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Geopolitics Society

Seeking Justice For South Korean Ferry’s Lost Children

ANSAN — It’s been over three months since the South Korean Sewol ferry capsized, killing 300 passengers onboard. It was a tragedy that sparked government reforms and national soul searching. But understandably, it’s been much more challenging for the families of the victims, almost all of whom attended the same high school. The temporary memorial that was created after the April 16 ferry disaster is a giant, air-conditioned tent with an enormous alter that holds framed pictures of the high school students who died when the ship went down. Flowers have been laid out in front of them, and there […]

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Geopolitics Ideas

Al Jazeera Verdict, A Farce Of Egyptian Justice

After the verdict sentencing Al Jazeera journalists to prison, it is difficult to consider the country’s court system independent. Dark days ahead for freedom of expression in Egypt.

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blog Geopolitics

The French Connection In Trial Of Putin Critic

An accusation, later withdrawn, by French cosmetics giant Yves Rocher stands at the center of the case of against celebrated anti-Kremlin blogger Alexei Navalny. Who’s pulling the strings?

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blog Ideas

Istanbul’s ‘Woman In Red’ Breaks Her Silence

Ceyda Sungur became the symbol of the Gezi Park protests that shook Turkey because of photograph of a police officer spraying her with gas. That officer now has an unlikely defender.

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blog Society

Georgetown’s Bizarre German Murder Case

A Washington D.C. jury has convicted a 49-year-old German man of killing his 91-year-old wife in their home in the capital’s posh Georgetown neighborhood.

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Geopolitics

AirAsia Black Boxes, Boston Bombing Trial, Pharaonic Discovery

Monday, January 5, 2015 AIRASIA BLACK BOXES MAY NEVER BE FOUNDThe AirAsia flight QZ8501 recovery mission has resumed today with improved weather conditions. The Indonesian navy found what could be the jet’s tail section, but officials have warned that the aircraft’s black boxes may never be recovered. Meanwhile, leaked documents published in The Jakarta Post […]

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Geopolitics

Fight For Kobani, Pistorius Sentencing, Turtle Twerking

Tuesday, October 21, 2014 NEW ISIS OFFENSIVE IN KOBANI ISIS fighters have launched an assault “on all fronts” in the Syrian Kurdish town of Kobani, the director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told AFP. The offensive came hours after U.S. airplanes dropped ammunition and medical aid to besieged Kurdish fighters. It also came […]

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Geopolitics

Corruption Trial Of Disgraced Chinese Official Bo Xilai Begins

New York Times, China Daily, BBC Worldcrunch JINAN — The trial of Bo Xilai, the disgraced former Communist official accused of corruption, bribery and abuse of power, began Thursday morning in the eastern provincial capital of Jinan, according to China Daily. One of the most serious charges against him relates to his wife’s role in […]

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Geopolitics

Bradley Manning Sentenced To 35 Years, World Reactions

TWITTER, WIKILEAKS Worldcrunch Bradley Manning, the heroic whistleblower for Wikleaks and devious traitor for the Pentagon, was sentenced Wednesday to 35 years in prison by a U.S. military court in Fort Meade, Maryland. Manning had been convicted last month of 20 charges — including espionage — for handing hundreds of thousands of battlefield reports and […]

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Geopolitics

Musharraf Indicted In Bhutto’s Murder Case

BBC, AL JAZEERA Benazir Bhutto (rhyme reverie)

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Geopolitics

U.S. Advisers Sent To Iraq, Putin Convoys Barred, RIP Lauren Bacall

Wednesday, August 13, 2014 U.S. SENDS MORE MILITARY ADVISERS TO IRAQ Washington is sending 130 more military advisers to northern Iraq to assist in the evacuation of displaced people trapped on Mount Sinjar, The New York Times reports. The article quotes U.S. officials as saying that a ground presence is needed to secure the evacuation, […]

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Geopolitics

Bo Xilai’s Lawyer Barred From Representing Him

REUTERS Worldcrunch BEIJING – A lawyer appointed to represent disgraced Chinese politician Bo Xilai in his corruption case said on Thursday he has been denied permission to act on his behalf, a move likely to reinforce belief that Bo’s conviction is a foregone conclusion. Gu Yushu, a lawyer appointed by Bo’s sister, Bo Jieying, told […]

