Tag: scandal

Japan transport officials visit Toyota HQ over testing scandal

TOKYO, June 4, 2024 (AFP) – Japanese transport officials inspected Toyota’s headquarters Tuesday after the top-selling automaker and four others including Honda and Mazda admitted failure to fully comply with national vehicle inspection standards. Five representatives visited the offices in central Aichi region to probe breaches declared by the company related to domestic shipment certifications. The transport ministry on Monday told five Japanese auto giants — Toyota, Honda, Mazda, Suzuki and Yamaha — to stop […]

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Japanese mayor resigns after 99 sexual harassment allegations, sparks social media outrage

TOKYO, March 1, 2024 (AFP) – The resignation of a Japanese mayor facing 99 allegations of sexual harassment sparked anger on social media on Friday, after he denied some cases and wept at a press conference. An official investigation accused Hideo Kojima, the mayor of a town in central Gifu region, of several incidents of harassment, including touching a colleague’s breasts and buttocks. The 74-year-old said Thursday he would quit, a day after wiping away […]

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Australian bishop charged with rape and indecent assault after Vatican probe

  SYDNEY, Feb 22, 2024 (AFP) – An Australian bishop is facing accusations of rape and indecent assault, becoming one of the most senior Catholics in the country to be charged with sex crimes. Emeritus Bishop Christopher Alan Saunders was arrested in Western Australia on Wednesday evening after a high-powered internal Vatican investigation spurred child abuse detectives into action. Police said he has been charged with 14 counts of unlawful and indecent assault and two […]

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‘Shattered Souls’ art installation shines light on Catholic church scandals

Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany : This photo taken on August 4, 2023 shows the art installation ‘Shattered Souls … in a Sea of Silence’ by German artist Dennis Josef Meseg in front of Cologne Cathedral, western Germany. With his installation, the artist wants to make the public aware of the desperate, silent cry of abused children for justice for their maltreated souls. 333 small mannequins, draped in the colours of innocence and the Curia, will […]

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Top court upholds Malaysia ex-PM Najib’s jail sentence in 1MDB scandal

  PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia (AFP) — Malaysia’s highest court Tuesday upheld former prime minister Najib Razak’s 12-year jail sentence for corruption in the 1MDB financial scandal. “We find the appeal devoid of any merits. We find the conviction and sentence to be safe,” Chief Justice Maimun Tuan Mat said on behalf of a five-judge panel. “Based on the foregoing, it is our unanimous view that the evidence led during the trial points overwhelmingly to guilt on […]

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UK PM fires ally and digs in despite calls to quit

by Jitendra JOSHI / James PHEBY Agence France-Presse LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Britain’s scandal-hit Prime Minister Boris Johnson attempted a rearguard offensive late Wednesday against a cabinet and Conservative party revolt, firing a top ally and vowing to “fight on” despite dozens of government members resigning. The dismissal from the cabinet of Communities Secretary Michael Gove — Johnson’s right-hand-man in Britain’s 2016 Brexit referendum campaign — dramatically showed that the Conservative leader was not […]

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UK PM Johnson faces parliamentary inquisition after top ministers quit

by Jitendra Joshi Agence France-Presse  LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson faces two high-stakes encounters in parliament on Wednesday after his government was rocked by the shock departures of two senior ministers. Rishi Sunak resigned as finance minister, and Sajid Javid as health secretary on Tuesday night. Both said they could no longer tolerate the culture of scandal that has stalked Johnson for months. They will now sit on the Conservative […]

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UK Tories mired in new scandal over MP’s drunken behaviour

LONDON, July 1, 2022 (AFP) – British Prime Minister Boris Johnson faced a fresh political headache Friday following the resignation of the deputy chief whip of his ruling Conservatives over allegations he drunkenly groped two men. In a letter to Johnson sent late Thursday, Tory MP Chris Pincher said he was quitting his post after he drank “far too much” and “embarrassed myself and other people” the previous evening. Numerous reports said he had also […]

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Volkswagen in Canada ordered to pay CAN$196.5 million over emissions scandal

TORONTO, Canada (AFP) – A court in Toronto on Wednesday ordered Volkswagen to pay a fine of Can$196.5 million (US$150 million) after the automaker pleaded guilty to violating environmental laws in the emissions cheating scandal. The court accepted an agreement that the German automaker reached with the Canadian government, which in December filed a 60-count indictment against the company. This fine is in addition to nearly Can$2.4 billion that Volkswagen had agreed to pay in […]

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Japan trade minister resigns over donation scandal

  TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan’s new trade minister has submitted his resignation after being accused of violating election law by offering voters money and gifts, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Friday. Isshu Sugawara had been in the hot seat after a magazine reported he was suspected of paying 20,000 yen ($185) to a bereaved family in his constituency. He was also reported to have given gifts to other voters, including pricey melons and […]

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Austrian president calls for September snap elections

Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen said Sunday he wanted snap elections to take place in September after the government collapsed over a corruption scandal. “My preference is for early elections in September, if possible the beginning of September,” he told journalists after holding talks with Chancellor Sebastian Kurz. The legal procedures to fix the date will now have to take place over the coming weeks, with Van der Bellen set to hold further talks […]

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Cardinal Pell victim says ‘hard to take comfort’ from sentencing

The former choirboy molested by Australian Cardinal George Pell led the response to his sentencing Wednesday, saying it was “hard to take comfort” from his six-year jail term. Pell was sentenced in the County Court of Victoria after being found guilty of five counts of sexual and indecent assault in the sacristy of a Melbourne cathedral in 1996 and 1997. Chief Justice Peter Kidd told the court the 77-year-old would be eligible for parole after […]

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