Chinese citizen journalist jailed for Wuhan virus reporting

Yahoo – AFP, 28 December 2020 

Authoroties said former Chinese lawyer and citizen journalist
Zhang Zhan had spread "False remarks" online.

A Chinese citizen journalist was jailed for four years Monday for her reporting from Wuhan as the Covid-19 outbreak began, her lawyer said, almost a year after details of an "unknown viral pneumonia" surfaced in the central China city. 

Zhang Zhan, a former lawyer who arrived at court in a wheelchair, was sentenced at a brief hearing in a Shanghai court for allegedly "picking quarrels and provoking trouble" during her reporting in the chaotic initial stages of the outbreak. 

Her live reports and essays were shared on social media platforms in February, grabbing the attention of authorities, who have punished eight virus whistleblowers so far as they curb criticism of the government's response to the outbreak. 

Beijing has congratulated itself for "extraordinary" success in controlling the virus inside its borders, with an economy on the rebound while much of the rest of the world stutters through painful lockdowns and surging caseloads a year on from the start of the pandemic in Wuhan. 

Controlling the information flow during an unprecedented global health crisis has been pivotal in allowing China's communist authorities to reframe the narrative in their favour, with President Xi Jinping being garlanded for his leadership by the country's ruling party. 

But that has come at a serious cost to anyone who has picked holes in the official storyline. 

The court said Zhang Zhan had spread "false remarks" online, according to one of her lawyers Zhang Keke, but the prosecution did not fully divulge its evidence in court. 

"We had no way of understanding what exactly Zhang Zhan was accused of doing," he added, describing it as "a speedy, rushed hearing." 

In return the defendant "didn't respond [to questions]... She refused to answer when the judge asked her to confirm her identity." 

The defendant's mother sobbed loudly as the verdict was read out, Ren Quanniu, another member of Zhang's defence team, told reporters who were barred from entering the court. 

Concerns are mounting over the health of 37-year-old Zhang, who began a hunger strike in June and has been force-fed via a nasal tube. 

Her legal team said her health was in decline and she suffered from headaches, dizziness and stomach pain, and that she had appeared in court in a wheelchair. 

"She said when I visited her (last week): 'If they give me a heavy sentence then I will refuse food until the very end.'... She thinks she will die in prison," Ren said before the trial. 

"It's an extreme method of protesting against this society and this environment." 

China's communist authorities have a history of putting dissidents on trial in opaque courts between Christmas and New Year in an effort to minimise Western scrutiny. 

Example made

The sentencing comes just weeks before an international team of World Health Organization experts is expected to arrive in China to investigate the origins of Covid-19. 

Zhang was critical of the early response in Wuhan, writing in a February essay that the government "didn't give people enough information, then simply locked down the city". 

"This is a great violation of human rights," she wrote. 

Rights groups and embassies have also drawn attention to her case, although diplomats from several countries were denied requests to monitor the hearing. 

"Zhang Zhan's case raises serious concerns about media freedom in China," the British embassy in Beijing said, urging "China to release all those detained for their reporting." 

Authorities "want to use her case as an example to scare off other dissidents from raising questions about the pandemic situation in Wuhan earlier this year", added Leo Lan, research and advocacy consultant at the Chinese Human Rights Defenders NGO. 

A United Nations official following the trial also expressed "deep concern" about the verdict. 

"We raised her case with the authorities throughout 2020 as an example of the excessive clampdown on freedom of expression linked to #COVID19 & continue to call for her release," the office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said in a tweet. 

Zhang is the first of a group of four citizen journalists detained by authorities after reporting from Wuhan to face trial. 

Previous attempts by AFP to contact the other three -- Chen Qiushi, Fang Bin and Li Zehua -- were unsuccessful. 