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blog

WATCH: Berlusconi Infuriated At Prison Sentence

ANSA, TGCOM24 (Italy) Worldcrunch ROME – Italy’s former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi broadcasted an angry video late Thursday, after a high court upheld his four-year prison sentence in a tax fraud case. The center-right leader strongly denounced the jail ruling, claiming his innocence and accusing the Italian Justice of persecuting him. “No-one can understand the […]

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Geopolitics

US Student Abandoned In Jail Gets $4M In Compensation

CNN Worldcrunch SAN DIEGO – A University of California San Diego student left unmonitored in a holding cell for five days by the Drug Enforcement Administration has settled a lawsuit for $4.1 million, his attorney said Tuesday. “This was a mistake of unbelievable and unimaginable proportions,” said attorney Julia Yoo. Daniel Chong, 25, drank his […]

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Society

Is India’s Culture Of Rape Finally Changing?

Seven months after a student was brutally gang-raped and killed on a public bus in New Delhi, India has new legislation and an established women’s movement — but is it enough?

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Ideas

How Many Times Must Italy Pay For Berlusconi’s Legal Troubles?

-Analysis- ROME – Countless attempts have been made to separate Silvio Berlusconi’s fate from that of the Italian government and economy. Above all, how can one man’s personal destiny be disentangled from the properly functioning relationships between the powers of the State. In the end, it seems, all attempts at such a separation have been […]

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Geopolitics

Berlusconi, The End Is Near

-Analysis- ROME – Silvio Berlusconi’s sentence to seven years in prison and a life ban from public office signals the end of his political adventures. More generally, it also marks the end of Italy’s so-called “Second Republic”: the political era that began in 1992 of which the ex-prime minister has been the ubiquitous figure, just […]

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Geopolitics

China Mass Trial, Slow Google Cars, Snowden 007

Wednesday, May 28, 2014 FIGHTS CONTINUE IN EASTERN UKRAINE Pro-Russian fighters in Donetsk have shot down a drone, self-appointed local authorities said, amid reports of ongoing fighting outside the building of the Security Service of Ukraine in the center of the eastern city, seized by the rebels. According to RT journalist Paula Slier, fights have […]

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Ideas

Why All Of Italy Continues To Pay For Berlusconi’s Legal Troubles

-OpEd- ROME – Italy’s entire political establishment is working together to avoid the collision between addressing the urgent social and economic problems that are engulfing the country, and the personal and judicial destiny of Silvio Berlusconi. Every time there is a political statement, and on the regular talk-show circuit, it is repeated over and over […]

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Geopolitics

Andreotti, The Moro Affair And The *Noir* Of Italian Public Life

Italy’s Giulio Andreotti died this week at the age of 94. His handling of the abduction of fellow politician Aldo Moro tells us much about the seven-time prime minister.

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Geopolitics

As Munich Right-Wing Terror Trial Opens, All Eyes On Her

SZ-NEWSBLOG (Germany) Worldcrunch MUNICH – The trial began Monday of National Socialist Underground (NSU) activist Beate Zschäpe, 38, and four other accused extreme right-wing terrorists, with all eyes fixated on the one female defendent. Along with four men, Zschäpe is accused of participation in two bombings and 10 murders, the first of which was committed […]

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Future

Key Ingredient In Cough Syrup Could Help With Down Syndrome

ABC NEWS, HERALD SUN, MONASH UNIVERSITY (Australia) Worldcrunch MELBOURNE – An ingredient used in cough syrup could hold the key to improving memory, language skills and learning in people with Down syndrome. Researchers from Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, believe BTD-001, an ingredient in cough syrup that was discovered in the 1920s, could help with […]

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Geopolitics

Sarkozy Under Investigation For Exploiting L’Oreal Heiress

FRANCE 24, LE MONDE, BBC, REUTERS Worldcrunch PARIS –Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been placed under formal investigation over claims his 2007 campaign was funded by “exploiting the weakness” of elderly Liliane Bettencourt, the L’Oréal heiress and France’s richest woman. Le Monde reports that Sarkozy’s supporters in the current center-right opposition called the decision […]

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Geopolitics

“I’m Still Alive” – An Exclusive Interview With Yulia Tymoshenko

In a state hospital after growing ill in jail, the Ukranian opposition leader denounces the “cannibalistic” tactics of those who have condemned her — and vows to fight on.

