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The Justice Department’s April 20 letter includes guidance for state and local police, prosecutors, judges and probation officers. Joanna Weiss, co-director of the Fines and Fees Justice Center, told me that the DOJ's voice is critical on these issues. The earlier memo included a section that laid out the principle that courts must not use bail practices that incarcerate people solely because they can’t afford a fee. The Justice Department didn't address my specific questions about why the section on bail was nixed. Lauren Jones, legal director at the National Center for Access to Justice, told me that there's clear overlap between cash bail practices and justice system fees.

☆ Africa needs more help with climate change, debt and food crises
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-15 | by ( Joe Bavier | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, April 15 (Reuters) - Africa is struggling with the triple shock of rising debt burdens, an ongoing food crisis and climate change fallout and needs more help from international institutions and wealthy nations to cope, African finance ministers said on Saturday. "African countries are really victims. The trio were speaking on behalf of the continent's finance ministers. The African finance ministers, meanwhile, called for a G20-backed framework aimed at helping countries restructure burdensome debt to go further. Two African countries - Zambia and Ghana - have already defaulted on their sovereign debt since the start of the pandemic.

WASHINGTON, April 14 (Reuters) - Zambia last week gave its bondholders a "concrete proposal" for the restructuring of some $3 billion in eurobonds, the ministry of finance and national planning said on Friday. "We continue to engage actively with our bondholders and proposals are being exchanged," the ministry told Reuters in a statement. The proposal "represents our commitment to finding a resolution that is acceptable to all parties and within the parameters set out by the IMF debt sustainability analysis." Zambia defaulted on its overseas debt in 2020 and is working on a restructuring with bilateral creditors and private bondholders, but talks have dragged amid a lack of consensus on how to provide debt relief. Internationally we need to pool our voices together for a stronger response ... We need a stronger response on a global stage."

☆ Viktor Bout, the 'Merchant of Death' arms dealer exchanged for Brittney Griner, says he fears for Trump's life and urged him to flee to Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Arms dealer Viktor Bout, nicknamed the "Merchant of Death," is asking Trump to flee to Russia. He sent Trump a telegram, warning him to escape charges in New York and that his "life is in peril." Bout said Trump would find "safe haven" in Russia, where he could rebel against "globalists." They would sooner end your life than let you stand in their way," Bout's message read, Russian state media first reported. A photo of Bout's telegram, posted by Russian state media on the messaging app Telegram, shows the message was addressed to Trump's Mar-a-Lago club in Florida.

☆ Uganda’s anti-gay bill is the latest and worst to target LGBTQ Africans
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Aditi Bhandari | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +14 min

Same-sex activity in Africa is punishable by … Map of the 32 African countries where same-sex activity is illegal. Same-sex activity in Africa … Map of the 22 African countries where same-sex activity is legal. In 1993, Guinea-Bissau became the first African country to legalise LGBTQ activity when it adopted a new Penal Code that didn’t include any laws criminalising it. Country Constitutional protection Broad protections Employment Hate crime Incitement Marriage or civil union Adoption Angola No Yes Yes Yes Yes No No Botswana No No Yes No No No No Cape Verde No No Yes Yes No No No Gabon No No No No No No No Guinea-Bissau No No No No No No No Lesotho No No No No No No No Mozambique No No Yes No No No No Sao Tome and Principe No No Yes Yes No No No Seychelles No No Yes No No No No South Africa Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes YesNote: Broad protections include laws protecting against discrimination in at least 3 of 4 categories: the provision of goods and services, housing, healthcare and education. Namibia and Mauritius criminalise same-sex activity, but around 35% of respondents said they would dislike having a gay neighbour.

☆ Standard Chartered agrees to sell business in Jordan
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-26 | by ( Hadeel Al Sayegh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