Related Article:

"Corona 1", Reykjavik, Iceland, Mar, 2020 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) - 

(>13.46 Min - Reference to the Global Coronavirus crisis)

US sues Walmart over opioid crisis

France24 – AFP, 22 Decemberb 2020

The Justice Department sued Walmart, alleging it worsened the
opioid crisis Paul Ratje AFP/File 2 min New York (AFP)

The US Justice Department sued Walmart over its role in the opioid crisis on Tuesday, alleging the giant retailer wrongly filled prescriptions and worsened a public health disaster.

The suit accuses Walmart of irresponsible handling of orders, filling thousands of "invalid" prescriptions. 

 Authorities could seek up to billions of dollars in penalties, in the litigation that followed a multi-year investigation, the Justice Department said in a press release.

"As one of the largest pharmacy chains and wholesale drug distributors in the country, Walmart had the responsibility and the means to help prevent the diversion of prescription opioids," said Jeffrey Bossert Clark, acting head of DOJ's civil division. 

"Instead, for years, it did the opposite -- filling thousands of invalid prescriptions at its pharmacies and failing to report suspicious orders of opioids and other drugs placed by those pharmacies." 

Walmart did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but the company, the world's biggest retailer, filed its own lawsuit against the Justice Department in October that argued that the US crackdown put it in a no-win position. 

Pharmacists "must make a difficult decision" of either accepting a doctor's "medical judgment and fill the opioid prescription, or second-guess the doctor's judgment and refuse to fill it," Walmart said in its suit. 

"Either decision puts the pharmacist and pharmacy at great risk," the company argued. It said 

it faces potential federal action if prosecutors say an order was wrongly filled, or the chance of having a pharmacist license "stripped for the unauthorized practice of medicine, not to mention the potential harm to patients in need of their medicine."

Former ING chief should face charges over bank’s money laundering scandal: court

DutchNews, December 9, 2020 

Photo: ING.com

Former ING chief executive Ralph Hamers should face charges personally for his role in the money laundering scandal which led the financial services group to reach a €775m out of court settlement in 2018, appeal court judges in The Hague said on Wednesday. 

The case has been brought by campaign group Sobi, which says Hamers should face criminal charges. ‘The facts are serious, no settlement was reached with the management and he has never accepted public responsibility for his actions,’ campaigner Pieter Lakeman said. 

‘Managers who consciously make mistakes should not be able to buy themselves free by agreeing to very high fines while shareholders pick up the bill. It is of great importance that Hamers faces prosecution.’ 

The court said in its ruling that while it supported the public prosecution’s decision to look for a settlement, as CEO, Hammers was authorised and required to take measures to prevent criminal behaviour. ‘However, not only did he fail to do this and thereby promote this behaviour, but he also consciously accepted the risk that it would continue,’ the court said. 

ING said in a reaction it regretted the court decision. ‘We … regret the decision to order the prosecution of our former CEO, which goes against the assessment of the public prosecutors that, based on the investigation, there are no grounds for a case against ING employees or former employees,’ ING said in a statement. 

Hamers is now chief executive of Swiss bank UBS which, according to Reuters, says it is confident he will be able to remain in the job. 

The public prosecution department reached a €775m out of court settlement with ING for failing to properly monitor money transfers for potential money laundering in September 2018.

The department said between 2010 and 2016, the bank’s clients were effectively able to launder hundreds of millions of euros because ING was not doing its job properly. Banks are required by law to report suspicious transactions.

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"The Recalibration of Awareness – Apr 20/21, 2012 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Old Energy, Recalibration Lectures, God / Creator, Religions/Spiritual systems (Catholic Church, Priests/Nun’s, Worship, John Paul Pope, Women in the Church otherwise church will go, Current Pope won’t do it), Middle East, Jews, Governments will change (Internet, Media, Democracies, Dictators, North Korea, Nations voted at once),Integrity (Businesses, Tobacco Companies, Bankers/ Financial Institutes, Pharmaceutical company to collapse), Illuminati (Started in Greece, with Shipping, Financial markets, Stock markets, Pharmaceutical money (fund to build Africa, to develop)), Shift of Human Consciousness, (Old) Souls, Women, Masters to/already come back, Global Unity.... etc.) - (Text version)

“… The Shift in Human Nature

You're starting to see integrity change. Awareness recalibrates integrity, and the Human Being who would sit there and take advantage of another Human Being in an old energy would never do it in a new energy. The reason? It will become intuitive, so this is a shift in Human Nature as well, for in the past you have assumed that people take advantage of people first and integrity comes later. That's just ordinary Human nature.

