Africa | Burundi | Crimes

Merck Wants To ‘Empower’ Infertile Women In Africa. Can Music Videos Help?

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In June, an unusual email arrived in the inbox of an NPR global health correspondent. The headline was: "Merck Foundation together with First Lady of Burundi release 'Plus Qu'une Mere' an empowering French Song as courtesy to all infertile women in Burundi and Africa." The email had a link to a video of a performance with an all-female choir. Wearing traditional African clothing printed with the Merck Foundation's logo, they sing a song with lyrics that encourage people not to blame women for infertility. They're performing before an audience of maybe a hundred people, most of them in
North America | United States | Corruption

AOC, Chief of Staff Reportedly Hid $1 Million in Campaign Contributions – Could Face Jail Time?

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An explosive complaint filed with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) by a non-profit group alleges New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and her chief of staff, Saikat Chakrabarti, illegally funneled nearly $1 million in campaign contributions to privately owned companies. The companies, controlled by Chakrabarti, allegedly received cash transfers from a pair of political action committees (PACs) that he personally oversaw. The complaint, filed by the National Legal and Policy Center, alleges that Ocasio-Cortez’ top aide engaged in “an elaborate scheme to avoid proper disclosur
Latin America | Brazil | Career

Vogue Brazil director resigns over birthday photos evoking slavery

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The fashion director of the Brazilian edition of Vogue has resigned after photos from her 50th birthday party drew criticism for evoking colonial depictions of slavery. Images from the party showed Donata Meirelles, who is white, sitting on a throne-like seat flanked by four black women dressed in white at the celebration in Bahia, the Brazilian state with the largest black population. Critics compared the women’s clothes to the white uniforms worn by house slaves, and pointed out the chair’s similarity to a cadeira de sinhá, an ornate chair for slave masters.
Middle East | Syria | Politics

Hoda Muthana ‘deeply regrets’ joining Isis and wants to return home

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An American woman captured by Kurdish forces after fleeing the last pocket of land controlled by Islamic Statesays she “deeply regrets” travelling to Syria to join the terror group and has pleaded to be allowed to return to her family in Alabama. Once one of Isis’s most prominent online agitators who took to social media to call for the blood of Americans to be spilled, Hoda Muthana, 24, claims to have made a “big mistake” when she left the US four years ago and says she was brainwashed into doing so online. Speaking from al-Hawl refugee camp in northern Syria, while her 18-mon
International | Society

Martina Navratilova in ‘transphobic’ row over comments about women’s sport

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Martina Navratilova has angered the transgender community by claiming that people who were born male should not be allowed to compete in women’s sports events. The former Wimbledon champion and LGBT campaigner made the statement on social media, and was swiftly accused of being “transphobic”. Responding to a question from one of her followers about transgender women in sport, Navratilova said: “Clearly that can’t be right. You can’t just proclaim yourself a female and be able to compete against women. There must be some standards, and having a penis and competing as a woman w
International | Sports

Good: Tournament CEO steps down after saying women tennis players should ‘get on their knees’ and thank men tennis players

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Raymond Moore resigned as BNP Paribas tournament director and CEO on Monday night after making a controversial comment about women tennis players. Moore said women should "get on their knees and thank God" for male players like Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal for the sport's popularity. He said women are "very, very lucky" for the money they make, based on the popularity of men's tennis. Moore also said that there are "attractive" prospects in women's tennis. Larry Ellison, the BNP Paribar Open owner, said in a statement that Moore was stepping down for his comments.
Europe | Finland | Crimes

No Joke: Finnish TV Spot Teaches Women How Not to Get Raped By Migrants

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If this is how women are being taught to protect themselves, Europe is done. Sadly, this is not a joke nor a satirical sketch on a late-night comedy program. What you are about to watch is a so-called "educational video" by Finnish media. This is Finland's weak, ineffective attempt to teach women how not to get raped by migrants. Of course it would be "Islamophobic" to actually feature migrants in the video, so none make an appearance. Rather, the "rapist" in this dramatization is a white male. So how does this video suggest women fend off the barbarian hordes bent on violating them? H
International | Corruption

