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Crimes>Discouraging
Asia | Taiwan | Crimes

Cops raid ‘killer exorcism cult’ hideout led by ‘female Buddha’ in mountains

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Cops have raided dangerous "exorcism" cult led by a "female Buddha" in a secret mountain hideout in Taiwan. Taiwan’s Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said 19 followers were rescued from the cult’s headquarters based in a monastery, in the island’s central landlocked county of Nantou in August. Reports say followers of "Zhonghua Rixing Yishang" – or "China Daily Virtue", were prohibited from leaving or speaking without permission and one was reportedly killed in a sick ritual. The death of Taiwanese national Ms Fang, 20, in mainland China sparked police investigations acro
Europe | Great Britain | Crimes

Muslim community shuns women released from prison, says report

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The Muslim community in Britain shuns women who have been to prison while forgiving convicted men, “no matter what they’ve done”, according to a report. Female former prisoners told researchers, Muslim experts in the criminal justice system, that they suffered a “conspiracy of silence” after being released from jail, having to hide or move away in order to not bring shame on their families. The Muslim Women in Prison project worked with 55 women on their release from HMP New Hall and Askham Grange, two Yorkshire jails, helping them reconnect with their families – or to start
Latin America | Colombia | Activism

Revered Social Leader and Activist Killed in Colombia

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Social leader Tatiana Paola Posso Espitia, 35, was shot twice in the head Wednesday morning in front of her house in El Copey located in the Department of Cesar when two men on motorcycles fired at the activist and fled the scene. The assassination occurred just as Espitia’s taxi driver, Wilson Ortega Palomino, arrived at her home to take the social leader to work, according to local media reports. The bad timing resulted in Ortega also being shot four times by the hitmen. He is in critical condition at a nearby hospital. The National Network for Democracy and Peace in Colombia
Africa | Nigeria | Corruption

Nigerian police arrested 65 women in a raid. Some of the women say officers raped them

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In a sparsely decorated room in Nigeria's capital city of Abuja, seven women are seated in a row, their backs turned to the assembled media to remain anonymous. One after the other, the women recount horrific physical and sexual abuse they say they were subjected to following their arrests on April 27 by officers of a special task force that raided hotels and nightclubs in Abuja. The 65 women who were arrested say they were beaten and harassed by officers, who forced them into their vans and drove them to the police station, their lawyers and NGOs told CNN. The seven women in the vid
South Asia | Afghanistan | Crimes

Mena Mangal: Journalist and women’s rights campaigner shot dead in broad daylight in Kabul

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An Afghan journalist and political advisor, who was vocal about women’s rights in the country, has been gunned down in broad daylight, just days after saying she believed her life was in danger. Mena Mangal was shot dead on Saturday morning in a public place while she was on her way to work in the capital city of Kabul. Nasrat Rahimi, a spokesman for the interior ministry, said one or possibly more assailants had escaped the scene but no one has immediately claimed responsibility for the attack and police say it is not yet clear whether the murder was a terror attack or an attack from
Asia | Korea | Corruption

South Korea’s Park Geun-hye sentenced to 24 years in jail

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A South Korean court has sentenced former President Park Geun-hye to 24 years in prison after she was found guilty of corruption. The disgraced former president was found guilty of several corruption charges, abuse of power and coercion in a verdict issued on Friday. She was also fined $16m. WATCH: Warrant issued for S Korea’s ex-president on corruption charges (2:13) It was alleged in the trial that Park, 66, colluded with a friend, Choi Soon-sil, and a former presidential aide, in pressuring big businesses to donate to two foundations set up to back her policy initiatives.
North America | United States | Crimes

F.B.I. Interviews Hillary Clinton Over Private Email Server

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The F.B.I. interviewed Hillary Clinton on Saturday morning for its investigation into whether she or her aides broke the law by corresponding through a private email server set up for her use as secretary of state, a controversy that has dogged her presidential campaign and provided fodder for her political rivals. The voluntary interview, which took place over three and a half hours at the F.B.I. headquarters in Washington, largely focused on the Justice Department’s central question: Did the actions of Mrs. Clinton or her staff rise to the level of criminal mishandling of classified infor
Latin America | Honduras | Crimes

Outrageous: Berta Cáceres, Honduran human rights and environment activist, murdered

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Berta Cáceres, the Honduran indigenous and environmental rights campaigner, has been murdered, barely a week after she was threatened for opposing a hydroelectric project. Her death prompted international outrage at the murderous treatment of campaigners in Honduras, as well as a flood of tributes to a prominent and courageous defender of the natural world. The co-founder of the Council of Indigenous Peoples of Honduras (Copinh) was shot dead by gunmen who entered her home in La Esperanza at around 1am on Thursday. Some reports say there were two killers; others suggest 11. They escaped
Europe | Spain | Crimes

Ridiculous: Spanish Archbishop Blames Disobedient Wives For Domestic Violence

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A Catholic archbishop in Spain is causing controversy by implying that women are primarily to blame for domestic violence. Archbishop Braulio Rodriguez Plaza of Toledo told his congregation on Dec. 27 that domestic violence mainly occurs when a woman asks her husband for divorce, reports The Local. "Often, the macho reaction comes about because [the woman] asked for a separation," Rodriguez Plaza said in his sermon, according to The Local. He added that the majority of domestic abuse deaths occur when a man "does not accept" his partner or "rejects them for not accepting their demands."
Africa | Uganda | Crimes

Trafficked into sex work, Uganda women stunned to be duped by other women

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At first, Sarah Nakintu was grateful to her friend for alerting her to job opportunities in marketing and retail in Dubai. Nakintu, a 27-year-old woman from the Ugandan capital Kampala, trusted her friend, who had worked in the United Arab Emirates and seemed successful with plenty of money. She followed her friend's instructions. Present a valid passport to the recruiter who would organise airline tickets and a visa. Once the documents were in order, Nakintu paid the recommended "token of thanks" to her friend - $200 in cash. Like many others, Nakintu said she had not suspected her friend
Europe | Germany | Crimes

In Cologne, Multiculturalism More Important than Protecting Women from Rape?

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In other words, faced with the choice of protecting over a thousand girls from repeated gang rape and protecting Muslims from being identified as the rapists, British authorities chose to protect multiculturalism and “diversity.” In the competition between multiculturalism and one of the most elementary instincts and obligations of higher civilization — the protection of girls and women from sexual violence — higher civilization lost. The U.K. is, of course, not alone in letting multiculturalism and the fear of being branded racist or Islamophobic take precedence over protecting gir
North America | United States | Corruption

FBI’s Clinton probe expands to public corruption track

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The FBI investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of private email as secretary of state has expanded to look at whether the possible “intersection” of Clinton Foundation work and State Department business may have violated public corruption laws, three intelligence sources not authorized to speak on the record told Fox News. This new investigative track is in addition to the focus on classified material found on Clinton’s personal server. "The agents are investigating the possible intersection of Clinton Foundation donations, the dispensation of State Department contracts a
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
South Asia | Afghanistan | Crimes

Afghan radio station focused on women’s rights is a casualty of the Taliban

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As the Taliban fighters approached, the employees of Radio Roshani fled. They locked the station door behind them, the pre-recorded programs still on the air, seemingly in defiance. On the afternoon playlist was a feature to encourage Afghan women to take part in politics. But it was never broadcast. “The radio was silenced at 2 p.m.,” said station director Sediqa Sherzai, who was listening to the programming shortly after fleeing the compound in Kunduz. By then, Taliban militants had seized the station.

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