Ukrainian anti-graft prosecutors have accused Vsevolod Kniaziev, the supreme court chief justice, of taking bribes worth $2.7m from an oligarch in return for a ruling in the latter’s favour. The judiciary is currently in the midst of a long-term anti-corruption drive, but the arrest of the judge could have far-reaching constitutional implications.
Restrictions on abortion are leading to “delays and worsening and dangerous health outcomes for patients,” according to a large-scale report from the University of California San Francisco. The study, which addressed the impact of the US Supreme Court’s decision to allow abortion bans in certain states, examined 50 cases from over a dozen recently banned regions. It found that conditions such as preterm pre-labor rupture of membranes were often left untreated, while opportunities to treat for inevitable pregnancy loss and patients requiring care for fetal anomalies were also limited.
Retired NFL quarterback Brett Favre is seeking to be removed as a defendant in a civil lawsuit that aims to recover millions of dollars in misspent welfare money that was intended to help the poorest people in the United States. Favre's attorneys argue that the Mississippi Department of Human Services is making "utterly meritless" legal arguments in suing the football player, who is being accused of supporting projects improperly funded through the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families programme. Favre's lawyers argue that he was not involved in efforts to direct welfare money towards a volleyball arena at his university alma mater, where his daughter played, or toward the development of a concussion treatment drug.
Brazil’s Bolsonaro faces questioning in fake vaccine card investigation
The Toronto Star
23-05-16 17:07
Brazil’s former President Jair Bolsonaro has been questioned by the police in an investigation regarding the falsification of COVID-19 vaccine passports. The police are inquiring whether Bolsonaro, his family and his advisors altered their vaccine cards in order to bypass US requirements. Bolsonaro has denied any wrongdoing. This comes as Bolsonaro faces several investigations, including one on his role during a 2020 riot in the capital Brasília and another into his unsubstantiated accusations that Brazil’s electronic voting system is open to fraud.
The head of Ukraine's Supreme Court, Vsevolod Kniaziev, has been detained amid an investigation into "large-scale corruption," according to the National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office. Evidence reportedly links a $2.7m bribe investigation involving top judges at the court to billionaire Kostiantyn Zhevago and the Finance and Credit Financial Group. The agencies have not formally identified Kniaziev as being under suspicion but noted that other individuals are still being investigated.
Transparency International's 2022 Corruption Perceptions Index ranked Ukraine 116th out of 180 countries evaluated.
Kniaziev was suspended following a no-confidence motion.
Campaigners are calling upon Charles, Prince of Wales, to help to bring back the name of Middlesex as a ceremonial county. The group, Middlesex Heritage, is urging the Prince to appoint a lord lieutenant to represent the county in an effort to establish a historic identity. The county has been gradually eroded by the growth of London. It was abolished as an administrative entity in 1965 with the creation of Greater London, although small parts subsequently became parts of Hertfordshire and Surrey. Middlesex dates back to at least the eighth century, and its 1,300-year history has been an inspiration to those seeking to re-establish it. The Prince of Wales was born and crowned in Middlesex, which is also home to famous offspring including Elton John and Keira Knightley.
Maryland Governor Wes Moore has signed gun-control measures into law in response to a US Supreme Court ruling on the subject. The ruling in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen last year ended a requirement similar to a Maryland law for people to demonstrate a particular need to obtain a licence to carry a concealed gun in public. One of the measures signed by the Governor removed the unconstitutional “good and substantial reason” wording from Maryland law. The move was accompanied by the tightening of other gun laws in areas such as government and public infrastructures.
The United States is on pace to set a new record for mass shootings this year, according to data. To date, there have already been over 200. There is no political desire to address the issue, despite the fact that guns remain at the centre of American culture. Claims that mass shootings are the result of poor mental health provision are unfounded, given that the US has nearly half of all privately owned guns in the world, including powerful semi-automatic weapons. The country also has just 4% of the world’s population.
Officials from the National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor have detained Ukraine's Supreme Court Chief Justice, Vsevolod Kniaziev, and another judge on suspicion of taking a $2.7m bribe from a billionaire businessman in return for a favourable ruling. NABU officials said the investigation could involve as many as a dozen judges and an unnamed law firm that allegedly acted as an intermediary for the bribes. The allegations are one of the biggest cases since the NABU was created in 2015 to tackle corruption in Ukraine, although the nation still ranks 116th out of 180 countries in Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index.
Melbourne socialite Peter Janson is preparing to host one of his famed birthday parties, following a recent leg injury. Janson is credited with growing the Birdcage marquee segment at the Melbourne Cup in the 1980s, and is known for throwing legendary parties in notable hotels across the city. Guests are invited to celebrate his 36th birthday, continuing a long-standing tradition of the occasion being held on a Tuesday, although this year the party will take place on a Wednesday.
Media outlets and members of the public are prohibited from naming an unnamed rape suspect in Queensland, Australia, because of Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act. The act states that anyone charged with rape, attempted rape, assault with intent to commit rape, and other sexual offences cannot be identified publicly until a magistrate has decided there is enough evidence available for a trial and has referred the matter to the district or supreme court. The defendant has been charged with rape over an alleged incident in October 2021. A coalition of media organisations had earlier appealed for the man’s identification to be revealed on grounds of public interest.
