The British authorities say they foiled it with Pakistan's help in August.

'Explosives'

The arrest of Rashid Rauf in Pakistan triggered arrests in the UK of a number of suspects allegedly plotting to blow up transatlantic flights.

The Pakistani authorities described him as a key figure.

[b]But an anti-terrorism court in Rawalpindi found no evidence that he had been involved in terrorist activities or that he belonged to a terrorist organisation.[/b]
As well as forgery charges, Mr Rauf has also been charged with carrying explosives.

But his lawyer says [b]police evidence amounts only to bottles of hydrogen peroxide found in his possession.[/b]

Hydrogen peroxide is a disinfectant that can be used for bomb-making if other chemicals are added.

'Suspected conspiracy'

In August, the British government requested the extradition of Mr Rauf, a Briton of Pakistani origin, in connection with a murder committed in 2002.

Scotland Yard declined to discuss which murder case the request related to.

The government in Pakistan, which has no extradition treaty with the UK, said it was considering the request.

Rashid Rauf was arrested in Pakistan earlier that month over the alleged plot to blow up US-bound aircraft, Pakistan's foreign ministry said.

He has been described by Pakistan's government as a "key person" in the "suspected conspiracy".

Since the recent death of economist Milton Friedman, I've been thinking about the times that my life crossed paths with his. I've got a photograph on my bookshelf of me with him at the conference of the Drug Policy Foundation in 1991. In that year we gave him our most prestigious award, a lifetime achievement award named in honor of noted philanthropist and Chicago commodities trader, Richard Dennis.

When we gave Dr. Friedman the award it was controversial. Many in the reform movement are liberal Democrats who are offended by Friedman's view that "the government solution to a problem is usually as bad as the problem." But, no doubt all in the drug policy reform movement would agree with that statement when it is applied to the government's never-ending war on drugs. As Friedman correctly said: "Most of the harm that comes from drugs is because they are illegal."

Indeed, Friedman came to the conclusion about the futility of drug prohibition early. When President Nixon started the modern war on drugs he wrote a column in Newsweek criticizing the policy. He warned that it would not reduce addiction but instead would promote crime and corruption repeating the mistake of alcohol prohibition. He concluded: "So long as large sums of money are involved-and they are bound to be if drugs are illegal-it is literally hopeless to expect to end the traffic or even to reduce seriously its scope. In drugs, as in other areas, persuasion and example are likely to be far more effective than the use of force to shape others in our image." See "Prohibition and Drugs."

In 1989 when drug czar Bill Bennet was escalating the drug war on behalf of President George H.W. Bush, Friedman wrote an open letter in the Wall Street Journal reminding him that the problems he was trying to combat were the made worse by prohibition. He warned that crack was a product of prohibition correctly pointing out "it was invented because the high cost of illegal drugs made it profitable to provide a cheaper version." He concluded the letter:

"Moreover, if even a small fraction of the money we now spend on trying to enforce drug prohibition were devoted to treatment and rehabilitation, in an atmosphere of compassion not punishment, the reduction in drug usage and in the harm done to the users could be dramatic.

"This plea comes from the bottom of my heart. Every friend of freedom, and I know you are one, must be as revolted as I am by the prospect of turning the United States into an armed camp, by the vision of jails filled with casual drug users and of an army of enforcers empowered to invade the liberty of citizens on slight evidence." See "An Open Letter to Bill Bennett," April 1990.

Friedman's view of the harms from drugs was not only the wasted money -- now about $1 billion per week -- but more so the destruction of inner cities, racially unfair incarceration, corruption of the police, wars in Colombia, Mexico and other countries that cost thousands of lives and the corruption of foreign economies as well as our own. The drug war has spurred the largest prison system in history with more than 2 million behind bars -- one in four of the world's prisoners residing in the land of the free. As Friedman pointed out: "Had drugs been decriminalized, crack would never have been invented and there would today be fewer addicts... The ghettos would not be drug-and-crime-infested no-man's lands... Colombia, Bolivia and Peru would not be suffering from narco-terror, and we would not be distorting our foreign policy because of it."

When Friedman gave his key note address at the Drug Policy Foundation conference in 1991 he did not limit his talk to drug policy. He put forward a wider ranging analysis that covered a host of issues -- schools, housing, medical care and the post office. Of course, this just added to the controversy around his nomination. But it was an opportunity to hear a perspective that no doubt held important truths on the limits and fallibility of government -- truths that could lead to more sensible approaches whether you completely agreed with Friedman or not. (You can read a transcript of his speech and the questions and answers here.

Friedman also appeared on a television show we produced, America's Drug Forum, and I crossed paths with him at two conferences at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, and with Arnold Trebach edited a book on the writings of him and psychiatrist Thomas Szasz. He always put forward a clear vision and persistent attitude. Indeed, his persistence is something all advocates can learn from -- he went from being ignored and shunned to winning the nobel prize for economics and being an adviser to presidents. His life should give all of us hope that change is possible, indeed it is inevitable, and if we persist change will move in our direction.