In the past, Human nature expressed within governments worked like this: If you were stronger than the other one, you simply conquered them. If you were strong, it was an invitation to conquer. If you were weak, it was an invitation to be conquered. No one even thought about it. It was the way of things. The bigger you could have your armies, the better they would do when you sent them out to conquer. That's not how you think today. Did you notice?

Any country that thinks this way today will not survive, for humanity has discovered that the world goes far better by putting things together instead of tearing them apart. The new energy puts the weak and strong together in ways that make sense and that have integrity. Take a look at what happened to some of the businesses in this great land (USA). Up to 30 years ago, when you started realizing some of them didn't have integrity, you eliminated them. What happened to the tobacco companies when you realized they were knowingly addicting your children? Today, they still sell their products to less-aware countries, but that will also change.

What did you do a few years ago when you realized that your bankers were actually selling you homes that they knew you couldn't pay for later? They were walking away, smiling greedily, not thinking about the heartbreak that was to follow when a life's dream would be lost. Dear American, you are in a recession. However, this is like when you prune a tree and cut back the branches. When the tree grows back, you've got control and the branches will grow bigger and stronger than they were before, without the greed factor. Then, if you don't like the way it grows back, you'll prune it again! I tell you this because awareness is now in control of big money. It's right before your eyes, what you're doing. But fear often rules. …”

PSG beat Basaksehir in Champions League game suspended after racism walkout

Yahoo – AFP, Andy SCOTT, 9 December 2020

Romanian fourth official Sebastian Coltescu was accused of using racist language

Paris Saint-Germain beat Istanbul Basaksehir 5-1 on Wednesday with Neymar scoring a hat-trick as both teams took a knee before restarting their Champions League match suspended 24 hours earlier in an unprecedented protest over an allegedly racist comment by a match official. 

The teams, who had joined forces on Tuesday to walk off the pitch following the row, gathered around the centre circle prior to the resumption and were joined by the match officials as they kneeled in support of the Black Lives Matter cause. 

Before that they sported t-shirts with the slogan "No To Racism" while warming up at the Parc des Princes, where large banners in the empty stands carried the same message. 

The game restarted where it had stopped the previous day, in the 14th minute, when a touchline argument erupted over accusations the Romanian fourth official, Sebastian Coltescu, had described Basaksehir's Cameroonian assistant coach Pierre Webo as "black", or "negru" in Romanian. 

Players from Paris Saint-Germain and Istanbul Basaksehir as well as officials take
a knee before restarting their suspended Champions League game on Wednesday

Coltescu and the other Romanian match officials were replaced for the restart by a new refereeing team headed by the Netherlands' Danny Makkelie. 

Already qualified for the last 16 thanks to Manchester United's defeat to RB Leipzig in Germany on Tuesday, PSG still needed to win the restarted game to secure top spot in their group and cruised to victory with Neymar outstanding. 

Neymar hat-trick 

He curled in a stunning opener before making it 2-0 and then won a penalty which Kylian Mbappe converted for the third goal before half-time. 

Neymar, the world's most expensive footballer, completed his hat-trick with another brilliant hit after the interval, and Mbappe got PSG's fifth following a reply by Mehmet Topal for Basaksehir. 

The Turkish side had already been eliminated before this game but they have left their mark on the Champions League with their response to the alleged treatment of Webo, who was sent off as he reacted furiously to the alleged comment. 

That red card was suspended by UEFA pending a probe into the matter, with European football's governing body promising a "thorough investigation". 