Canadian federal government has introduced legislation to make it harder for repeat violent offenders to be released on bail. This changes comes just four years after the governing Liberals made it easier to obtain bail, and is in response to concerns raised by premiers after the killing of a police officer in Ontario and a number of violent attacks. The biggest change in Bill C-48 would put the onus on certain accused people to show why they should be granted bail, rather than require the prosecution to justify why they shouldn’t. Known as a reverse onus, the measure already applies to certain firearms offences.
The leader of Canada’s Conservative Party, Pierre Poilievre, has accused Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government of killing people by allowing “safe supplies” of opioids to be prescribed, which some allege are being diverted to the black market. Poilievre called for the money to be spent instead on addiction treatment. The Conservatives argue that safe supply policies perpetuate addiction, but the Liberal government have expanded access to places where pre-obtained drugs can be consumed and been critical of Persussionist Poilievre’s approach to evidence-based handling of the crisis, which kills an average of six people a day in British Columbia.
Maryland's new raft of gun-control bills includes one that aims to prevent people from carrying concealed firearms in public areas such as schools and hospitals. However, it removes the stipulation that a person must show "good and substantial reason" to carry a concealed weapon outside of the home, which could be challenged under a recent Supreme Court ruling. Maryland's law mirrors legislation passed by the state of New York following the same ruling; the Bruen decision was that the right to carry a gun extends beyond home.
Montana abortion clinics ask judge to block law that bans second-trimester abortion method
The Toronto Star
23-05-16 22:39
Planned Parenthood of Montana has asked a state judge to temporarily block a law that bans the most common abortion method used after 15 weeks of gestation, arguing it is unconstitutional. The organization filed the complaint over the ban of dilation and evacuation abortions just hours after Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte's office announced he had signed the bill into law. Under the new ban, which took immediate effect, anyone who performs a dilation and evacuation abortion can be charged with a felony that can be punished by five to ten years in prison and a fine of up to $50,000.
Former Pakistani leader Imran Khan and supporters will appear in military courts over their alleged links to mob attacks on security personnel, following his recent arrest on corruption charges. The PTI (Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf) had hoped sympathetic judges of the Supreme Court could protect the party, but parliament will seek Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial’s removal from the top court for alleged pro-Khan bias. Political analysts and diplomats warn of an increasingly polarized situation in Pakistan, with Khan and his supporters set to typically push back using “support in the higher judiciary, social media and the street” while the government will use “the power of the state machinery and its own street protests, backed as of now by the army higher command to counteract the PTI”, according to former ambassador Husain Haqqani. Analyst Mosharraf Zaidi said judges were split down the middle over the political crisis.
Harry Blackburn, the former detective superintendent at the New South Wales (NSW) Police Force, has died at the age of 93. In 1989, Blackburn was charged with 25 serious criminal offences, including rape, robbery, and kidnapping that he was alleged to have committed between 1969 and 1985. The NSW Police said that Blackburn had hidden behind his badge for years and praised their fearless approach to pursuing corrupt personnel. However, once some diligent police reviewed the evidence, the charges were dropped and Blackburn sued the NSW government for wrongful arrest, malicious prosecution, and defamation, winning substantial damages. A royal commission that followed the investigation into Blackburn and his charges indicated that the police had been overzealous in their investigation of him. Blackburn died aged 93 and is survived by his wife, three children, 10 grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. A memorial service is to be held in his honour on the Gold Coast.
A case challenging the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) decision to approve a medication used for medical abortions over two decades ago will move to a federal appeals court in New Orleans. The case concerns mifepristone and relates to the FDA's initial approval in 2000, as well as actions to make the drug more accessible. It comes nearly a year after the US Supreme Court overturned the Roe v. Wade ruling establishing abortion rights. It is expected that the case will reach the Supreme Court, with judges nominated by Donald Trump set to play a significant role.
Nebraska has passed a bill that not only restricts gender-affirming healthcare for trans people under the age of 19, but also bans abortion at 10 weeks of pregnancy, alongside a stipulation that the state’s GOP-appointed medical officer will set rules for affirming care. Hundreds of campaigners gathered at the state’s capital, Lincoln, to protest against the combination bill. Whilst a separate amendment in the bill addressing abortions provides no exceptions for pregnancies with fatal fetal anomalies, the gender-affirming care ban has provoked particular concern from campaigners, who point out that more than half of all trans US youth between 13 and 17 could lose access to medically necessary gender-affirming healthcare in their home states. Campaigners argue that anti-abortion measures and legislation targeting LGBT+ people use similar arguments to restrict healthcare access.
Case involving B.C. mortgage broker heads back to court as investors fear for their savings
CBC
23-05-17 02:41
Greg Martel, a controversial Victoria-based mortgage broker, owes over CAD 226m ($182m) to hundreds of investors who bought investments that, according to documents, may not have been real. Martel is the sole director of My Mortgage Auction Corp. (MMAC), which did business as Shop Your Own Mortgage, and the chief creditor, identified by a civil suit as 1548199 Alberta, claims it is owed CAD 17.6m. Two weeks ago, MMAC and Martel were put into court-appointed receivership overseen by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). Neil Bunker, PwC's vice-president, said in a virtual town hall meeting with investors that procedures have not yet unveiled the missing millions or indeed, proof the investments ever existed. The case will resume in a Vancouver court on 5 May. Martel was accused of running his business like a Ponzi scheme. He claimed his investment arm provided annualised rates of between 50 and 100 per cent on bridging loans, when bank interest rates were at a historic low.
