4 h. ago Thousands rally in Madrid to demand snap election over corruption allegations

Pressure grows on Pedro Sánchez amid series of claims involving his family, party and administrationTens of thousands of people have attended an anti-government demonstration in Madrid to demand a snap general election as the country’s socialist prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, tries to weather a series of corruption allegations involving his family, his party and his administration.Sunday’s protest, called by Spain’s conservative People’s party (PP) under the slogan, “This is it: mafia or democracy?”, was held three days after one of Sánchez’s closest erstwhile allies, the former transport minister José Luis Ábalos, was remanded in custody by a judge investigating an alleged kickbacks-for-contracts scheme. Continue reading...

Politics

8 h. ago Netanyahu asks Israeli president to pardon him in corruption trial weeks after Trump sent letter over ‘unjustified’ case

ISRAELI Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has submitted an official request to his president to be pardoned over his corruption trial. The plea comes just weeks after Donald Trump sent a letter to President Isaac Herzog urging him to "fully pardon" his ally. Netanyahu's major corruption trial centres around allegations of bribery and fraud. His official...

Politics

5 d. ago Rutger Bregman accuses BBC of censoring his Reith lecture on Trump

Dutch writer says claim that Trump was ‘most openly corrupt president in US history’ was removedThe BBC has been plunged into a new row over its treatment of Donald Trump, after an academic accused it of censoring his remarks about alleged corruption by the US president.Rutger Bregman, a Dutch author and historian, said the BBC had removed a “key line” from a flagship address he had been invited to give by the corporation. Continue reading...

Politics

5 d. ago Reith lecturer accuses BBC of censoring his remarks on Trump

Dutch writer Rutger Bregman says claim that Trump was ‘most openly corrupt president in US history’ was removedThe BBC has been plunged into a new row over its treatment of Donald Trump, after an academic accused it of censoring his remarks about alleged corruption by the US president.Rutger Bregman, a Dutch author and historian, said the BBC had removed a “key line” from a flagship address he had been invited to give by the corporation. Continue reading...

Politics

5 d. ago Reith lecturer accuses BBC of cowardice for censoring his remarks on Trump

Dutch writer Rutger Bregman says claim that Trump was ‘most openly corrupt president in US history’ was removedThe BBC has been accused of cowardice by a writer it selected to give its flagship annual lecture, after it removed his remarks about alleged corruption by Donald Trump.With the corporation already threatened with a multibillion-dollar lawsuit by the US president, Rutger Bregman, a Dutch author and historian, said the BBC had removed a “key line” from his address when it was broadcast on BBC Radio 4. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago Ukraine’s energy sector corruption crisis – what we know so far and who was involved

Anti-corruption investigators allege high-level kickback scheme involving EnergoatomUkraine’s national anti-corruption bureau, known as Nabu, says it has uncovered a high-level criminal scheme at the heart of government. It involves Ukraine’s nuclear energy body, Energoatom, that runs three nuclear power plants supplying Ukraine with more than half of its electricity. Continue reading...

Events

1 week ago Philippine president Marcos denies estranged sister’s claim he is a cocaine addict

Communications undersecretary Claire Castro says claims from the president’s sister may be an attempt to distract from investigations into a corruption scandal Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos Jr has denied accusations made by his estranged sister that he is longtime drug addict, whose alleged cocaine dependence has led to governance issues, including corruption, a spokesperson for the president has said.Communications undersecretary Claire Castro described the comments by the president’s sister, senator Imee Marcos’, as baseless, and suggested they may have been a desperate attempt to distract ongoing investigations into a corruption scandal involving flood control projects that may implicate her allies in the Senate. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Zelenskyy pledges to ‘clean up’ Ukraine’s energy sector amid corruption scandal

President to overhaul state energy firms after $100m kickback scheme alleged by anti-corruption investigatorsVolodymyr Zelenskyy has announced a plan to “clean up” Ukraine’s energy sector after an $100m kickback scheme was alleged by anti-corruption investigators in the worst scandal of his presidency.Over the weekend, the country’s president announced an overhaul of Ukraine’s key state energy companies, including a complete change of the management at Energoatom, the state nuclear power operator at the centre of the alleged criminal scheme. Continue reading...

Science

2 w. ago Zelenskyy calls for Ukraine justice and energy ministers to be sacked amid alleged energy sector corruption scandal – live

Ukrainian president says ministers should not be in position of influence during investigationAngela Giuffrida in Rome and Kim Willsher in ParisProsecutors in Milan have opened an investigation into Italians who allegedly paid members of the Bosnian Serb army for trips to Sarajevo so that they could kill citizens during the four-year siege of the city in the 1990s. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Ukraine suspends justice minister amid energy corruption scandal – Europe live

Prime minister Yulia Svyrydenko said that the decision to suspend German Galushchenko had been taken at an emergency government sessionUkrainian justice minister German Galushchenko has been suspended amid an alleged corruption scandal in the country’s energy sector, uncovered by the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office, or SAPO.AFP reported that the authorities alleged that Galushchenko was involved in a $100m corruption scheme orchestrated by Timur Mindich, an ally of president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and personally benefited from the plot. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Fury as Indonesia declares late authoritarian ruler Suharto a national hero

Suharto presided over a period marked by rampant corruption, nepotism, censorship and allegations of mass human rights abusesIndonesia has awarded former authoritarian leader Suharto the title of national hero, in a move that has sparked accusations of historical revisionism in the world’s third-largest democracy.The award has deepened fears about attempts to whitewash Suharto’s rise and decades-long rule, a period marked by rampant corruption, censorship and accusations of mass human rights violations. Continue reading...

Culture

3 w. ago ‘Judges doing politics’: can Spanish PM survive corruption cases against family and allies?

Facing allegations he insists are politically motivated, Pedro Sánchez has cast doubt on independence of some members of judiciaryDespite spending the past 18 months variously defending his wife, his brother, his party, his attorney general and his government against a relentless slew of corruption allegations, Spain’s socialist prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has not entirely lost his sense of humour.Three weeks ago, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, the leader of the opposition conservative People’s party (PP), rattled off the familiar litany of accusations and concluded by suggesting the man sitting opposite him in congress was neither “a decent or worthy prime minister” but rather a seasoned enabler of corruption. After the giddy applause that greeted Feijóo’s speech from the PP benches had died down, Sánchez rose to his feet and uttered two words. Continue reading...

Events