Basaksehir are understood to have close ties to Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and he got involved in the row on Tuesday, tweeting that he "strongly condemns the racist remarks". 

PSG stars Kylian Mbappe and Neymar sport t-shirts with the slogan "No To Racism"
while warming up before their Champions League match with Istanbul Basaksehir restarted

France's sports minister Roxana Maracineanu, who was born in Romania, praised the players' "historic decision". 

It was an unprecedented, unified response by the teams, to what Basaksehir midfielder Giuliano called a "disgraceful" comment from the official. 

"As a team and a group, we decided to protest because that is unacceptable. Racism has to end," Giuliano told Brazilian media. 

The row flared after Webo was shown the red card. 

Television microphones in the empty stadium -- matches are taking place without spectators because of Covid-19 restrictions -- picked up a furious Webo repeatedly asking why a racist term had been used to describe him. 

In the exchange in question between the all-Romanian officiating team, Coltescu said: "The black one over there. This is not possible. Go and identify him. That guy, the black one." 

Basaksehir's Senegalese forward Demba Ba, among the substitutes for the away side, could be heard remonstrating with the official in English, saying: "When you mention a white guy, you never say 'this white guy', you just say 'this guy', so why when you mention a black guy do you say 'this black guy?'" 

Neymar joined other players and the officials in taking a knee before restarting
the game. The Brazilian scored a hat-trick as PSG won 5-1

'Disturbing tipping point' 

The incident drew reaction from around the world, with Rio Ferdinand, the former Manchester United and England defender and now a TV pundit, saying on BT Sport in the UK: "I think we are at a disturbing tipping point. Not a week goes by without an incident involving race. 

"The players walking off is a step in the right direction, but it can't just be left to them." 

Ferdinand's brother Anton was involved in a high-profile incident in 2012 when Chelsea player John Terry was accused of racially abusing him during a match in England. 

Many athletes have taken a strong stand against racism since Black Lives Matter protests flared around the world over the death of George Floyd during his arrest in Minneapolis in May. 

The Turkish champions had refused to restart the game on Tuesday as long as fourth official Coltescu was still involved.

The New Normal - Election Special

Head of US military school resigns amid 'systemic racism' probe

Yahoo = AFP, October 26, 2020

Virginia Military Institute cadets march during a parade celebrating the
inauguration of President Donald Trump on January 20, 2017 in Washington, DC

The superintendent of a top US military academy resigned from his post Monday, after the Virginia governor ordered an investigation into accusations of systemic racism at the school. 

In a letter released by Virginia Military Institute (VMI), retired general JH Binford Peay III said Democratic Governor Ralph Northam had "lost confidence in my leadership" and "desired my resignation." 

Peay, 80, had been the head of one of the oldest military universities in the country for 17 years. 

Since the death of African American George Floyd during an arrest by police in May, the US military -- one of the country's institutions where minorities are most represented -- has opened up a major internal debate on race. 

Black students and graduates of VMI shared on social media incidents where school officials were allegedly indifferent to racist insults from fellow cadets, undeserved punishment, even racist musings of teachers. 

Last month, the magazine The Root published interviews with several black VMI students. One recounted how one teacher fondly mentioned her father, a member of the Ku Klux Klan. 

Another described how first-year cadets are ordered to salute a statue of Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, a general that fought for the pro-slavery Confederacy during the US Civil War, every time they pass by. 

Northam last week ordered a probe into "the clear and appalling culture of ongoing structural racism at the Virginia Military Institute," which receives public funding. 

Black cadets at VMI told The Root they had protested "the glorification of the Confederacy" but said the school's leadership would not acknowledge the racist nature of the institution's culture, instead calling it "tradition."