Kevin Zeese is president of Common Sense for Drug Policy. Many of his writings are included in The Schaeffer Library of Drug Policy.

"The allegations that the police made against him did not prove terrorism," Mr Rauf's lawyer, Hashmat Habib, said.

A court official said Mr Rauf had been accused separately of possessing forged travel and identity documents.

Mr Rauf was arrested in Pakistan in August shortly before fears of a plot to blow up planes flying between Britain and the US saw mass cancellations of flights to and from Heathrow airport for several days.

Pakistani intelligence officials alleged Mr Rauf had been in contact with an Afghanistan-based al-Qaida operative who was supposedly behind the scheme.

Dozens of people in Britain and Pakistan were arrested and charged in connection with the alleged plot.

Separately, Britain is seeing to extradite Mr Rauf in connection with an inquiry into the murder of his uncle in April 2002.

British police have refused to discuss the case. However, according to earlier reports, Mr Rauf moved to Pakistan shortly after his uncle Muhammad Saeed, 54, was stabbed to death just yards from his terrace home in Alum Rock, Birmingham.

Police raided Mr Rauf's home, also in Birmingham, as part of the inquiry and he was considered a suspect in the killing.

Mengistu came to power in 1974 after his Derg party overthrew Emperor Haile Selassie. He soon instigated a purge of political opponents known as the " Red Terror". Suspects were rounded up, some shot, others garrotted. The bodies were thrown on the streets.

The verdict comes as African leaders accused of terrorising their people have begun to find justice is catching up with them.

The former Liberian president, Charles Taylor, whose reign of terror saw him lead rebel movements in Liberia and neighbouring Sierra Leone in the 1990s, never expected to end up in a cell in The Hague, awaiting trial.

When he left Liberia in 2003 for a life of luxury in exile in Nigeria, Taylor departed to the sound of a gospel choir singing his praises while he waved to supporters from a velvet throne. But after elections in Liberia, the new President, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, called for him to be extradited and brought to the UN-backed court set up in Sierra Leone to try the country's warlords.

The former Chadian dictator Hissène Habré, ddescribed as " Africa's Pinochet", is also set to be brought to trial. He will be tried in Senegal where he has been living in exile after the African Union called for his prosecution "in the name of Africa". A Belgian judge issued an international arrest warrant last year, charging the former president with crimes against humanity, war crimes and torture during his rule from 1974 to 1991.

"Even in Africa, which has been the last bastion of impunity, we have seen that African leaders are stepping up to the plate," Reed Brody, legal counsel for Human Rights Watch, said. "It is certainly uneven, and they are being dragged along kicking and screaming, but we are definitely seeing a trend in which people who commit mass murder are being brought to account."

In Ethiopia yesterday it was more a form of "victor's justice", as Mengistu was tried by a judge appointed by the regime which ousted him. Judge Medhen Kiros told the court: "Members of the Derg who are present in court today and those who are being tried in absentia have conspired to destroy a political group and kill people with impunity."

Although the Red Terror affected thousands, it was Mengistu's dismissive response to events in 1984 which arguably caused most deaths. An estimated one million people died in a desperate famine which grabbed the world's attention. News footage, shot by the cameraman Mo Amin, spawned LiveAid and a global fundraising drive. Yet through it all, Mengistu was consumed with preparations for the 10th anniversary of the revolution. Dawit Wolde Giorgis, the member of Mengistu's central committee responsible for drought relief, claimed in his memoirs that Mengistu referred to the prospect of a serious famine as "petty human problems".

During his 17-year reign, tens of thousands of people were killed, tortured or detained and about 700,000 peasants were forcibly resettled in an effort to cut off support for rebels in the north. Those rebels, led by Meles Zenawi, took power in 1991 and Meles remains prime minister after winning a third term last year in disputed elections.

Although Mengistu is expected to be given the death penalty when sentenced on 28 December, the former dictator is likely to live the rest of his days in relative luxury in Zimbabwe.

"Mengistu is very comfortably living under the protection of Robert Mugabe," Mr Brody said. "The world is getting to be a smaller place for people who commit atrocities but there are still places they can go."

Life of a tyrant

* 1937: Born in Walayitta, Ethiopia.

* 1966: Graduates from military academy.

* 1974: Takes part in bloody coup that overthrows the government of Emperor Haile Selassie. The officers rule through a junta known as the Derg, or 'committee'.

* 1977: Mengistu takes control of the Derg following a power struggle. He shoots a fellow officer who wants to make peace with the province of Eritrea which is seeking independence. He hopes to turn Ethiopia into a Soviet-style workers' state.

