Tag: justice

Palace refuses to dignify Sereno’s call for President Duterte to resign

(Eagle News) — The Palace has refused to dignify Maria Lourdes Sereno’s call for President Rodrigo Duterte to resign for what she claimed was his role behind the Supreme Court decision nullifying her appointment as Chief Justice. “Ayaw ko na po magkomento diyan at tingin ko po ang Presidente ayaw na ring magkomento,” Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said in a radio interview. In making the call for the resignation during a forum organized by her […]

Family of whistleblowing Myanmar cop evicted after testimony

YANGON, Myanmar (AFP) — The family of a Myanmar policeman who testified in court that two Reuters reporters had been set up was evicted from their police housing a day after his evidence, his wife said. Deputy police Major Moe Yan Naing, a prosecution witness, surprised the Yangon courtroom on Friday by describing how his colleagues were ordered by a senior officer to “get” reporter Wa Lone by handing him sensitive documents at a meeting. The […]

Brazil judge orders Facebook to cut ‘fake news’ on slain activist

  RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AFP) — A Brazilian judge on Wednesday ordered Facebook to remove fake news posted about slain black rights’ activist Marielle Franco. Judge Jorge Jansen Counago Novelle, in Rio de Janeiro, gave the US-based giant 24 hours to pull “publications of false information with criminal content on the councilwoman Marielle Franco,” the court said in a statement. Facebook responded in a statement that it would comply and “remove the specific URL content […]

Myanmar court remands Reuters journalists for 2 more weeks

  YANGON, Myanmar (AFP) — The detention of two Reuters journalists in Myanmar was extended for two more weeks, a court said Wednesday, in the pair’s first public appearance since their December 12 arrest under a draconian colonial-era secrecy law. Wa Lone, 31, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 27 — Myanmar nationals who had been reporting on a military-led crackdown on Rohingya Muslims — were arrested after being invited to meet police for dinner on the […]

Extra charges dropped against journalists jailed for flying drone in Myanmar

  YANGON, Myanmar (AFP) — Foreign and local journalists jailed for flying a drone near Myanmar’s parliament could be released from prison in early January after police dropped additional charges that carried at least three more years behind bars, their lawyers said Tuesday. Lau Hon Meng from Singapore and Mok Choy Lin from Malaysia, who were on assignment for Turkish state broadcaster TRT, were detained late October along with Myanmar journalist Aung Naing Soe and […]

Ousted Caracas mayor flees house arrest, heads to Madrid

BOGOTA, Colombia (AFP) —  Fugitive Caracas mayor Antonio Ledezma, a key opponent of President Nicolas Maduro, traveled to Madrid on Friday after escaping house arrest in the Venezuelan capital. Ledezma, 62, had hours earlier crossed the border into neighboring Colombia, saying he intended to fly to Europe to organize resistance against Maduro’s rule, which has left millions of Venezuelans facing food and medicine shortages. The opposition leader boarded an Avianca flight from Bogota to Madrid, where he […]

Former Kirchner minister arrested for corruption in Argentina

by Sonia Avalos Buenos Aires, Argentina (AFP) — A former key minister in Argentina’s husband-and-wife Kirchner governments was arrested for corruption involving hundreds of millions of dollars Wednesday after a Congress vote stripped him of his parliamentary immunity. Former planning minister Julio de Vido was a key figure in the 12-year period between 2003-2015, handling billions of dollars while in charge of Argentina’s public works contracts and also acting as a gatekeeper to the Kirchners. Acting on orders […]

Mexicans march to protest violence against women

MEXICO CITY, Mexico (AFP) — Thousands of women of all ages marched Sunday through Mexico City, demanding justice in the case of a young woman who was kidnapped and murdered. “It wasn’t your fault, Mara,” read a sign carried by one marcher, rejecting attempts to shift the blame on the victim, 19-year-old Mara Castilla, for having gone out alone at night. Castilla’s body was found Friday in the neighboring state of Puebla, a week after she left a nightclub and […]

Pro-Kurdish party’s ex-leader tried on ‘terror’ charges in Turkey

ANKARA, Turkey (AFP) — The former co-leader of Turkey’s third largest political party went on trial in Ankara on Tuesday on charges of disseminating “terror propaganda” for outlawed Kurdish militants. Figen Yuksekdag and the other co-leader of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), Selahattin Demirtas, were detained in November and have been held in jail ever since. Their incarceration alarmed the European Union and raised further concerns over use of the state of emergency imposed in […]

PNP to investigate drug war-related deaths; vows justice for victims

QUEZON City, Philippines (Eagle News) — The Philippine National Police (PNP) assured that justice will be served to victims of killings in the government’s war on illegal drugs. PNP spokesperson Senior Supt. Dionardo Carlos said in an interview that all drug-related killings would be investigated. Homicide incidents that are not drug-related were also being looked into, he said. “We are continuing our own investigation,” Carlos noted. https://youtu.be/52XQwr5mnFw

DOJ files 3 drug-related charges vs De Lima before Muntinlupa RTC

    (Eagle News) – The Department of Justice (DOJ) filed three separate drug-related charges against Senator Leila de Lima at the Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court for her alleged participation in the illegal drug trade at the New Bilibid Prisons (NBP). The charges filed on Friday, February 17, were for violation of Republic Act No. 9165 or Dangerous Drugs Act, Section 5, penalizing the “sale, trading, administration, dispensation, delivery, distribution and transportation” of illegal drugs. […]

Supreme Court blocks key Obama immigration plan

by Sébastien BLANC Jérôme CARTILLIER WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The US Supreme Court blocked Barack Obama’s bid to shield millions of migrants from deportation on Thursday — a major blow to the president that thrusts the charged issue to the frontline of the battle to succeed him. Justices in the under-strength court were split 4-4 over Obama’s bid to change immigration policy by executive action, thus leaving lower court rulings blocking the effort in […]