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Sunday, February 26, 2017
Saturday, February 25, 2017
Sunday, February 5, 2017
Romania to withdraw corruption decree after mass protests
The Romanian government says it will withdraw a controversial decree that would have decriminalised some corruption offences.
Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu said it would be repealed on Sunday.
"I do not want to divide Romania. It can't be divided in two," Mr Grindeanu said in a televised statement.
Tens of thousands of flag-waving protesters in central Bucharest cheered his announcement, which came after five consecutive days of demonstrations.
The protests in the eastern European country against the decree have been the largest since the fall of communism in 1989.
Mr Grindeanu said he "heard and saw many opinions", including from "the voice of the street". He said that parliament will now debate a new corruption law.
Rallies outside parliament
The decree was meant to come into force at midnight on 10 February.
It would have decriminalised abuse of power offences when sums of less than €44,000 (£38,000; $47,500) are involved.
One immediate beneficiary would have been Liviu Dragnea, who leads the ruling PSD party and faces charges of defrauding the state of €24,000.
The leftist government only returned to power in December after protests forced its last leader from power in October 2015.
The EU had warned Romania against undoing its progress against corruption.
The government passed the decree on Tuesday, immediately sparking protests, which involved an estimated 300,000 people on Wednesday evening.
It said the changes were needed to reduce prison overcrowding and align certain laws with the constitution.
But critics saw it as a way for the PSD to absolve officials convicted or accused of corruption.
"The damage it will do, if it comes into force, can never be repaired," Laura Kovesi, chief prosecutor of the National Anti-Corruption Directorate had told the BBC
One of the demonstrators, Cristian Busuioc, explained why he had come out on the streets with his 11-year-old son.
"I want to explain to him ... what democracy means, and the way the ones who govern must create laws for the people and not against them or in their own interest," he told the Associated Press.
Pakistan thanks India for returning boy to mother
A five-year-old boy who was taken from Pakistan to India by his father nearly eleven months ago has been reunited with his mother.
Iftikhar Ahmad was received by Pakistani officials on the main border between the neighbouring regions on Saturday.
His father, Gulzar Ahmad Tantray, took him to India last year on the pretext of attending a wedding.
Pakistan has thanked India for returning Iftikhar.
"I had lost all hope of getting my child back," Iftikhar's mother Rohina Kayani told reporters, describing it as a "miracle".
"I am thankful to the Pakistani government for its help," she said.
Ms Kayani lives in Pakistani-administered Kashmir, while Mr Tantray now lives in Indian-administered Kashmir.
Iftikhar became the centre of a controversy between India and Pakistan when Mr Tantray was arrested in March 2016.
Mr Tantray, who grew up in a village in Ganderbal, crossed over to Pakistan-administered Kashmir in 1990, allegedly for arms training at the peak of the insurgency against Indian rule.
He returned to India-administered Kashmir with Iftikhar, where he was taken into police custody.
At the time, Rohina Kayani accused her husband of abducting the child and running away to the Indian side. Mr Tantray and his family have denied charges of kidnapping.
Wednesday, February 1, 2017
Trump picks Neil Gorsuch as nominee for Supreme Court
President Donald Trump has nominated Colorado federal appeals court judge Neil Gorsuch for the US Supreme Court.
If confirmed by the Senate, the 49-year-old would restore the court's conservative majority, lost with the death of Justice Antonin Scalia.
The Senate Democratic leader has said he has "very serious doubts" about Judge Gorsuch's nomination.
The court has the final legal word on many of the most sensitive US issues, from abortion to gender to gun control.
Mr Trump said Judge Gorsuch had a "superb intellect, an unparalleled legal education, and a commitment to interpreting the Constitution according to text".
"Judge Gorsuch has outstanding legal skills, a brilliant mind, tremendous discipline, and has earned bipartisan support," Mr Trump said.
He was picked from a shortlist of 21 choices, which Mr Trump made public during the election campaign.
Accepting the nomination, he said: ""It is the role of judges to apply, not alter, the work of the people's representatives. A judge who likes every outcome he reaches is very likely a bad judge, stretching for results he prefers rather than those the law demands."
Judge Gorsuch is a so-called originalist, meaning he believes the US Constitution should be followed as the Founding Fathers intended.
If successful, his nomination will restore the 5-4 conservative majority on the nine-seat high court.
Protests against Mr Trump's choice were held outside the Supreme Court following the announcement.
Where does Judge Gorsuch stand on key issues?
Abortion: He has not spoken out about Roe v Wade, the case which legalised abortion nationwide in 1973, making in difficult to pin down where he stands on the issue.
Birth control: Judge Gorsuch has supported religious institutions which objected to requirements for employers to provide access to contraception. In one of his most high-profile cases, he defended the religious owners of retailer Hobby Lobby who refused to fund birth control via staff health insurance.
Gun rights: He hasn't ruled directly on firearms restrictions, but is thought to be generally pro-second amendment. He once wrote in a legal opinion that a citizen's right to bear arms "must not be infringed lightly".
Euthanasia: He has been vocal about assisted dying, writing a book in 2009 which opposed legalisation.
A conservative's dream: Anthony Zurcher, North America Reporter
Donald Trump's choice of Neil Gorsuch as his Supreme Court nominee is a fairly traditional pick in a decidedly untraditional time.
