Tag: Court

Child injured in US parade crash dies, taking toll to six

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — A child injured when a car plowed into a parade in the US state of Wisconsin has died, taking the toll from the tragedy to six, a local prosecutor said Tuesday as the suspect appeared in court. Darrell Brooks, 39, was charged with five counts of intentional homicide, and now faces a sixth murder charge, prosecutor Susan Opper said. Brooks allegedly steered his red SUV into marching musicians, dancers and […]

US court suspends Biden vaccine mandate for businesses

    WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — A US federal appeals court Saturday halted a vaccine mandate by President Joe Biden’s administration that is intended to push millions of workers at businesses with more than 100 employees into getting Covid-19 shots. The New Orleans-based US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit said that because petitioners “give cause to believe there are grave statutory and constitutional issues with the Mandate, the Mandate is hereby STAYED […]

Indonesia seizes land owned by Suharto son’s company

  JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — Indonesia has seized land tied to an automaker owned by the son of its late dictator Suharto in a fresh bid to recoup money from the influential clan, the government said Friday. Military troops and police in West Java province on Friday took control of some 124 hectares (300 acres) of land controlled by Tommy Suharto and his PT Timor Putera Nasional company over some 2.6 trillion rupiah ($181 million) […]

Samsung boss goes on trial on drugs charges

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — The de-facto leader of the sprawling Samsung group Lee Jae-yong went on trial Tuesday on charges of illegally using the anaesthetic propofol, the latest legal travail to beset the multi-billionaire. Lee — the vice-chairman of the world’s biggest smartphone maker Samsung Electronics and according to Forbes the world’s 297th richest person — is accused of having repeatedly taken it at a plastic surgery clinic in Seoul in 2017 and 2018. […]

US President Biden forms commission to study expanding Supreme Court

  by Michael Mathes Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Joe Biden on Friday established an expert commission to study reforming the powerful US Supreme Court, including the explosive question of expanding its bench. The move follows months of debate over whether Democrats should seek to expand the court beyond its current nine justices, after moves during Donald Trump’s presidential term gave the bench a firm conservative majority. The Supreme Court […]

Huawei exec’s extradition fight enters final round in Canada

by David BALL VANCOUVER, Canada (AFP) — Chinese Huawei Technologies executive Meng Wanzhou was back in a Canadian court Monday to fight a final round against extradition to the United States, after more than two years of legal skirmishes and diplomatic barbs. The daughter of Huawei founder and chief executive Ren Zhengfei faces charges in the United States of bank fraud and conspiracy over the commercial activities of a former Huawei subsidiary alleged to have […]

Myanmar’s Suu Kyi to face court this week: lawyer

NAYPYIDAW, Myanmar (AFP) — Myanmar’s deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi will appear in court via video conference this week over charges brought against her by the new military junta, her lawyer said Monday. Army chief General Min Aung Hlaing has justified the February 1 coup by alleging widespread voter fraud in November’s elections, which Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) party swept. Two days after the putsch, the 75-year-old Nobel laureate was hit […]

UK top court allows Nigeria spill claims against Shell

by Callum PATON Agence France-Presse LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Britain’s Supreme Court ruled on Friday that more than 40,000 people in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria can make pollution claims against Anglo-Dutch energy giant Shell in English courts. The ruling overturned a 2017 decision against the Ogale and Bille communities, who brought legal claims for clean-up and compensation following decades of repeated spills in the oil-rich region. The claimants have argued for five […]

Singapore PM’s defamation suit against blogger begins

  SINGAPORE (AFP) — Singapore’s leader criticized “malicious and baseless” claims in an article linking him to a corruption scandal, as he testified on Tuesday at the start of his defamation suit against a blogger. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong is suing Leong Sze Hian after the blogger shared an article on Facebook linking the premier to the money-laundering scandal at state fund 1MDB in neighbouring Malaysia. Leaders in the tightly controlled city-state have frequently […]

Trump names ‘brilliant’ conservative to US Supreme Court

  by Sebastian Smith Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President Donald Trump named Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court on Saturday, setting in motion a rush by Republicans to cement a conservative majority on the court on the eve of a tense and potentially disputed US election. Trump stood alongside Barrett at a White House Rose Garden ceremony to announce his decision, calling her “one of the most brilliant and gifted […]

$600 million settlement in Flint water crisis

WASHINGTON D.C., United States (AFP) — The US state of Michigan has agreed to pay some $600 million to victims of the Flint water crisis, a health scandal that became a symbol of social injustice in America, officials said Thursday. The settlement could see payments to tens of thousands of people, children and adults alike, who may have ingested lead-tainted drinking water after the city of Flint changed the source for its water system in […]

Indonesia jails leaders of Al-Qaeda-linked extremist group

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — Indonesia on Monday jailed two top leaders of Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) — an Al-Qaeda-linked extremist group behind the 2002 Bali bombings — on terror charges linked to sending militants to fight in Syria. JI leader Para Wijayanto and deputy Budi Trikaryanto were handed seven and six-and-a-half year sentences, respectively, at a Jakarta court hearing done by videoconference due to coronavirus concerns. “The defendants prepared cadres to go to Syria as well […]