Tapie Affair: IMF head Christine Lagarde ordered to face trial by French court over tycoon payments

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A French court has ordered IMF boss Christine Lagarde to face trial over the part she played in the Tapie Affair, regarding a €400m (£291m, $433m) transfer to French business tycoon and entrepreneur Bernard Tapie. In September, France's main prosecutor recommended magistrates at the Cour de Justice de la Republique, which deals with crime allegations against government officials, drop the investigation. The magistrates were probing Lagarde's alleged negligence in regards to the affair when she was finance minister of the country. In 2008, when Lagarde served under Nicolas Sarkozy'sgov
North America | United States | Corruption

Former Congressional Candidate Admits Sending Death Threats To Herself

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A former Congressional candidate admitted to CBS13 that she sent herself fake death threats in the mail. Karen Davis is now facing federal charges for lying to investigators about two death threat letters she said she received during her failed 2014 campaign. “You know, everybody makes mistakes. I did,” she said. The first letter included the line, “A close up to your head or to your husband will be final. You make the decision not to run for Congress.” A second letter read, “If you don’t quit very soon, you won’t be warned. You won’t see it coming. Your family will
Europe | U.K. | Law

Judge’s comments on gender equality ‘show problems women face in law’

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The views of supreme court justice Jonathan Sumption exemplify what is wrong with the way women are viewed within the legal profession, according to the barrister Charlotte Proudman. In an article for the Guardian, Proudman – who faced a recent backlash after publishing her response to a comment made about her appearance by a solicitor - criticised Lord Sumption over an interview in which he said that pushing through equal representation for women at the top of the legal profession could result in “appalling consequences” for the quality of British justice. “The supreme court jus
North America | United States | Politics

Hillary Clinton tries warmth as US voters go cold

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Hillary Clinton hinted this week that she would treat voters to more heart and humour, in her latest effort to reboot a White House campaign under threat from a self-declared grumpy Vermont socialist and a grieving vice-president who has yet to decide whether to enter the race. On cue, she delivered both by dancing to “Watch Me” by the rapper Silentó during an animated appearance on Ellen DeGeneres’s talk show, drawing praise from her husband Bill Clinton, who took to Twitter to applaud her dance moves. While the appearance showed a lighter side of Mrs Clinton that often gets lost in
Europe | Russia | Crimes

Boxing world champion shoots 19-year-old in road rage incident

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A champion of women’s Thai boxing gave a new meaning to the phrase “road rage” when she shot a passenger in the car next to hers at point blank range. Oksana Kizhnerova, 24, a member of the Russian national Thai boxing team, a gold medalist in the European championship and in the World Martial Arts Games, was driving in the Siberian city of Omsk when she was cut off by another driver. Kizhnerova caught up with the car and opened fire out of her ‘traumatic pistol’ – a non-lethal weapon that can still cause serious injury which has become quite popular in Russia. Though s
Latin America | Guatemala | Corruption

Guatemala’s ex-vice president ordered held in jail during corruption trial

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A judge ordered Guatemala's former vice president to remain in jail Wednesday while she stands trial on charges of conspiracy, customs fraud and bribery, based on allegations that she accepted $3.7 million in bribes as part of the scandal that forced her from office. Judge Miguel Angel Galvez ruled that former Vice President Roxana Baldetti would not be allowed bail because she held an Italian passport and was considered a flight risk. On Monday, he ordered her to stand trial on charges of receiving bribes from businessmen to evade import duties. She denies any wrongdoing. Leaving the
North America | United States | Corruption

12 of Illinois’ Most Politically Corrupt 21st Century Women

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"Old boys network" is a term used to describe the culture that allows political corruption to thrive. According to a study from the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute, this shorthand term does not accurately reflect the female gender. "Unsupervised, Ensnared, Relational, and Private: A Typology of Illinois' Corrupt Women" takes a look at the women of Illinois who have been convicted for abusing their official powers. It challenges the notion that "female public officials have a deterrent effect on corruption" and examines the methods and motivations most common among female officials who ha