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Vioxx court case ends in mistrial

A US judge has declared a mistrial in the first federal lawsuit against drugs giant Merck and its Vioxx painkiller.

The move came after a jury in Houston was unable to agree on whether the drug had caused a man’s fatal heart attack.

Merck is facing a mass of Vioxx lawsuits

BP could face US criminal charges

BP may face criminal charges over the explosion at its giant Texas refinery that killed 15 workers last March.

The US Department of Labour has referred the case to the Department of Justice, which will now decide whether to pursue it.

The news came on the same day that BP issued its final report on the blast at its Texas City refinery near Houston, which also injured 170 people

Maverick Tapie convicted of fraud

French business maverick Bernard Tapie has been sentenced to three years in jail for tax fraud.

But the former Marseille football club owner will not go to prison after the judge took into account time already served for previous convictions.

The Paris Criminal Court found Tapie guilty of failing to pay 7m euros (£4

Iran’s president says move Israel

Iran’s conservative president has said that Israel should be moved to Europe.

“If European countries claim that they have killed Jews in World War II.

South Korea fines Microsoft $32m

Microsoft has been fined 33bn won ($32m; £18.4m) following an antitrust ruling by South Korean regulators.

The US software giant was ordered to unbundle its messaging service from its Windows software by South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission

Black set to appear in US court

Media tycoon Lord Black is due to appear in a US court on Thursday to face charges of fraud.

He was indicted last month on eight counts of fraud, accused of taking money from newspaper group Hollinger International for his own use.

The British peer has denied all the charges, calling them “absolute nonsense”

Blair faces Iraq war inquiry move

Tony Blair faces a fresh move by senior MPs to set up a full Parliamentary inquiry into the UK role in the run up to the Iraq war and its aftermath.

Tory Ken Clarke and Lib Dem deputy leader Sir Menzies Campbell are among those backing the cross-party motion.

They are aiming to get 200 signatures and get a debate in the Commons

Pinochet faces tax fraud charges

Former Chilean military ruler Gen Augusto Pinochet has been placed under house arrest and charged with tax evasion and passport fraud.

He is also accused of using forged government documents and misleading officials over his assets.

The charges relate to $27m (£15

Sony sued over controversial CDs

Sony BMG’s woes in the US over its much-criticised anti-piracy CD software have deepened.

It is facing two separate lawsuits in Texas and California.

The Texan lawsuit accuses Sony of installing spyware and is seeking damages of up to $100,000 in damages for each violation

US dating agencies sued for fraud

Two major online dating agencies are being sued for alleged fraud and malpractice in the United States.

Match.com has been accused of sending bogus emails to clients and using their own staff to attend some dates – the practice known as “date bait”