House Arrest

The notes from the Chinese Foreign Ministry to European ambassadors posted in Norway referred to the Nobel Peace Prize awarded last month to imprisoned writer Liu Xiaobo. "We strongly hope that your country ? will refrain from attending any activity directed against China," read the notes, according to a diplomatic source who ? like most people involved with the issue ? did not wish to be quoted by name because of fear of Chinese retaliation. Behind the stilted language, the meaning was clear: Beijing was lobbying European governments to not attend the Dec. 10 awards ceremony honoring Liu, a dissident whom Chinese officials have denounced as a criminal.

In the first whisper of a comment since he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize 48 hours earlier, imprisoned Chinese writer Liu Xiaobo sent word through his wife Sunday that he would dedicate the award to activists killed during 1989 pro-democracy demonstrations at Tiananmen Square, according to a human rights organization. The writer's wife, who has been held under house arrest, was escorted by police to Jinzhou Prison in northern China's Liaoning province where she was able to speak with her husband.

Oscar-winning film director Roman Polanski will not be extradited to the United States to face sentencing for having sex with a 13-year-old girl more than 30 years ago, Swiss authorities announced Monday. The Swiss Federal Department of Justice and Police said a flaw in the U.S. extradition request could not be ruled out and that Polanski, who maintains a vacation home in Switzerland, could reliably expect not to be arrested and deported since the U.S. knew of his frequent presence there over the past few years but never acted on it. Polanski, 76, has already been released from house arrest, the justice department said.

Oscar-winning film director Roman Polanski will not be extradited to the United States to face sentencing for having sex with a 13-year-old girl more than 30 years ago, Swiss authorities announced Monday. The Swiss Federal Department of Justice and Police said the U.S. had failed to turn over certain documents requested by the Swiss. The department also said Polanski, who maintains a vacation home in Switzerland, could reliably expect not to be arrested and deported because the U.S. knew of his frequent presence there over the last few years but never acted on it. Polanski, 76, has already been released from house arrest, the justice department said.

One of 11 people charged with being part of a Russian spy ring told investigators that his loyalty to his handlers exceeded his commitment to his own son, prosecutors said Thursday as they argued against releasing the defendants on bond and warned that evidence unveiled so far was "the tip of an iceberg." Three of the accused spies appeared in federal court in Manhattan before Magistrate Ronald L. Ellis, who denied bail for a couple who went by the names Richard and Cynthia Murphy.

When Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao sits down Thursday with Myanmar's senior military leaders during the first visit to the isolated nation by a top Chinese leader in 16 years, they are expected to announce several economic agreements and promise to continue six decades of strong diplomatic ties. But as is often the case with diplomacy, the news release almost certainly won't cover the most important and sensitive issues discussed, analysts said. Those include the Myanmar military's future grip on power and both nations' desire for stability on their shared border.

Paulette Gebara Farah, the 4-year-old girl whose disappearance and apparent asphyxiation death riveted Mexico this spring, died by accident in her bed, prosecutors said Friday. The finding exonerates the girl's parents. They have been at the center of a media storm since Paulette, who suffered developmental disabilities, was found dead in her bed March 31, more than a week after she was reported missing. Investigators said the body had gone undetected during the initial search for the girl.

A retired general and onetime confidant of President Hugo Chavez has been sentenced to prison in a case that revealed the divisions in Venezuelan society. The retired general, Raul Isaias Baduel, was sentenced to a nearly eight-year prison term Friday night by a military court on charges of abuse of power, misappropriation of funds and violation of the military code while he was an officer. Baduel's family criticized the verdict as unjust and said imprisoning him was a means of silencing a prominent critic.

Roman Polanski's bid to end his three-decades-old child sex case without returning to Los Angeles suffered a major setback this week when a state appellate court denied his latest request to be sentenced while he remains under house arrest in Switzerland. The 2nd District Court of Appeal at one time appeared sympathetic to the filmmaker's arguments, suggesting last year that the controversy could be resolved if Polanski asked to be sentenced in absentia. But the same district court on Thursday rejected arguments by Polanski's lawyers that a judge should sentence the acclaimed director to time served for statutory rape before his extradition proceeding is resolved.

ABC jilts 'Ugly Betty' "Ugly Betty" has gone out of fashion. ABC has decided not to continue the show beyond its current fourth season. The cast and crew were informed of the news Wednesday morning. The series finale will air in April. With four episodes still left to produce, executive producer Silvio Horta said they will be able to send "Ugly Betty" off in style. The news is hardly shocking: After ratings began to cool during the show's third season, ABC moved "Ugly Betty" to Fridays last fall, where viewership plummeted.