Goldman Sachs agrees to largest penalty ever in 1MDB scandal

Yahoo – AFP, October 22, 2020 

The Malaysian unit of global financial titan Goldman Sachs pleaded guilty
in a US court in the massive 1MDB Malaysian bribery scandal

Global financial titan Goldman Sachs agreed to pay $2.9 billion in penalties to settle criminal charges in the 1MDB Malaysian bribery scandal, the largest US fine ever in a corruption case, the Justice Department announced Thursday. 

Acting US Assistant Attorney General Brian C. Rabbitt said Goldman "accepted responsibility" in the case that involved $1.6 billion in bribes, the largest ever recorded, and massive gains laundered through the US financial system. 

Goldman Sachs helped raise $6.5 billion for the Malaysian government's sovereign wealth fund, and the US Justice Department has said more than $4.5 billion was stolen from 1MDB by high-level officials at the fund and their associates between 2009 and 2015. 

The investment fund "was looted by corrupt officials and their co-conspirators, including senior Goldman bankers" turning it "into a piggy bank for corrupt public officials and their cronies," Rabbitt said at a press briefing. 

In a first for Goldman Sachs, the company's Malaysian unit pleaded guilty in a US court Thursday for violations of US bribery law as part of a deal to end the criminal probe in the sweeping case that involved authorities in nine countries. 

The guilty plea could curtail activities of Goldman Sachs Malaysia but allows the parent company to avoid admitting wrongdoing in court -- which would have damaged its ability to do business. 

'Meaningful consequences' 

The parent company pleaded not guilty in US court and agreed to "deferred prosecution" for three-and-a-half years, which is expected to impose certain conditions including increased monitoring. 

But Rabbitt stressed that the company has been charged in the bribery scandal, "so there has been a significant amount of criminal liability" for Goldman and "imposes meaningful consequences" in the cases. 

The Justice Department has charged three individuals in the case including two former Goldman executives. Tim Leissner, the former Southeast Asia Chairman, has pleaded guilty, while Ng Chong Hwa, also known as "Roger Ng," former head of investment banking for GS Malaysia, is awaiting trial, and Low Taek Jho remains a fugitive. 

"Goldman admitted today that, in order to effectuate the scheme, Leissner, Ng, Employee 1, and others conspired with Low Taek Jho" to pay the bribes and ignored red flags, the statement said. 

In another stunning turn, the company said it will demand repayment $174 million in salary and bonuses paid to current and former executives including Chief Executive David Solomon and his predecessor Lloyd Blankfein. 

These so-called clawbacks are almost unheard of in corporate cases. 

Solomon said in a statement "it is abundantly clear that certain former employees broke the law, lied to our colleagues and circumvented firm controls,"adding, "we recognize that we did not adequately address red flags." 

Included in the total penalty amount, Goldman will pay a $400 fines to the SEC and repay $600 million in earnings, and pay a $154 million fine to the Federal Reserve which also will require the company to improve its risk management and internal oversight. 

The Malaysian government dropped the charges against Goldman in July after reaching a $3.9 billion settlement with the financial giant. 

The firm, which posted profits of $3.5 billion in the latest quarter, had set aside more than $3.1 billion as of September 30 "for litigation and regulatory proceedings."

Related Article:

Goldman Sachs fined US$350 million in Hong Kong over1MDB

Khashoggi fiancee sues Saudi prince in US over murder

Yahoo – AFP, October 20, 2020 

Hatice Cengiz, the fiancee of the late journalist Jamal Khashoggi, sued Saudi
Arabia's crown prince and other Saudis in US court over the Khashoggi's
murder in October 2018

The fiancee of journalist Jamal Khashoggi sued Saudi Arabia's crown prince and other officials Tuesday in a US court, seeking damages for his brutal murder in Istanbul two years ago. 

Turkish citizen Hatice Cengiz and the human rights group Khashoggi formed before his death, Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN), is pursuing Mohammed bin Salman and 28 others for damages over the October 2, 2018 killing of the US-based writer. 

Cengiz claims personal injury and financial losses over Khashoggi's death, while DAWN said its operations and objectives were hampered by the loss of its founder and central figure. 

