The founder of the shuttered file-sharing site Megaupload appeared in a New Zealand court Monday, as the U.S. Department of Justice seeks to extradite him and other company officials on criminal charges. But his lawyer insisted his client is innocent.

Syria’s government rejected the Arab League’s plan instructing President Bashar al-Assad to delegate powers to his vice president, calling it “blatant intervention in its internal affairs,” Syria’s official SANA news agency reported.