Watergate scandal: US reopens probe

Washington, 20 November 2009: The US is said to have reopened the investigation into the Watergate saga, more than 35 years after the biggest political scandal in the country’s history forced the then President Richard Nixon to step down.

Forensic investigators have now been called in to investigate exactly what Nixon knew about the Watergate break-in, particularly the extent of his knowledge of the raids on the Democratic National Committee’s offices in Washington.

‘Ex Nazi’ charged with 58 murders

Berlin, 17 November 2009: German prosecutors charged on Tuesday a 90-year-old former member of Hitler’s SS with 58 counts of murder over a massacre of Jewish forced labourers in the final weeks of World War II.
The man, named only as Adolf S., a member of the fifth SS Tank Division “Viking”, is accused of hatching a plot on March 28,

African slavery apology ‘needed’

London, 12 November 2009: Traditional African rulers should apologise for the role they played in the slave trade, a Nigerian rights group has said in a letter to chiefs.
“We cannot continue to blame the white men, as Africans particularly the traditional rulers, are not blameless,” said the Civil Rights Congress.

Dutch mark 5th anniversary of filmmaker’s murder

Amsterdam, 03 Nov 2009: The Dutch marked the fifth anniversary Monday of the murder of filmmaker Theo van Gogh by a Muslim fanatic, a brutal killing that continues to shape politics in the Netherlands.

Van Gogh, a distant relative of the famous painter, was shot and stabbed on an Amsterdam street Nov. 2, 2004, setting off a spate of mosque burnings in a country once renowned for its tolerance.

US war crimes questions for Sri Lanka general: report

Colombo, 01 Nov 2009: Sri Lanka called on US authorities to drop plans to interview the island’s military commander over allegations of war crimes against ethnic Tamil rebels, an official said Sunday.

The Colombo government held “very high-level” talks to prevent General Sarath Fonseka, currently visiting Oklahoma, from being quizzed over his conduct during the conflict against the Tamil Tigers, the official said.

Delay and declaim: will Radovan Karadzic follow the Milosevic route?

Hague, 26 October 2009: The cat and mouse game begun by Radovan Karadzic with the judges in The Hague has raised fears that he will follow the same strategy as Slobodan Milosevic and use every opportunity to frustrate the course of justice.

Milosevic, the former Yugoslav president whose genocide trial began in 2002, refused to enter a plea and insisted on representing himself as he strung out proceedings for more than four years through frequent medical absences and courtroom histrionics.

Appeals court hears Ten Commandments posting case

Kentucky, 21 October 2009: An attorney for two Kentucky counties tried to persuade a federal appeals court Tuesday that its officials have had a change of heart over the past decade — that even if their original motive was religious when they posted the Ten Commandments in county courthouses, it isn’t anymore.

Bankruptcy filing delays church sex abuse case

Annapolis, 19 October 2009: A sex abuse case against Delaware’s Catholic Diocese of Wilmington and a former priest will be delayed after the diocese filed for federal bankruptcy protection on the eve of trial.

The bankruptcy filing late Sunday delays a lawsuit that had been set to start Monday in Kent County Superior Court, the first of eight consecutive abuse trials scheduled in Delaware.

Nazis used sex slaves to boost camp production – book

Frankfurt, 17 October 2009: The Nazis forced women into prostitution in a system of concentration camp bordellos designed to boost productivity among fellow prisoners during World War Two, a new book shows.

Adolf Hitler’s security chief Heinrich Himmler set up the bordellos and established a bonus system that camp prisoners could use to buy privileges, such as cigarettes, or sex.

Jamie Foxx has no sympathy for Polanski

Plus: Jolie and Aniston are over relationship rumors, old divorce drama

Detained Academy Award-winning director and convicted sex offender Roman Polanski may have the support of some famous faces in the film industry, but don’t count Jamie Foxx among them. According to the actor, he only needs to imagine the 1977 case against Polanski is a personal one to find his feelings.