"The ruthless torture and murder of Mr. Khashoggi shocked the conscience of people throughout the world," the suit said. 

"The objective of the murder was clear –- to halt Mr. Khashoggi's advocacy in the United States, principally as the executive director of plaintiff DAWN, for democratic reform in the Arab world." 

Khashoggi was killed inside Saudi Arabia's Istanbul consulate and his body dismembered and disposed of by a team of Saudis allegedly directed by right-hand men of the crown prince. 

After global expressions of outrage over the case and pressure from the United States and Turkey, 13 Saudis were tried in Riyadh and sentenced to stiff prison terms. 

But two top royal aides, deputy intelligence chief Ahmed al-Assiri and the royal court's media chief Saud al-Qahtani, were exonerated, despite links to the murder. 

Both of the aides, those convicted in Saudi Arabia for the murder, and others tied to the plot were named in the lawsuit. 

Cengiz and DAWN said they filed the suit in Washington federal court because they saw no chance for justice in Saudi Arabia, known for its opaque courts, and Turkish legal experts said the civil case would not go forward while Ankara pursues a criminal case over the murder. 

A prominent critic of the Riyadh regime, Khashoggi has been living near Washington and working in part for the Washington Post when he was killed. 

Cengiz said the two had wed under Islamic traditions and were preparing a civil marriage. 

The suit alleges that the plot against him involved the Saudi embassy in Washington, which directed him to travel to Istanbul to obtain the documents needed for their marriage. 

It also says his murder damaged the operations of DAWN, which is based in Washington. 

The defendants were "aware of Mr. Khashoggi's US ties and brutally killed Mr Khashoggi to silence him and prevent him from continuing in the United States his advocacy for democracy in the Arab world," the suit said.

Vatican announces surprise resignation of top cardinal

France24 – AFP, 24 September 2020

Vatican City (AFP) - One of the most influential Vatican cardinals, Angelo Becciu from Italy, resigned his position unexpectedly on Thursday, the Holy See announced without explanation.

"The Holy Father accepted the resignation from the office of Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints and from the rights connected to the Cardinalate, presented by His Eminence Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu," a one-line statement late on Thursday said.

After a career as a Vatican emissary, Becciu has worked for the last six years as the Substitute for General Affairs, a role akin as chief of staff which means he sees Pope Francis daily and is one of his most trusted aides. 

The 72-year-old was named as a cardinal in summer 2018 and has also had responsibility for the department that oversees beatifications and sainthoods. 

His surprise resignation could be a sanction. 

He has been linked in the past to an investigation underway within the Vatican over the last year into a property development in the exclusive Chelsea area of London which was paid for with offshore funds and companies. 

The process to invest in the scheme to build luxury apartments began in 2014 when Becciu was in the Vatican secretariat, the central bureaucracy of the Holy See. 

The Vatican's police force raided the offices of the secretariat last year to seize financial documents and computers, while five members of staff were suspended. 

Becciu defended the purchase at the beginning of the year during an interview.

Benedict XVI becomes oldest pope in history

Yahoo – AFP, Catherine MARCIANO, September 4, 2020

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI is now officially the oldest pope in history

At the age of 93 and nearly five months, Benedict XVI officially became the oldest pope in history on Friday, even if the record is complicated by the fact that he stepped down in 2013 and holds the status of "pope emeritus".

Benedict was the first pope to retire in 700 years -- citing his diminishing strength -- after eight years in office.

He was succeeded by Argentinian Jorge Bergoglio, 10 years his junior and who adopted the name Francis.

Born on April 16, 1927, Benedict -- whose civilian name is Josef Ratzinger -- officially broke the previous longevity record held by Italian Leo XIII who died in 1903 at the age of 93 years, four months and three days, according to the calculations of the Italian episcopal journal, Avvenire, and the magazine Famiglia Cristiana.

"34,111 days in the service of God, the world and the ecclesiastical community," wrote Famiglia Cristiana, referring to Benedict.