* 1977-78: Mengistu is involved in the killing of nearly 2,000 people during a campaign known as the Red Terror.

* 1984: As one million people die from famine, Mengistu is preparing celebrations marking the tenth anniversary of the Derg coming to power.

* 1991: Rebels led by Meles Zenawi, now Ethiopia's Prime Minister, depose Mengistu. He flees to Zimbabwe, where he lives a lavish, if reclusive life, in exile.

* Yesterday: Found guilty in absentia of genocide.

Swift, based in Greeley, Colorado, is privately held and is a major producer of beef and pork, with $9 billion in annual sales. The plants are in Colorado, Nebraska, Texas, Utah, Iowa and Minnesota.

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement put the number of arrests at 1,282 and said they included individuals from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras,El Salvador, Peru, Laos, Sudan and Ethiopia.

"As a result of the Fifth Circuit's ruling, the government is pleased that the jury's verdict and the District Court's sentence will now be carried out for defendant Skilling," U.S. Justice Department spokesman Bryan Sierra said in a statement.

Skilling's attorney, Daniel Petrocelli, was not immediately available for comment.

Skilling had been scheduled to report to a Minnesota federal prison on Tuesday, but the Fifth Circuit Court said late on Monday that Skilling could stay out while a panel of the court's judges gave "careful consideration" to his bail request.

A spokeswoman for the Bureau of Prisons said Skilling was not yet in their custody.

Veteran Houston appellate lawyer and TV legal commentator Brian Wice expressed amazement at the court's one-day reversal.

"I've never seen in 27 years of appellate practice the panel stay the decision to send someone to prison the day of and then reverse it the next day," Wice said. "How can you go from 'careful consideration' to 'don't let the cell door hit you in the behind'?"

Another appellate attorney, who declined to be identified, said the ruling does not mean the court has any opinion on Skilling's chance for a successful appeal and does not prevent Skilling from being granted bail at a later date.

Skilling, 53, was sentenced to 24 years in prison for his role in hiding Enron's financial condition from investors as the company's fortunes eroded prior to its 2001 collapse.

In May, a Houston jury convicted Skilling of defrauding investors. Skilling maintains he committed no crime and plans to appeal. His sentence is the longest handed out to a former Enron executive.

Energy giant Enron, once the seventh-largest U.S. company, spiraled into bankruptcy in a tangle of secret deals that hid billions of dollars in debt. Thousands of workers lost their jobs and pensions, and investors lost billions of dollars.

Skilling is to serve his sentence at the low-security prison in Waseca, Minnesota, which is about 75 miles south of Minneapolis.

Low-security prisons are designated for nonviolent offenders and often resemble school dormitories. The facilities typically do not have barbed wire or guard towers.

But Judge Benjamin Pozon said it was Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez and Chief State Prosecutor Jovencito Zuno who violated the treaty when they made an agreement with U.S. Ambassador Kristie Kenny to return the 21-year-old to her custody.

"Neither Gonzalez nor Zuno is the appropriate Philippine authority who can legally enter into such an agreement," Pozon said.

He said the treaty also clearly stated any U.S. soldier convicted of a crime within the country should be confined to a Philippine-run facility.

The U.S. embassy in Manila said the court handling Smith's case may have misinterpreted the terms of the eight-year-old security arrangement, adding that security assistance between the two long-time allies depended on the pact.

"Continued U.S.-Philippines military cooperation relies upon the adherence to the VFA, which provides a clear framework for the legal status of visiting U.S. service members," the embassy said in a statement.

Since 2000, Washington has sent close to $500 million in military aid and hundreds of U.S. advisers to help Manila fight Muslim rebels with ties to Jemaah Islamiah, a regional militant group seeking to create a pan-Islamic state in Southeast Asia.

Gonzalez said Pozon's order may strain relations between the long-time security allies as state prosecutors met with the U.S. legal attache to discuss the potential impact of Smith's imprisonment.

The U.S. sailor has been held in a jail in Manila's financial district since his conviction, which followed a seven-month trial that prompted small protests against U.S.-Philippine military ties and intense local media interest.

Smith was found guilty of raping a 23-year-old management accounting graduate in a van in a former U.S. navy base while on shore leave at the end of two weeks of military exercises with Filipino troops. Three other U.S. Marines were acquitted of rape.

The sailors said only Smith had sex with the woman, given the pseudonym "Nicole," and that it was consensual. They claimed the woman was being manipulated to incriminate them.

"We're happy, Nicole is happy, that Judge Benjamin Pozon made a stand despite all pressure," said Evalyn Ursua, the woman's lawyer.

During the controversial case, critics argued that the VFA gave U.S. soldiers too much protection.

In a similar security pact set to be agreed with Australia, the Philippines is expected to insist on custody of Australian soldiers accused of crimes on its territory.