The UN International Commission Against Impunity reported that approximately a quarter of the money used for Guatemalan political campaigns is from criminal groups. The main criminal group being drug traffickers. The report also indicated that government contractors themselves contribute to more than half of the funds. Ian Velasquez, head of the commission, stated “Corruption is [...]
After suicide bombings last Sunday in Fotokol by two women wearing burkas, Northern Cameroon on Wednesday banned women from wearing burkas and face-covering veils. The suicide bombers smuggled the bombs into public areas by hiding them under their veils. The attack, initiated by Islamic extremist group Boko Haram , killed at least 14 people. As [...]
Ireland’s Parliament, the Houses of Oireachtas , passed the Gender Recognition Bill on Wednesday, which allows transgender people over 18 legal recognition of their preferred gender and changes in their birth certificate. Ireland President Michael Higgins is expected to sign the bill into law later this month. While many citizens in Ireland are praising the [...]
Judges of the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Thursday asked for the court’s prosecutor to review her decision not to investigate the 2010 Israeli raid of a flotilla headed for the Gaza Strip. Review of the decision was requested by the Union of Comoros. Israel’s Foreign Ministry strongly disagreed with the majority decision by Judges [...]
The Wisconsin Supreme Court on Thursday issued a court order ending an investigation into the 2012 campaign of Governor Scott Walker .The investigation, which was initiated by Milwaukee County District Attorney John T. Chisholm , was probing whether the recall campaign had illegally coordinated with conservative fundraising groups. The court ruled that the governor’s campaign [...]
A South Carolina judge on Thursday set July 11, 2016 as the trial date for Dylann Roof, the man charged with killing nine black church members attending Emanuel AME Church in Charleston last month. Roof is charged with nine counts of murder, three counts of attempted murder, and one count of weapons possession. Circuit Judge [...]
The US Senate on Thursday passed a bill to revamp the controversial 2001 No Child Left Behind Act . The bill comes as part of an effort to overhaul the old law and give more flexibility to states in setting their own standards for student and school performance. The original law has come under severe [...]
Over 60 South Koreans were indicted Wednesday in an investigation into corruption involving defense procurement projects. Of the indicted individuals, two are former navy chiefs of staff, 10 are current or former military generals, one is a former vice minister, and many more are businessmen and brokers. The charges include, among other things, leaking military [...]
Germany’s Lüneberg District Court on Wednesday sentenced 94-year-old man dubbed the “accountant of Auschwitz” to four years in prison for his role in the killing of 300,000 people. Last week prosecutors asked for three and a half years imprisonment for Oskar Gröening for his actions in serving as an accessory to murder in Auschwitz. During [...]
Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Wednesday accused Syria’s main Kurdish militia of violating the child soldier ban. The militia has been the main force for combating the Islamic State group within the country, and has made progress in capturing land in northern Syria. The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has [...]
