Karadzic to boycott Bosnia genocide trial, court says

Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic says he intends to boycott the start of his war crimes and genocide trial next week, a spokeswoman for the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia said Thursday. The trial is still expected to begin on Monday despite Karadzic’s intended absence, which he announced in a letter to the court, the spokeswoman said

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Authorities search house in ‘balloon boy’ case

Hours after Colorado authorities said they expect to file charges in the “balloon boy” case, sheriff’s deputies and detectives were seen entering and leaving the house of Richard Heene early Sunday. Heene is the storm-chasing father whose giant Mylar balloon ascended into the sky late last week, sparking fears that his 6-year-old son Falcon was aboard.

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U.N. rights council backs Gaza ‘war crimes’ report

The United Nations Council for Human Rights approved a controversial report Friday which accuses Israel and Hamas of “actions amounting to war crimes, possibly crimes against humanity” during the December-January war in Gaza. The report, based on a fact-finding mission led by former South African jurist Richard Goldstone, calls for both parties to independently investigate the alleged human rights violations cited in the report.

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‘Sweatbox’ victims were attending ‘Spiritual Warrior’ program

The two people who died and the 19 others who fell ill at a central Arizona resort after spending time in a sauna-like “sweatbox” were attending a program by self-help expert James Arthur Ray, authorities said Saturday. The dead were identified as James Shore of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Kirby Brown of Westtown, New York, Sheriff Lloyd Waugh told reporters

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Why Do Italy’s Disasters Have Such High Death Tolls?

Disasters in Italy have a predictable chronology: after the calamity strikes, rescues are attempted, destiny is lamented and pledges are made to rebuild destroyed towns. And without fail, as the first victims are still being buried, a criminal investigation is opened.

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Method Man arrested on $33K tax charge

Rapper and actor Clifford Smith, better known to fans as Method Man, was arrested Monday and faces charges of failing to pay taxes, the district attorney in Richmond County, New York, said. Smith, 38, owes the state nearly $33,000 for New York State income tax returns that he did not file between 2004 and 2007, district attorney Daniel Donovan Jr.

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