

Hunters along the Chinese-Mongolian border shot the horses to extinction in the wild in the 1960s. Experts used breeding herds in European zoos to reintroduce them to their natural lands.

US President Calls on Sudan To Stop ‘Campaign of Intimidation’

Posted June 14th, 2011 at 9:20 pm (UTC-5)
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U.S. President Barack Obama is calling on Sudan's government to stop its “campaign of intimidation” in the country's southern border area or face international isolation.

In an audio statement, Mr. Obama said Sudan's government must immediately cease its military actions in southern Sudan including aerial bombardments and the forced displacement of civilians.

Mr. Obama took the unusual step of recording an audio message Tuesday directed at Sudan's leaders, immediately after returning from a visit to the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico.

He said the leaders of both north and south Sudan must live up to their responsibilities and agree to end the violence.

Mr. Obama said if Sudanese leaders fulfill their obligations and choose peace, the United States will take the steps it has promised to normalize the relations between the countries. However, he said if they flout their obligations, they will face pressure and isolation and will be held accountable for their actions.

The U.S. president said the United States is deeply concerned by the crisis that is unfolding in southern Sudan, including the fighting in Southern Kordofan state and the assaults on innocent civilians.

Northern Sudanese troops have been fighting southern-aligned militia for more than a week in Southern Kordofan state. The United Nations says northern jet fighters dropped 11 bombs on the area Tuesday.

The north's army also last week seized control of the neighboring Abyei region, which also lies on the north-south border.

Both north and south Sudan claim ownership of Abyei. The dispute has raised fears of renewed war in Sudan as the south prepares to declare independence on July 9.

North and south Sudan fought a 21-year civil war that ended with a 2005 peace deal. The south voted overwhelmingly to split from the north in a January referendum.

Abyei was scheduled to hold a separate referendum on whether to join the north or south, but the poll failed to happen because the sides could not agree on who was eligible to vote.

UN Rejects Allegations of Interference With Cambodian Court

Posted June 14th, 2011 at 9:20 pm (UTC-5)
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The United Nations has rejected media reports that it instructed judges at Cambodia's war crimes court to dismiss one of its cases linked to Khmer Rouge atrocities of three decades ago.

A spokesman for the U.N. secretary-general said Tuesday the court is an independent body and that the United Nations supports the independence of the judiciary in Cambodia and elsewhere.

Earlier this week, media reports said at least five U.N. employees in the court's investigations office left their posts in April after disagreements over the decision to close the tribunal's third case, which involves two former senior members of the Khmer Rouge military, suspected of a role in the deaths of thousands of people. The Cambodian government has opposed having the case go to trial.

International observers of the private Open Society Justice Initiative called on the U.N. Tuesday to investigate the conduct of two investigative judges, one German and one Cambodian, who decided to close the case.

The U.N. statement did not refer directly to the Initiative's request, but said the judges of the special war crime court in Cambodia must be allowed to function free from any external interference, whether they come from the U.N., Cambodia's royal government, donor countries or civil society.

The U.N. says as many as two million people died during Cambodia's communist regime between 1975 and 1979. The court has convicted one senior Khmer Rouge member so far, the head of a notorious prison camp where some 14,000 people died.

Critics have said that the court works too slowly and that some of the most senior Khmer Rouge leaders have died in the past 30 years.

Under an agreement signed between the U.N. and Cambodia, the war crimes tribunal was set up as an independent court, employing both Cambodian and foreign judges and other personnel.

The Open Society Initiative is funded by U.S. billionaire George Soros that has monitored the Khmer Rouge tribunal since 2003, three years before the court formally opened its doors.

Britain Urges Sri Lanka to Act on War Atrocity Claims

Posted June 14th, 2011 at 9:10 pm (UTC-5)
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The British government on Wednesday pressed Sri Lanka to investigate allegations of atrocities committed during the final stage of its civil war, after Britain's Channel 4 aired new footage of alleged war crimes.

British Foreign Office Minister Alistair Burt said a failure to probe the allegations at the end of the 25-year war with Tamil Tiger rebels could lead to international action against Colombo.

Burt said he was shocked by the “horrific scenes” contained in “Sri Lanka's Killing Fields” documentary aired late Tuesday. The video contained footage of what appeared to be the execution of prisoners by government troops.

Burt said Britain had been calling for a thorough, independent probe into claims of war crimes since the conflict ended in May 2009. He stressed that the whole of the international community will expect the Sri Lankans to give a serious and full response to the existing, convincing evidence.

But Sri Lanka's authorities say the video was fabricated and deny charges that the government violated human rights and humanitarian law. The government has accused the U.N. and the international community of being duped by a “disinformation” campaign orchestrated by the remnants of the Tamil Tigers.

More than 7,000 civilians are believed to have died during the Sri Lankan army's final offensive against the Tamil Tigers. At least 80,000 civilians are estimated to have been killed during the conflict that began in 1983.

Former Tijuana Mayor Released for 2nd Time

Posted June 14th, 2011 at 8:55 pm (UTC-5)
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Former Tijuana mayor Jorge Hank Rhon has been released from police custody for a second time in the same day after a Mexican judge ruled there was not enough evidence to hold him.

Hank Rhon was detained by Mexican prosecutors Tuesday afternoon for questioning related to a murder investigation, just minutes after he had been released on separate charges related to illegal weapons.

The wealthy businessman was first arrested earlier this month after a raid on his house turned up 88 weapons and nearly 10,000 rounds of ammunition. Prosecutors have said that two of the guns were linked to two separate killings in 2009 and 2010.

Hank Rohn was mayor of Tijuana, across the border from San Diego, California, from 2004 to 2007.

He is the son of a prominent figure in the Institutional Revolutionary Party, which led Mexico for more than seven decades until 2000 and is trying to win back the presidency next year.

Hank Rohn also owns a chain of casinos and a local soccer team.

In 1999, a report by the U.S. National Drug Intelligence Center identified Hank Rhon as having links to drug trafficking, but then-U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno said the report's findings were never adopted as the official government view.

The former mayor, who also ran unsuccessfully for governor of Mexico's Baja California state, has denied allegations of corruption and ties to drug traffickers.

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