Judge Gorsuch has a CV and background that would make him a natural selection for just about any Republican president.
He's the kind of Supreme Court nominee evangelical and traditional conservative voters dreamed of as a reward for sticking with Mr Trump through the general election despite campaign missteps, controversies and occasional political apostasies.
They knew they would get a court pick they wouldn't like if Hillary Clinton won. They hoped they would get someone like Judge Gorsuch if Mr Trump prevailed.
Meanwhile, Democrats are left fuming over Senate Republicans' precedent-breaking decision to stymie Barack Obama's attempts to fill this court vacancy for nearly 10 months.
They have to decide if they will try to derail Mr Gorsuch's nomination as retribution - perhaps forcing Republicans to break with another Senate tradition, the ability of a minority to a block a Supreme Court nominee with only 41 votes through a filibuster.
The party's base, feeling a liberal majority on the court was stolen from them, will demand lockstep resistance, likely setting up a divisive confirmation fight ahead.
Can Democrats block the nomination?
Judge Gorsuch's nomination is expected to spark a political showdown in the Senate.
Former President Barack Obama had put forward Judge Merrick Garland after Justice Scalia's death last February.
But Republicans refused to debate the choice, saying it was too close to an election, which left Democrats embittered.
Even if Judge Gorsuch makes it through the Senate Judiciary Committee, he will still face challenges when the entire chamber convenes for a final vote.
Democrats may seek to prevent that second vote by prolonging or filibustering the debate. In that case, the nomination would need 60 votes rather than a simple majority.
With Republicans only holding 52 Senate seats, they may have to change Senate rules in order to approve Mr Trump's nominee.
Why is the choice so important?
The highest court in the US is often the ultimate arbiter on highly contentious laws, disputes between states and the federal government, and final appeals to stay executions.
It hears fewer than 100 cases a year and the key announcements are made in June.
Each of the nine justices serves a lifetime appointment after being nominated by the president and approved by the Senate.
The court already has cases this term on the rights of transgender students, gerrymandered voting districts and on the Texas death penalty determination.
It is also likely the court will hear cases on voter rights, abortion, racial bias in policing and US immigration policy, and possibly on Mr Trump's controversial executive order banning refugees.
Other Trump developments
- The US Army Corps of Engineers was ordered to approve work on the controversial Dakota Access oil pipeline, a week after President Trump gave it his blessing.
- US security chiefs admitted flaws in the way Mr Trump's bar on people from seven countries entering the US was implemented
- US Senate Democrats are boycotting confirmation votes for two of President Trump's key cabinet nominees
Tuesday, January 31, 2017
Brazil's former richest man Eike Batista sent to prison
Former Brazilian oil and mining tycoon Eike Batista has been transferred to a high security prison in Rio de Janeiro after being arrested on arrival from New York.
Once Brazil's richest man, he has been accused of paying millions of dollars in bribes to secure contracts with Rio's state government.
Mr Batista has denied any wrongdoing.
He has promised to help the authorities in their efforts to tackle corruption which he says is widespread in Brazil.
Before boarding the plane and turning himself in to police, Mr Batista said he was returning to Brazil to clear his name.
"I'm at the disposal of the courts," he told O Globo newspaper in New York. "As a Brazilian, I am doing my duty."
Under Brazilian law, Mr Batista would have been sent to a special prison wing if he had a university degree.
But as he dropped out before finishing his engineering degree in Germany, he will be serving time in an ordinary cell with six other inmates at the Bangu penitentiary.
Many Brazilian jails are overcrowded and controlled by criminal gangs.
The authorities in Rio say, however, that is not the case at Bangu.
German passport
Mr Batista was met by police as he landed in Rio on Monday morning.
He was escorted off the plane and initially taken to the Ary Franco prison in Rio.
After undergoing medical exams and having his hair cut short, he was transferred to the high security prison in the outskirts of the city.
Mr Batista was declared a fugitive by Brazilian officials after police raided his estate in Rio de Janeiro last week and found he had left for New York just hours earlier.
BBC South America business correspondent Daniel Gallas says there was much speculation on whether Mr Batista would return to Brazil or use his German passport to flee to Europe.
Who is Eike Batista?
- Seen by many as the face of Brazilian capitalism
- Bold, extravagant and charismatic, he made most of his fortune during the commodities boom that brought great wealth to Brazil
- Listed in 2012 by Forbes Magazine as the world's seventh-richest man, with an estimated fortune of $35bn
- His Grupo EBX conglomerate spanned mining, oil, shipbuilding and logistics
- After EBX collapsed following a crash in demand for commodities, his wealth slumped to under $1bn (£800m)
But Mr Batista said the trip to New York was not an attempt on his part to flee justice.
He is now due to be questioned about his alleged involvement in a corruption ring involving powerful business people and influential politicians in Rio de Janeiro state.
Investigators accuse Mr Batista of paying the then-governor of the state, Sergio Cabral, $16.5m (£13.2m) in bribes to win government contracts.
Mr Cabral was arrested in November as part of a larger corruption investigation dubbed Operation Car Wash.
As a result of Operation Car Wash, more than 100 people, including Brazil's most powerful building tycoon, Marcelo Odebrecht, have been convicted of crimes such as bribery, racketeering and money-laundering.
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