News & Current Events

[ad_1] A major power outage struck southeastern France, including the Cannes region. The organisers, however, informed that the film festival, scheduled to be concluded on Saturday, would not be affected.The cause of the outage remains unknown. 1,60,000 homes had been affected, Grid operator RTE said.This comes after Spain and Portugal urged European Union to step in to push for power interconnectors with France, after a major power outage hit the Iberian Peninsula last month, Reuters reported. [ad_2] Source link

[ad_1] GUATEMALA CITY: A United Nations expert warned Friday at the conclusion of her two-week visit that Guatemala's prosecutor's office is increasingly using criminal law against former prosecutors, judges, defence attorneys, journalists and others.Margaret Satterthwaite, the UN Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, travelled the country meeting with judges, lawyers, lawmakers and others, including Guatemala's chief prosecutor."The instrumental use of criminal law by the Prosecutor General's Office appears to amount to a systematic pattern of intentional and severe deprivation of fundamental rights, targeted at specific groups," Satterthwaite wrote in her preliminary report. "This persecution appears to be intensifying, as those who have sought to end impunity and corruption, defend human rights, or speak out against abuses of power increasingly face digital harassment, threats, and criminal charges."The office is led by Consuelo Porras, who has been sanctioned by […]

[ad_1] Institute of Peace (FIle Photo AP) WASHINGTON: A federal judge on Friday denied the Trump administration's request that she stay her May 19 ruling that returned control of the US Institute of Peace back to its acting president and board.In a seven-page ruling, US district court Judge Beryl A Howell said the government did not meet any of the four requirements for a stay, including a "strong showing" of whether its request could succeed on the merits.Howell reiterated her finding that the Institute is not part of the executive branch and is therefore beyond President Donald Trump's authority to fire its board. She added that the firings also did not follow the law for how a board member of the Institute might be removed by the president. Most of the board was fired in March during a takeover of […]

[ad_1] VATICAN CITY: Pope Leo XIV made plenty of enemies helping dismantle a powerful Catholic movement whose leaders physically, sexually, spiritually and psychologically abused members.As Leo's past record of handling clergy sexual abuse cases comes under scrutiny, his biggest defenders are the victims of the group, known as the Sodalitium Christiane Vitae. These survivors say that starting in 2018, when the pope was a bishop in Peru, Robert Prevost met with them. He took their claims seriously when few others did, got the Vatican involved and worked concretely to provide financial reparations for the harm they had endured. They credit him with helping arrange the key 2022 meeting with Pope Francis that triggered a Vatican investigation into the group that resulted in its suppression earlier this year. "What can I say about him? That he listened to me," said Jose […]

[ad_1] Russia hits Ukraine with drones and missiles Russia attacked Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, on Saturday with drones, missiles, and injured at least eight people, the city's mayor said. Images shared online captured thick smoke pouring from the rooftop of one apartment block, while flames erupted from another nearby building as emergency crews directed powerful jets of water at the blaze.A fiery orange glow illuminated the skyline, with dark plumes drifting across the city’s horizon.Acting head of Kyiv's military administration, Tymur Tkachenko, reported via Telegram that intercepted projectiles landed in four districts of the capital early Saturday. He confirmed six individuals needed medical attention, whilst two fires erupted in the Solomianskyi district.City mayor Vitalii Klitschko alerted residents about incoming Russian drones before the attack. He later reported that debris struck a shopping centre and residential building in the Obolon district, with […]

[ad_1] UN Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers Margaret Satterthwaite (Image credit: AP) A United Nations expert warned Friday at the conclusion of her two-week visit that Guatemala's prosecutor's office is increasingly using criminal law against former prosecutors, judges, defense attorneys, journalists and others. Margaret Satterthwaite, the UN Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, travelled the country meeting with judges, lawyers, lawmakers and others, including Guatemala's chief prosecutor."The instrumental use of criminal law by the Prosecutor General's Office appears to amount to a systematic pattern of intentional and severe deprivation of fundamental rights, targeted at specific groups," Satterthwaite wrote in her preliminary report. "This persecution appears to be intensifying, as those who have sought to end impunity and corruption, defend human rights, or speak out against abuses of power increasingly face digital harassment, threats, […]

[ad_1] The Trump administration wants to halt Harvard University from enrolling international students. Harvard on Friday sued the Trump administration for this, following which a federal judge blocked the administration from cutting off Harvard's enrollment of foreign students.But the big question is: how can the federal govt dictate which students a private university can and cannot enrol?The govt has enormous power over who comes into the US, and who doesn't. For college and universities, the Department of Homeland Security has a vast system just to manage and track the enrolment of the hundreds of thousands of international students studying across the country at any given time.But a school needs govt certification to use this database, known as SEVIS, for the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System. And this vulnerability is what the Trump administration is exploiting against Harvard.Homeland Security says, […]

[ad_1] A teenage social-media influencer from Pennsylvania is under fire after telling his nearly one million followers to support the man accused of killing two Israeli Embassy staff in Washington, DC.The video was so inflammatory that TikTok removed it, reports the New York Post. Guy Christensen, a 19-year-old who goes by “YourFavoriteGuy” online, referred to the suspected gunman, Elias Rodriguez, as a “resistance fighter” in a video that quickly racked up over 630,000 views before being deleted by the platform. In the clip, Christensen said, “I want to urge you first to support Elias’ actions.”The two victims, Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim, were shot and killed near the Capital Jewish Museum on Wednesday. US officials confirmed that both were employees of the Israeli Embassy.TikTok’s rare decision to take down Christensen’s video did not stop him from doubling down on his […]

[ad_1] A US federal judge issued a temporary restraining order on Friday blocking Trump administration's bid to stop Harvard University from enrolling or allowing international students to attend its colleges.At least 788 students and scholars from India are enrolled across the university's 13 colleges for academic year 2024-25.Harvard had sued the Trump administration earlier on Friday after the Department of Homeland Security had issued an order on Thursday revoking Harvard's Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification. "This means Harvard can no longer enrol foreign students and existing foreign students must transfer or lose their legal status," the agency had said.The varsity had also moved court seeking a temporary restraining order to immediately stay implementation of the administration's order.The lawsuit, filed in Massachusetts, accused the administration of a "campaign of retribution", saying it was a "clear retaliation for Harvard exercising its […]