NEW HAVEN, Conn (Reuters) – The sentencing phase for a man convicted of a brutal home invasion drew nearer to a close on Friday as prosecutors and defense attorneys were set to make closing arguments over whether he should be executed. Joshua Komisarjevsky, 31, one of two men found guilty in the 2007 Cheshire, Connecticut attack, faces the death penalty for the murders of Jennifer Hawke-Petit, 48, and her two daughters Hayley Petit, 17, and Michaela Petit, 11. His accomplice Steven Hayes was convicted separately of similar charges and has been sentenced to death. …

LONDON (Reuters) – Police said they had made more than 20 arrests at a demonstration outside the U.S. embassy in London Friday. Twenty people had been held on suspicion of being members of a banned group while another two were detained for obstruction and violent disorder. A Metropolitan Police spokesman declined to confirm a report that the protesters were members of Muslims Against Crusades (MAC), a fringe Islamist group. …

A former lawyer has been sentenced in San Diego for running a fraud scheme that paid women to have babies for sale.

A New Hampshire man was sentenced to 15 to 30 years in prison Friday for beating his wife to death with a flashlight after he came home to find she had strangled their 4-year-old son with a ribbon and tried to kill their 7-year-old daughter.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Friday she would give Myanmar’s leaders a chance to ensure accountability for the past, stepping back from a previous call for a UN-backed war crimes probe.

A New Hampshire man was sentenced Friday to 15 to 30 years in prison for beating his mentally ill wife to death with a flashlight after he came home to find she had strangled their 4-year-old son with a ribbon and tried to kill their 7-year-old daughter.

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A court on Friday found Russia’s only independent election watchdog guilty of violations, casting doubt on its ability to monitor Sunday’s parliamentary election as voters complain of record violations by the Kremlin party.

LONDON (Reuters) – Police said they had made more than 20 arrests at a demonstration outside the U.S. embassy in London on Friday. Twenty people had been held on suspicion of being members of a banned group while another two were detained for obstruction and violent disorder. A Metropolitan Police spokesman declined to confirm a report that the protesters were members of Muslims Against Crusades (MAC), a fringe Islamist group. …

A man who orchestrated a series of bizarre but botched attacks on Hemet police has been sentenced to four consecutive life sentences in Riverside County.