AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – The International Criminal Court rules Monday whether Kenyan presidential contenders, Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto, and four others should face trial for crimes against humanity for stirring violence after a disputed election in 2007.

The decision to hold a trial could wreck the plans of either politician, or both, to run in a presidential election expected next year and risks sparking protests, possibly riots, in Kenya if people feel it is unfair or fails to hold those responsible for the violence accountable.

AMSTERDAM, Dec 21 (Reuters) – Dutch Post and
Telecommunications Authority OPTA has put KPN, the
country’s telecoms market leader, under close supervision with
immediate effect, saying it may have broken the law to the
detriment of consumers and competitors.

KPN and other mobile phone operators in the Netherlands are
already under investigation by the country’s competition
authority, known as NMA, for possible price-fixing.

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – Tens of thousands of children have been victims of sexual abuse by the Roman Catholic Church in the Netherlands since 1945, an independent commission said on Friday, criticizing what it called the church’s cover-up and culture of silence.

Church leaders said the findings filled them with shame and sorrow and offered a “heartfelt apology,” saying not only the perpetrators were to blame, but church authorities too.

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – Ivory Coast’s former president Laurent Gbagbo appeared at the International Criminal Court on Monday, facing charges of crimes against humanity, including murder and rape, the first former head of state expected to be tried by the court since its inception in 2002.

Gbagbo, 66, was arrested and flown from Ivory Coast to the Netherlands last week, and held since then at a detention centre in The Hague, under the same roof as a who’s who of the world’s genocide and war crimes suspects.

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – Ivory Coast’s former president Laurent Gbagbo appeared at the International Criminal Court on Monday, facing charges of crimes against humanity, including murder and rape, the first former head of state expected to be tried by the court since its inception in 2002.

Gbagbo, 66, was arrested and flown from Ivory Coast to the Netherlands last week, and held since then at a detention centre in The Hague, under the same roof as a who’s who of the world’s genocide and war crimes suspects.

AMSTERDAM/KHARTOUM (Reuters) – The International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor requested an arrest warrant for Sudan’s defense minister on Friday as part of the court’s investigation into atrocities in the Darfur conflict, a move that Khartoum dismissed as “political.”

The ICC has already issued arrest warrants for Sudan’s President Omar Hassan al-Bashir on charges of orchestrating genocide in Darfur, as well as for a former minister of state for the interior and a militia leader, who all remain at large.

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – The International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor requested an arrest warrant for Sudan’s defense minister on Friday as part of its investigation into atrocities in the Darfur conflict.

The ICC has already issued arrest warrants for Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir on charges of orchestrating genocide in Darfur, as well as for a former minister of state for the interior and a militia leader, all of whom remain at large and in the case of Bashir, free to travel widely.

AMSTERDAM/ZURICH (Reuters) – Rabobank agreed to sell its majority stake in private Swiss bank Sarasin (BSAN.S: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) to global private bank Safra for 1.04 billion Swiss francs ($1.13 billion), fending off an approach from rival Julius Baer (BAER.VX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and ending months of uncertainty.

In a statement late on Friday, Rabobank said Safra Group agreed to acquire a majority shareholding in Bank Sarasin at a price of 7.20 Swiss Francs per A registered share and 36.00 Swiss francs per B registered share, to be paid in cash.

THE HAGUE/MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexican human rights activists want the International Criminal Court to investigate President Felipe Calderon, top officials and the country’s most-wanted drug trafficker, accusing them of allowing subordinates to kill, torture and kidnap civilians.

Netzai Sandoval, a Mexican human rights lawyer, filed a complaint with the ICC in The Hague Friday, requesting an investigation into the deaths of hundreds of civilians at the hands of the military and drug traffickers in Mexico, where more than 45,000 have died in drug-related violence since 2006.