By Bryan Li

According to a report in The New York Times, prosecutors have lined up more than two dozen witnesses that would present evidence that Suharto stole hundreds of millions from the government.

Suharto, 85, will not face a criminal trial on grounds of ill health. Prosecutors dismissed alleged corruption charges stemming from his 20 year rule of Indonesia, which ended in 1998 when he was forced to step down amid protests, Al-Jazeera reports.

"This is not a criminal case against corruption, but a civil lawsuit," said public prosecutor Dachamer Munthe, quoted in TIME magazine. "We just want the money back. It could be used for the development of this country."

BBC News describes Suharto’s legacy as President as controversial. His supporters credit him with leading his country from poverty to relative prosperity, making Indonesia a force to be reckoned with in Asia. He has been accused of a repressive regime, ignoring demands for political reform, and allowing human rights abuses, most notably in East Timor, according to BBC News.

By Bryan Li

The judge, quoted in a BBC News report, has said that the evidence presented by the Peruvian authorities was unconvincing, stating “it was not proved that Mr. Fujimori ordered or had even the least knowledge beforehand of [the extra-judicial] killings.” The report in BBC News also stated that Peru’s government will appeal the ruling.

Transparency International (TI) issued a press release in response to the ruling, stating that it is increasingly concerned that Fujimori’s case will remain without a trial as it has since he fled Peru in 2000. “Judge Alvarez’s decision creates a chance for impunity if Peru is not able to bring Fujimori home and try him in a due process,” Huguette Labelle, Chair of Transparency International has stated. TI urged the Supreme Court to grant extradition so that he can answer to these allegations and face trial in Peru.

In 2000, Fujimori fled to Japan after his government became embroiled in a large scale bribery scandal, where he was recognised as a Japanese citizen and protected from extradition, according to the Washington Post. In 2005 he was arrested in Chile en route to Peru, where he hoped to re-enter Peruvian politics.

In a bizarre twist, Fujimori unsuccessfully attempted a bid to enter Japanese politics by running for the Japanese Upper House elections, BBC News reports. His loss was attributed to not being able to campaign, the news service added. This came despite a good standing in Japan, mainly due to a successful rescue of 71 Japanese hostages taken from the Japanese embassy in 1997. “If Fujimori has an image, it's not as a human rights violator, but as the guy who rescued the hostages," says Jeffrey Kingston, director of Asian studies at Temple University in Tokyo, TIME quoted.

By Lena Kocanis

Miceli claimed that she had been given the money by her brother for a real estate deal that was never consummated. Clarin reports that Argentinean President Kirchner stands by Miceli and said that she would stay in office.

However, investigators reported that “at least one of the bundles of cash was wrapped in an official band from the Central Bank of Argentina” writes Deutsche Presse-Agentur. Once this information was public, Miceli presented her resignation to the president. Kirchner accepted her resignation and appointed Industry Secretary Gustavo Peirano as her replacement, USA today specifies.

Now former minister Miceli will stand trial on 23 August, about two months before the presidential elections in Argentina will take place, reports Pagina 12.