Aside from Benedict's retired status, Vatican experts say the record could also be disputed because, going back 1,400 years, the ages of previous popes may not always be completely accurate.

The previous record holder, Leo XIII, is known for having written the first encyclical on social problems.

Unlike Benedict's relatively short reign as pontiff, the Italian aristocrat led the church for more than 25 years. By comparison, Pius XI was pope for 31 years and John Paul II for 26 years.

And the first-ever pope, Peter, reigned for at least 34 years, said French historian, Christophe Dickes.

Benedict lives "hidden from the world" in a former convent inside the Vatican grounds.

Often in a wheelchair, he has appeared increasingly frail recently.

But the author of dozens of books, who was nicknamed "God's Rottweiler" as a cardinal, is still mentally sharp, according to people close to him.

Despite his limited mobility, Benedict travelled to his native Bavaria in June to the bedside of his 96-year-old brother, Georg.

The two were very close and Georg died on July 1. Both had been ordained priests on the same day, in June 1951.

Face shingles

On that visit, his first foreign trip since stepping down, Benedict started suffering a painful case of shingles affecting the face, which worsened after the death of his brother.

His private secretary, Georg Gaenswein told a German newspaper last month that the shingles were clearing up, although no official statement has since been issued about Benedict's health.

Shingles are "a very painful disease, but not deadly," Gaenswein said, adding that the former pope had suffered "pain that I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy".

The virus that causes the rash is the same herpes zoster behind chickenpox, and can reactivate after long periods spent dormant.

Benedict's German biographer, journalist Peter Seewald, had raised the alarm about the former pope's health after meeting him on August 1 to hand over his latest book.

"According to Seewald, the pope emeritus is now extremely frail," the Passauer Neue Presse newspaper wrote at the time.

Benedict has lived with a pacemaker since 1997, while a brain haemorrhage in 1991 left him blind in his left eye.

The former theology professor, who taught for 25 years before being appointed Archbishop of Munich, went on to become the man in charge of preserving Catholic doctrine by defending points of Christian tradition which seem to be in danger.

On the death of John Paul II in 2005, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was elected the 265th pontiff, becoming Benedict XVI.

Tens of thousands of Belarus opposition supporters march in Minsk: AFP

theSundaily – AFP, 16 Aug 2020

Demonstrators take part in a protest against the presidential election results
demanding the resignation of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko
and the release of political prisoners, in Minsk, Belarus August 16, 2020. The
banner reads: "Fair elections. Tribunal. Freedom for political prisoners". - Reuters

MINSK: Tens of thousands of Belarusian opposition supporters gathered in Minsk on Sunday to join a “March for Freedom” over President Alexander Lukashenko’s disputed re-election.

Chanting “Leave!”, the protesters marched down Independence Avenue following an opposition call for the biggest rally yet in a week of demonstrations since the vote.

Columns of demonstrators raised victory signs and held flowers and balloons. Many wore white, the colour that has come to symbolise the opposition movement. Those marching included a group of veteran paratroopers in uniform berets.

Demonstrators held placards with slogans such as “We are against violence” and “Lukashenko must answer for the torture and dead”.

Protesters walked through the city carrying a 100-metre-long red-and-white flag, once the state flag and now used to represent opposition to the current regime.

They chanted “Long live Belarus!” and called for Lukashenko to “Leave!” as cars honked horns in support.

The protests came as Lukashenko held a rally for supporters in central Minsk, urging them to save the country from destruction.

McDonald's sues former CEO for lying about sexual relationships

Yahoo – AFP, DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS, August 10, 2020

McDonald's said former CEO Steve Easterbrook "destroyed information
regarding inappropriate personal behavior"

Fast-food giant McDonald's announced on Monday it is suing former CEO Steve Easterbrook for lying about allegedly inappropriate sexual relationships with employees.