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Geopolitics

India Gang Rape Suspect Commits Suicide In Prison, Family Says He Was Murdered

THE HINDU, THE TIMES OF INDIA (India), BBC NEWS (UK), REUTERS Worldcrunch NEW DELHI – Ram Singh, a bus driver on trial for the gang-rape and murder of a young woman last December, committed suicide in a high-security cell at New Delhi’s Tihar Jail – but his lawyer and family suspect he was murdered. The […]

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Geopolitics

Meet The Dashing Czech Billionaire Leading The Fight Against Klaus And Corruption

Karel Janecek became a billionaire before 40. Now, as President Vaclav Klaus steps down in a cloud after a decade, Janecek is leading the fight for those who want to clean up Czech politics.

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Geopolitics

Pistorius Granted Bail, Trial Date Set For June

CNN, REUTERS AFRICA, NEWS 24, EYEWITNESS NEWS (South Africa) Worldcrunch PRETORIA– Oscar Pistorius has been granted bail after a hearing that lasted four days. He is charged with the shooting of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, on Valentine’s Day. In Friday’s ruling, Magistrate Desmond Nair stated that his decision does not mean that the State’s case […]

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Geopolitics

Thai Magazine Editor Gets 11 Years In Jail For Defaming King

BANGKOK POST, THE NATION (Thailand), HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH (USA) Worldcrunch BANGKOK – A Thailand criminal court convicted Somyot Prueksakasemsuk, the editor of the now-defunct Voice of Taksin magazine to 11 years in jail on Wednesday. Somyot, who is also a prominent Thai labor rights activist, was on trial for two counts of lese majeste for […]

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Geopolitics

China’s Bo Xilai Expelled From Parliament, Stripped Of Immunity

XINHUA (China), WALL STREET JOURNAL (US) Worldcrunch BEIJING – Disgraced politician Bo Xilai has been formally expelled from China’s top legislature, the National People’s Congress (NPC), and stripped of his legal immunity according to Chinese state media. Xinhua news agency reported that the NPC had removed Bo from his post last month, but only made […]

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Society

Defending Islam, With Violence: Trial Of Salafist Man Rivets Germany

BONN – “You have to use violence to defend Islamic values?” asks the judge. “Yes, of course,” Murat K. replies. Five months after he attacked police officers with a knife, the 26-year-old Salafist came clean in the courtroom: it was his duty, he said, to wound the police officers. The officers in question are veterans, […]

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Society

Pussy Riot Member Freed By Appeals Court

AP, BBC NEWS (UK) Worldcrunch A Moscow appeals court has freed Yekaterina Samutsevich, one of the convicted women from the punk band Pussy Riot, but upheld two-year jail terms for the other two. The judge ruled that Yekaterina Samutsevich’s sentence should be suspended because she was thrown out of Moscow’s main cathedral by guards before […]

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Society

Top French Diplomat In Moscow To Challenge Russia On Pussy Riot Verdict

FRANCE DIPLOMATIE, LE NOUVEL OBSERVATEUR (France), THE VOICE OF RUSSIA (Russia) Worldcrunch On August 17, when three members of the Russian punk rock band Pussy Riot were sentenced to two years in a penal colony, the verdict sparked outrage around the world: the U. S. State Department asked Russia to “review this case and to […]

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Geopolitics

Norway Killer Anders Breivik Ruled Sane, Sentenced To 21 Years

Worldcrunch THE NORWAY POST (Norway), CNN (USA), BBC NEWS, THE GUARDIAN (UK) OSLO – Anders Behring Breivik, the man who killed 77 people in a bomb attack and gun rampage in July 2011, was sentenced to 21 years in prison, reports CNN. The five judges at Oslo district court were unanimous in ruling that Breivik […]

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Geopolitics

Gu Kailai Given Suspended Death Sentence

CHINA DAILY, XINHUA (China), BBC NEWS (UK), CNN (USA), AL JAZEERA (Qatar) Worldcrunch HEFEI – Gu Kailai, the wife of disgraced Chinese Politician Bo Xilai, has been given a suspended death sentence for the murder of British businessman Neil Heywood, reports BBC News. Gu’s death penalty has been suspended for two years due to her […]

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Society

Who Can Get A Fair Trial In China? A Visit To Foshan Detention Center

FOSHAN – As a professional criminal defense lawyer, I have been to detention centers everywhere. They are of course all different, but at a recent first-time meeting with a criminal suspect he was separated from me by frosted glass. Because I had come all the way from Beijing, the pre-trial official of the Public Security […]

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