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Apr 26, 2024 - World

Three Americans and a Honduran were ordered detained on Thursday in a sex trafficking case that shocked the country, following the disappearance of a university student in 2022 while jet-skiing in a popular tourist area."The judge has issued a formal indictment and the precautionary measure of preventive detention for (US citizens) Harold Joseph Green and William James Murdock," spokeswoman Barbara Castillo of the court in Tegucigalpa told reporters.The hearing also ordered the prosecution and preventive imprisonment of Gary Lee Johnston and Ramon Trejo for "association to commit a crime," she added.All four were allegedly involved in the trafficking of a young woman, she said, and face a preliminary hearing on May 8.Green, Murdock and Trejo were captured last week in Roatan in the Bay Islands of the Honduran Caribbean, and Lee had been detained since August 2022, accused of belonging to a child pornography gang.A 22-year-old Honduran university student disappeared on January 1, 2022 after going out to sea aboard a jet ski.Initially police claimed she had drowned, but family members demanded an investigation because they suspected she had been abducted.The young woman's jet ski, life jacket and other belongings were found days later on a cay.Deputy Security Minister Julissa Villanueva said last week that authorities have information on "who has her and what happened around her abduction."The victim has not yet been found.The three Americans live in Honduras and have tourist investments in Roatan.

Apr 26, 2024 - World

Exclusive: Experts say bank is misleading public over ‘sustainable’ financing for Eni as it vastly expands fossil fuel productionBarclays is being accused by environmental groups of greenwashing after helping to arrange €4bn (£3.4bn) in financing for the Italian oil company Eni in a way that allows them to qualify towards its $1tn sustainable financing goal.Environmental groups have said the London-based bank is deliberately misleading the public by labelling the financial instruments as “sustainable” at the same time that Eni is in the midst of a multibillion-pound fossil fuel expansion drive designed to increase production. Continue reading...

Apr 26, 2024 - World

New York appeals court has thrown out 2020 conviction, but disgraced movie mogul is staying jailed from separate rape conviction. Plus, scheme launched for reparations to Ukrainian sexual violence survivorsGood morning.The disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 conviction for sexual crimes was overturned by a New York appeals court on Thursday. Prosecutors intend to retry the case.What did the ruling say? “We conclude that the trial court erroneously admitted testimony of uncharged, alleged prior sexual acts against persons other than the complainants of the underlying crimes.”What was Weinstein’s prison term? He got 23 years in 2020 for two sex crimes: forcing oral sex on a production assistant in 2006 as well as rape in the third degree of an actor in 2013. In total, more than 80 women accused Weinstein of various acts of sexual assault and harassment.Does this mean he’ll walk free? No. Weinstein, 72, will remain imprisoned because he was convicted in Los Angeles in 2022 of another rape, and sentenced to 16 years in prison. But we can expect a rerun of the New York case.Here’s what makes the scheme so significant: It will be the first time survivors have been awarded reparations during an active conflict, according to the Global Survivors Fund (GSF), which is administering the project with Ukraine using funds from donor governments.This is what we know about who was impacted: GSF estimates thousands of Ukrainians were impacted, but the total number suffering sexual violence by occupying troops is unknown, as most survivors do not report the crimes.Go deeper: Check out this gripping story about the Ukrainian investigators closing in on Russian war criminals. Continue reading...

Apr 26, 2024 - World

Israeli media reports planned visit, citing unnamed officials, in the wake of stalled talks mediated by Qatar, the US and EgyptSee all of our Israel-Gaza war coverageA premature Palestinian infant, rescued from her mother’s womb by an emergency caesarean section shortly after the woman was killed by an Israeli airstrike, has died, her uncle said Friday.Associated Press reports Rami al-Sheikh said Sabreen Jouda died in a Gaza hospital on Thursday after her health deteriorated and medical teams were unable to save her. Continue reading...

Apr 26, 2024 - World

Scottish Labour’s no confidence motion could require first minister and all other ministers to resign if it passesHumza Yousaf is expected to make an announcement about housing this afternoon. It is expected early afternoon rather than late afternoon.Despite a report in the Times this morning saying he was considering his position, he is not going to be announcing his resignation, the BBC says. Continue reading...