Four senior executives with Rio Tinto have been sentenced to prison terms varying from 7 to 14 years and fines. Personal assets of two of the men have also been confiscated. The four have been fired by the British-Australian mining company, says chief executive officer Sam Walsh, after the company was given clear evidence of bribery. The case has been watched closely by Western companies concerned about a crackdown on their employees.
Links to other sites: CNN, Financial Times, Xinhua
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Canton Geneva will get 500 new prison places, chiefly by building extensions near the existing prison facility, the two cantonal government ministers in charge of institutions and construction and information technology announced 15 September. The canton is set to increase the number of prison places from 440 today to 940 by 2017. In part this reflects the increase in the general population since the 1970s.