Easterbrook was dismissed in November 2019 over his "poor judgment" in engaging in a consensual relationship with a member of staff in violation of company policy.

McDonald's said it had subsequently learned that Easterbrook lied "and destroyed information regarding inappropriate personal behavior" and relationships with three other employees, as well as providing stock worth hundreds of thousands of dollars to one of the employees.

The chain is seeking to recover compensation and severance benefits paid to the executive under the terms of his departure last year, according to a securities filing.

The lawsuit, which alleges that Easterbrook committed fraud by misleading the company over the separation agreement, has been filed in a state court in Delaware.

"(He) was knowingly untruthful with McDonald's investigators," says the complaint.

Easterbrook's separation agreement included six months' severance pay, plus stock options.

Steve Easterbrook, pictured here in July 2016, was CEO at McDonald's from
March 2015 to November 2019

US media reports have estimated his exit package at around $40 million.

In 2018, Easterbrook's base pay was $1.3 million and his total compensation including bonus and stock options was $15.9 million.

He was replaced by Chris Kempczinski, who joined McDonald's in October 2015 after working in a senior strategic role at Kraft Foods and previously at PepsiCo.

One day after Easterbrook's departure, McDonald's announced that its top human resources executive, David Fairhurst, who joined McDonald's in 2005 and was named chief people officer at the restaurant chain in 2015, had also left.

In May, an international group of labor unions filed a complaint against McDonald's for what it called systematic sexual harassment at the fast food chain's restaurants around the world.

The complaint, filed with the Dutch national contact point for the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), was the first of its kind to target a multinational company, the International Union of Foodworkers said.

The document cites witness testimony of "attempted rape, indecent exposure, groping, and sexual offers."

McDonald's said at the time it would review the complaint, stressing that the food giant was a "people-first company."

New 'threat' against former Saudi spy in Canada: media

Yahoo – AFP, Brendan Smialowski, August 8, 2020

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is seen in Osaka,
Japan in June 2019

A former senior Saudi intelligence official who has accused Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of trying to have him assassinated in 2018 has been placed under heightened security after a new threat on his life, a Canadian newspaper reported.

The Globe and Mail said Canadian security services had been informed of a new attempted attack on Saad Aljabri, who lives at an undisclosed location in the Toronto region.

Aljabri served as a counterespionage chief under a rival prince, Mohammed bin Nayef, who was ousted in 2017 by Prince Mohammed.

The newspaper said its source -- someone "with knowledge of the situation" -- would provide no further details on the more recent threat by Saudi agents.

Aljabri is now under protection by "heavily armed" officers of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, as well as private guards, the news report said.

In a lawsuit filed Thursday with a court in Washington, Aljabri accused Prince Mohammed of having sent a hit squad to Canada to kill and dismember him in 2018, the same fate that two weeks earlier befell dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey.

Aljabri's suit said he was wanted dead because he had intimate knowledge of Prince Mohammed's activities that could sour the close relationship being fostered with the Trump administration in Washington.

Asked to comment on the Globe report, Mary-Liz Power, spokeswoman for Minister of Public Safety Bill Blair, directed a reporter to an earlier comment by Blair about the 2018 attempt.

"While we cannot comment on specific allegations currently before the courts," he said then, "we are aware of incidents in which foreign actors have attempted to monitor, intimidate or threaten Canadians and those living in Canada.

"It is completely unacceptable and we will never tolerate foreign actors threatening Canada's national security or the safety of our citizens and residents."

Aljabri was already abroad in June 2017 when Prince Mohammed seized power, removing Prince Nayef as crown prince and placing him under house arrest.

After his children in Riyadh were hit with travel restrictions, Aljabri refused entreaties to return, fearing for his life, and moved to Canada, where a son lives.

In March his children in Saudi Arabia were taken away and haven't been heard from.

The suit against Prince Mohammed and several others was filed as a claim of attempted extrajudicial killing under the Torture Victim Protection Act. Aljabri asked the court for unspecified damages.