#corruption

#corruption

A hundred years ago, if you wanted a knighthood, say, a baronetcy or even a peerage and, worthy or not, were prepared to pay for it, you called on a man named Arthur Maundy Gregory, who had set up in a large office almost directly opposite Downing Street. Liveried servants, their uniforms so closely modelled on those of House of Commons messengers that you could not tell the difference, would usher you into Gregory's office, where the man himself, immaculately dressed,

Mass protests in Nepal and Madagascar toppled both governments this year, even when the young people at the forefront of the demonstrations were faced with heavily armed police and the threat of arrest. Many called 2025 the year of the protest although the revolution in Bangladesh in 2024 that unseated the authoritarian leader Sheikh Hasina is often credited with inspiring young people to take to the streets across parts of Asia and Africa.

A court in Pakistan on Saturday sentenced former prime minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi to 17 years in prison after being found guilty of corruption. The court's decision is the latest setback for Khan, who has been accused in multiple cases since he was ousted in 2022. Khan, who is 73, has been in prison since 2023. He denies the charges, accusing Pakistani authorities of politically persecuting him.

Serbia's President Aleksandar Vucic has long been accused of exercising total control over the Western Balkan country. Now he has embarked on a new field of activity: He has declared that he will personally file criminal charges against all those he accuses of the "economic sabotage of Serbia." This was prompted by news from the United States that Jared Kushner, the son-in-law and close confidant of US President Donald Trump, has canceled a huge, much-vaunted planned investment in Belgrade.

NEW YORK -- After a yearslong legal battle, U.S. prosecutors told the Supreme Court on Tuesday that they want to give up their fight to preserve the convictions of a former Fox executive and a South American sports media company in a corruption case related to TV rights for international soccer tournaments. Hernan Lopez, ex-CEO of Fox International Channels, and Full Play Group SA were convicted in 2023 after a trial in New York but subsequently granted an acquittal by a judge.

Every step Fatima Bosch has taken toward the Miss Universe crown has been accompanied by controversy. But the tangle of scandals, misunderstandings, and accusations has grown rapidly, escalating from kitsch to organized crime. At the center of the spotlight is the pageant's president, Raul Rocha. In less than a week since the winner was announced, the Mexican businessman has faced a barrage of criticism for favoritism and admitted to having a multi-million dollar contract with the oil giant Pemex, where Bosch's father is an executive.

I'm not saying that there is a Holocaust, and by the way, I'm not saying that Donald Trump is Hitler, Biden said. Because Hitler had an ideology. And he had a grand plan. Donald Trump is purely corrupt. Donald Trump is a narcissistic sociopath who only cares about one thing, and that's Donald Trump. And he is a clown in that respect.

LOS ANGELES A former U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer was sentenced to 15 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to working with Mexican traffickers to bring drugs into the U.S., officials said Thursday. Diego Bonillo, 30, pleaded guilty in July to multiple charges, including conspiracy to import controlled substances such as cocaine, methamphetamine and heroin. As part of his plea deal, he admitted to using his position to allow drug-filled cars into the U.S. from Mexico without inspection.

Nonstop gonzo mayhem is on show in this pulp shocker from 1980, beginning with an amazingly reckless, fender-mangling, passerby-endangering car chase which more or less takes up the first 20 minutes. It's a gritty New York sleazesploitation crime thriller with some gobsmackingly over-the-top punch-ups and shootouts; some of the attitudes to ethnicity and sexual politics can only be described as of their time. Those who prefer 21st-century standards of good taste had better look away now.

Backed by the United States during the Cold War, Soeharto used the military to dominate civilian affairs and crush dissent. He was also accused of massive corruption and nepotism benefiting his family and cronies, although no charge was proven and he never went on trial due to his failing health. So who was Soeharto, who ruled Indonesia for 32 years? And what's behind President Prabowo's decision to honour the late general?

According to the indictment unsealed Sunday in federal court in Brooklyn, the highly paid hurlers took several thousand dollars in payoffs to help two unnamed gamblers from their native Dominican Republic win at least $460,000 on in-game prop bets on the speed and outcome of certain pitches. Clase, the Guardians' former closer, and Ortiz, a starter, have been on non-disciplinary paid leave since July, when MLB started investigating what it said was unusually high in-game betting activity when they pitched.

"Iraq is the best it's ever been," Khudair al-Ali, a young man who works for one of Iraq's oil companies but drives cars for Careem, the Middle East's version of Uber, on weekends, enthuses. "But we still have problems," he says, gesturing at potholes he's trying to avoid. "The streets need to be fixed and there are too many cars in Baghdad."

"Here, under the board's removal procedures, Petitioner (Corpus) was afforded a comprehensive administrative appeal - specifically, a two-week evidentiary hearing before a neutral hearing officer, a retired superior court judge," Shapirshteyn wrote in today's order. "The hearing officer found four separate bases for 'cause' to remove the petitioners from office, and the board adopted those findings. In light of that process, petitioner is unlikely to succeed on her procedural due process challenge."

Tens of thousands of people have gathered in the Serbian city of Novi Sad to mark the first anniversary of a railway station disaster. Mourners placed flowers and candles along temporary fencing near the damaged station entrance on Saturday, where 16 people died when the canopy collapsed on November 1, 2024. I feel great pain and sadness, Svetlana, a 45-year-old woman, told the AFP news agency, capturing the sombre mood at the memorial gathering.

"I was convinced that we could bring about real change, but unfortunately, the project has strayed from its path," Pagano told DW about her motives. She said the government has ignored the needs of the middle class and disadvantaged groups such as people with disabilities and pensioners. And "in cases of suspected corruption, the suspects were not fired as promised, but have even been protected," she said indignantly.

As he was transported to La Sante prison in Paris on Tuesday, Nicolas Sarkozy posted a message brimming with defiance on X, writing It's not a former president of the republic who is being jailed this morning, it's an innocent man. A court of appeal will eventually give its view on the veracity of the second clause of that statement. But unfortunately for Mr Sarkozy, the drama and significance of his fall cannot simply be wished away.

Prakash Bohora was one of the first of Nepal's gen Z protesters to feel the sting of a police bullet. Like thousands of other young people, he had taken to the streets of the capital last month to protest against corruption and a draconian ban on social media. He had no idea on that day in Kathmandu that the demonstration would escalate into what is now described as Nepal's gen Z revolution,

Everything seemed to be in order. Mexico's Attorney General's Office (FGR) had seized a ton of cocaine in the state of Guerrero. As required by law, the drugs were to be incinerated. However, a group of officials sneakily replaced the cocaine with powdered milk and that's what went up in flames. The scheme was uncovered, prompting the dismissal of a dozen officials, including the agency's comptroller, Arturo Serrano Meneses, the one ultimately in charge of giving the go-ahead for this type of operation.