A round-up of other world news in brief....
Guantanamo prisoners granted appeal
WASHINGTON - The US Supreme Court yesterday granted an appeal by four former Guantánamo prisoners and ordered further review of their lawsuit against top Pentagon officials for torture and religious abuse.
The justices set aside a US appeals court ruling that dismissed the lawsuit by the four British citizens over their treatment at the US military base at Guantánamo Bay in Cuba on the grounds they have no right to sue. - (Reuters)
Montenegro applies to join EU
PARIS/PODGORICA - Montenegro has formally applied to join the European Union, its prime minister Milo Djukanovic said yesterday after a meeting with French president Nicolas Sarkozy, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency.
While the two were meeting at the Elysée Palace in Paris, a man carrying a knife was arrested trying to enter the grounds. - (Reuters, PA)
Siemens in $1.3bn settlement
FRANKFURT/WASHINGTON - Siemens will pay just over $1.3 billion (€952 million) to settle corruption inquiries in the United States and Germany, it said yesterday, ending two years of uproar that rocked the German engineering conglomerate.
Wrapping up the biggest corporate corruption investigation in history, Siemens agreed to pay $800 million to settle a US investigation by the department of justice and the securities and exchange commission into bribes it paid to win contracts.
It will also pay €395 million to resolve a similar bribes-for-business investigation in Germany. - (Reuters)
Greek protesters clash with police
ATHENS - Greek police fired teargas at small groups of protesters who threw stones and firebombs in central Athens yesterday in a second week of anti- government protests since a policeman shot dead a teenager.
Youths outside Athens's main court and central police station clashed with riot police, while acts of vandalism against shops were reported in two northern cities in protests against the December 6th killing of 15-year-old Alexandros Grigoropoulos. - (Reuters)
US court in 'light' cigarettes ruling
WASHINGTON - The US Supreme Court ruled yesterday that tobacco firms can be sued under state law for deceptive advertising of "light" cigarettes, a decision that could affect some 40 suits around the country seeking billions of dollars.
The judges ruled against Altria Group Inc's Philip Morris USA unit and held that the federal cigarette labelling and advertising act does not bar or pre-empt such state court lawsuits. - (Reuters)