TOP EU COURT UPHOLDS HAMAS TERROR LISTING
LUXEMBOURG: The European Union’s top court on Wednesday upheld the bloc’s decision to put Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas on its terrorism blacklist. The European Court of Justice overturned a 2014 ruling by the bloc’s second highest court, saying it “should not have annulled Hamas’ retention on the European list of terrorist organizations.” The lower court sparked outrage in Israel and Washington when it said Hamas should be dropped from the list because the EU had made the decision based on information from the media and internet. But the Luxembourg- based ECJ said that in doing so, the General Court had “made an error in law” and it would now have to examine the case again. The Hamas ruling came as a surprise since once of the ECJ’s senior lawyers had said in an opinion last September that Hamas should not have been included on the terror list because procedural mistakes invalidated the EU decision.
SPANISH PM TAKES STAND AS WITNESS AT GRAFT TRIAL
SAN FERNANDO DE HENARES, Spain: involving former members of his conservative Popular Party, a first in the country. “I never dealt with party financial matters,” Rajoy told the courthouse on the outskirts of Madrid during the proceedings broadcast live on Spanish television. The trial centers on a vast kickback scheme that allegedly saw companies shower former PP lawmakers and civil servants with bribes in exchange for contracts. It is the first time that a serving prime minister has testified in a criminal case. Two former premiers— Felipe Gonzalez, an ex- Socialist leader, and Adolfo Suarez, prime minister during Spain’s transition to democracy— appeared in court in separate trials but they were no longer in office. Rajoy, 62, had asked to testify by videoconference, saying he was too busy to appear in person, but Spain’s High Court ordered him to come.
US INMATE FIRST TO BE EXECUTED IN OHIO IN THREE YEARS
CHICAGO: The US state of Ohio planned to execute its first prisoner in more than three years Wednesday ( Thursday in Manila), putting to death a man convicted of raping and murdering a child. Ronald Phillips, 43, faces execution by lethal injection at 10 a. m. local time, ending Ohio’s moratorium on the death penalty. Phillips was 19 years old in 1993 when he was convicted of raping and kill- ing three- year- old Sheila Marie Evans, his then- girlfriend’s daughter. He admitted to his crimes, but said his own sexual and physical abuse at the hands of his father were mitigating circumstances not considered at trial. The state twice denied his clemency petitions. The three- drug combination which Phillips will be administered includes the controversial sedative midazolam, the focus of a federal lawsuit brought on behalf of Phillips and two other Ohio inmates.
CARDINAL PELL DENIES ABUSE CHARGES IN AUSTRALIAN COURT
MELBOURNE: Vatican finance chief Cardinal George Pell, a top advisor to Pope Francis, denied all charges of historical sexual abuse Wednesday at his first appearance in an Australian court over the allegations. The 76- year- old, the number- three figure in the Vatican, returned from Rome earlier this month to face the charges in Melbourne Magistrates Court. Details of the charges have not been made public although police said they involved “multiple complainants.” The former Sydney and Melbourne archbishop has always maintained his innocence. Looking somber and frail, he attended the hearing with his lawyer, top criminal barrister Robert Richter, who told the court his client was not guilty— even though a formal plea was not required at this stage.