Goma, DR Congo | AFP | A former milita leader accused of mass rape and crimes against humanity in the Democratic Republic of Congo went on trial Tuesday at a military court in the eastern city of Goma. Ntabo Ntaberi Sheka and his militiamen are accused of raping more than …
Read More »Egypt upholds nine death sentences over prosecutor killing
Cairo, Egypt | AFP | An Egyptian court on Sunday upheld death sentences for nine people convicted of the murder of a top prosecutor in a car bombing three years ago, a judiciary source said. Hisham Barakat was killed in June 2015 when a bomb struck his convoy in Cairo …
Read More »‘Shocked’ UK warns UAE of repercussions over spy student sentence
London, United Kingdom | AFP | Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt warned of “repercussions” after a United Arab Emirates court on Wednesday sentenced British student Matthew Hedges to life in jail having convicted him of spying. “I am deeply shocked and disappointed,” said Hunt. “Today’s verdict is not what we expect …
Read More »UAE court sentences British student to life for spying
Dubai, United Arab Emirates | AFP | A United Arab Emirates court sentenced British student Matthew Hedges to life in jail on spying charges on Wednesday, prompting a “shocked” Britain to warn of repercussions for relations with its longstanding Gulf ally. Hedges, a 31-year-old PhD student, had protested his innocence …
Read More »El Chapo bribed Interpol, Mexican officials to keep drugs flowing, informant says
New York, United States | AFP | Drug baron Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman paid huge bribes to Mexican prosecutors, police, military and even Interpol to ensure smooth operations for his Sinaloa cartel, a key informant said at his US trial on Thursday. Jesus “El Rey” Zambada, brother of the cartel’s …
Read More »German nurse admits to killing 100 patients as trial opens
Oldenburg, Germany | AFP | Former nurse Niels Hoegel, admitted Tuesday to killing 100 patients in his care, on the first day of his trial in the biggest serial killing case in Germany’s post-war history. Hoegel, 41, has already spent nearly a decade in prison on a life term for …
Read More »Former top Chinese Communist official jailed for life for bribery
Beijing, China | AFP | A former Chinese Communist Party official who was once tipped as a potential successor to President Xi Jinping was sentenced to life in prison for bribery on Tuesday, the latest senior cadre to fall in Xi’s sweeping anti-corruption crusade. Sun Zhengcai, a former Politburo member …
Read More »Basajjabalaba to face trial before Anti-Corruption Court
Kampala, Uganda | GODFREY SSALI | The Constitutional Court has ordered that city businessman Hassan Basajjabalaba together with his brother Muzamir Basajjabalaba should stand trial before the Anti-Corruption Court. The ruling comes five years after their trial had been stayed, so that they could challenge charges of conspiracy to defeat …
Read More »Cosby: from US cultural icon to convicted sex offender
Norristown, United States | AFP | From US cultural icon blazing past racial barriers to convicted sex offender: Thursday’s guilty verdict will now likely see Bill Cosby, “America’s Dad” swap a life of wealth and privilege for prison. It was a name that once evoked so much — treasured father …
Read More »Rising Senegal politician Khalifa Sall gets 5 years for fraud
Dakar, Senegal | AFP | Leading Senegalese politician Khalifa Sall was handed a five-year jail term for fraud on Friday, a sentence that will rule him out of presidential elections due next February. Sall, 62, who is mayor of Dakar, had denied the charges against him as politically motivated. He …
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