A federal judge has delayed sentencing for former Enron Corp. Chief Executives Ken Lay and Jeffrey Skilling, who were convicted last month of fraud and conspiracy in the company's collapse. In court documents filed late Friday, U.S. District Judge Sim Lake agreed to a motion by the defense teams to delay sentencing for the former Enron chiefs to October 23 from September 11.Lay, 64, and Skilling, 52, were found guilty at trial of hiding the financial problems at Enron, once the nation's seventh-largest company, which collapsed into bankruptcy in December 2001.Lay, 64, was convicted of six counts of conspiracy and fraud and faces a maximum of 45 years in prison. Four other charges of bank fraud carry a maximum of 120 years in prison, but Lay is unlikely to be sentenced to more than six months for those counts because no financial damages occurred.... http://news.yahoo.com censor News |
Editor - 11:48:00 06-18-06 |
A DESERTER’S STORY: WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE HORRORS OF IRAQ BECOME TOO MUCH FOR A SOLDIER TO BEAR? |
MORE than 6000 men and women have deserted from the US army since the invasion of Iraq in March 2003. In the British forces, the figure stands at around 1000. The soldiers are leaving because they are sickened by the bloodshed in Iraq; because they believe the war is illegal; because they are on the verge of nervous breakdown; and because they are having to buy their own boots or are not being given enough food and water. Labour MP John McDonnell says that troops are now “questioning the morality and legality of the occupation”. In Britain, deserters rarely – if ever – publicly explain why they have refused to fight. In the US, however, it’s a different story. ... http://www.sundayherald.com/56277
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Editor - 11:35:00 06-18-06 |
Pardon talk for Libby begins |
Now that top White House aide Karl Rove is off the hook in the CIA leak probe, President George W. Bush must weigh whether to pardon former vice presidential aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, the only one indicted in the three-year investigation.Speculation about a pardon began in late October, soon after Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald unsealed the perjury indictment of Libby, and it continued last week after Fitzgerald chose not to charge Rove. "I think ultimately, of course, there are going to be pardons," said Joseph diGenova, a former prosecutor and an old Washington hand who shares that view with many pundits.... http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/ny-uspard0618,0,467087.story
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Editor - 11:28:00 06-18-06 |
Palestinian President Abbas Urges Arabs to Help Block Israeli Border Plan |
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Sunday he was rallying Arab nations to block Israel's plan to unilaterally redraw its borders and instead support the U.S.-backed proposal envisioning a Palestinian state. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has proposed drawing a West Bank border if negotiations with the Palestinians fail. Arabs, including Palestinians, fear the plan would alienate Palestinian towns and increase hardship there driving many to neighboring Arab states, including Jordan. Olmert, however, assured King Abdullah II during a June 8 visit to Amman that he would seek a negotiated settlement with the Palestinians and meet soon with Abbas. "We are working now and consolidating our contacts with Arab countries to distance Olmert's plan from the table and solidify the 'road map' as a basis for negotiations and dialogue," Abbas said after meeting Abdullah. ... http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=2090305
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Editor - 11:23:00 06-18-06 |
Lawyer questions motive for alleged beating of black N.Y. teen |
A black teenager is claiming four police officers beat him without provocation earlier this month, breaking his left wrist and fracturing his right elbow, and his lawyer is questioning whether race was a factor. Xavier Simpson, 17, has filed a complaint with the police department, attorney Norman Siegel, a former executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, said Saturday after a press conference. According to Siegel, Simpson was on 221st Street near 113th Avenue in Queens on June 8 when four police officers in an unmarked car summoned him. Siegel said the police — a sergeant and three officers from the 105th precinct — asked Simpson basic questions, such as his name, which he answered. ... http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-06-18-abuse-claim_x.htm?csp=34
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Editor - 11:22:00 06-18-06 |
UN fears new conflict in Somalia |
Daily arms shipments are arriving in Somalia in violation of a United Nations arms embargo, a senior UN official has told the BBC. Bruno Schiemsky, co-ordinator of the UN Monitoring Group, said the flow of arms had risen substantially since Islamists went on the offensive this month. He warned it was only a matter of time before the Union of Islamic Courts clashed with interim government forces. The African Union has urged the world to renew support for the government. Meanwhile the UN refugee agency has warned that unless a peaceful solution could be found, Somalia's humanitarian problems would "increase tremendously", AFP news agency reported. ... http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/5091942.stm
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Editor - 11:19:00 06-18-06 |
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