DUBAI, March 26 (Reuters) - Standard Chartered (STAN.L) plans to sell its Jordanian business to Arab Jordan Investment Bank (AJIB) (AJIB.AM), the two parties said on Sunday, as the emerging markets-focused lender presses ahead with plans to exit seven markets in Africa and the Middle East. All Standard Chartered Bank employees in Jordan will be transferred to AJIB, it said an emailed statement. AJIB said the purchase falls within the Jordanian lender's strategy to grow its market share in the country, which continues to grow after it acquired HSBC's banking business in Jordan in 2014 and National Bank of Kuwait's banking business in Jordan in 2022. Standard Chartered in April 2022 said it plans to leave seven markets, consisting of Angola, Cameroon, Gambia, Jordan, Lebanon, Sierra Leone and Zimbabwe. Reporting by Hadeel Al Sayegh, Editing by Louise Heavens and Elaine HardcastleOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Putin is just the third head of state to be indicted by the International Criminal Court while still in power. The ICC accuses Putin of responsibility for the war crime of deporting Ukrainian children - at least hundreds, possibly more - to Russia. TRAVEL ABROADThe ICC's 123 member states are obliged to detain and transfer Putin if he sets foot on their territory. Kenya's President William Ruto and his predecessor Uhuru Kenyatta were both charged by the ICC before they were elected. Former Kosovo President Hashim Thaci, one of Milosevic's adversaries in the 1990s Balkan wars, left office after being indicted for war crimes by the Kosovo war crimes tribunal in The Hague.

After Russia invaded Ukraine, the West formed what looked like an overwhelming global coalition: 141 countries supported a United Nations measure demanding that Russia unconditionally withdraw. South Korea Indonesia Israel Thailand Japan Saudi Arabia Philippines Afghanistan CambodiaBy contrast, Russia seemed isolated. Eritrea “Russian actions are being distorted” North Korea Russia Belarus Syria Eritrea “Russian actions are being distorted” North Korea Russia Belarus SyriaBut the West never won over as much of the world as it initially seemed. But like many other African countries, South Africa appears careful to balance its growing ties with Russia against maintaining a relationship with the West. Others that provided Ukraine with military support have declined to impose economic sanctions on Russia.

☆ Actors Idris and Sabrina Dhowre Elba on how their parents inspired their activism
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Sophie Kiderlin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Actors Idris Elba and Sabrina Dhowre Elba say their parents were driving forces behind their own activism today, which focuses on food security. For Sabrina Dhowre Elba it was her mother that shaped her drive to give back, she said. "For me, my mother is everything," Dhowre Elba told CNBC. A trip to Sierra Leone also inspired her due to the stories she heard from locals, Dhowre Elba explained. "Why I go on field visits so often with the organization is because you really remember that small things can make such huge changes."

☆ Former Liberian rebel seeks to overturn Swiss war crimes ruling
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Emma Farge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Alieu Kosiah, a former rebel commander who fought against former President Charles Taylor's army in the 1990s, was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2021 in Switzerland's first ever war crimes trial. The indictment has since been expanded to include crimes against humanity - the first time these charges are brought in a Swiss trial. A 2011 Swiss law allows prosecution for serious crimes committed anywhere, under the principle of universal jurisdiction. Unlike Sierra Leone which had its own civil war at the same time and later held war crimes trials, no prosecutions have taken place in Liberia. In November, a former Liberian rebel commander was sentenced to life in prison by a French court and a Finnish appeals court is hearing a Liberia war crimes case.

☆ Pentagon fears Viktor Bout, the so-called 'Merchant of Death' the US swapped for Brittney Griner, could restart his old arms business
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout was released from US custody on Thursday. He gained notoriety during the 1990s for fueling deadly conflicts in various African countries. The Pentagon is concerned that with his release, he could return to his old business. Now, US officials worry the arms dealer could return to fueling deadly conflicts around the world. Bout fueled widespread death & destruction by arming UN-sanctioned regimes & groups in the #DRC, #Liberia, #SierraLeone, & beyond."

"Grateful for the long-overdue release of Brittney Griner today from Russian custody. "Thank you to every single person that kept Brittney Griner’s name alive #WEAREBG," tweeted one of her Phoenix Mercury teammates, Brianna Turner. The Biden administration wasn't able to secure Whelan's release because the Russian government is treating his case differently than Griner's, Biden said. “While we celebrate Brittney’s release, Paul Whelan and his family continue to suffer needlessly,” Blinken said. Share this -Link copiedWho is Viktor Bout, Russian arms dealer that the U.S. exchanged for Brittney Griner?

In the 2005 Nicolas Cage movie “Lord of War,” the character loosely based on Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout evades his American law enforcement pursuers, apparently saved by the CIA. Now he is on his way back to Russia after a high-profile prisoner exchange that saw WNBA star Brittney Griner free early Thursday. Under federal sentencing rules, Bout could have been released from prison in five years. Bout, a former Soviet military officer who became rich as an arms dealer, has always maintained his innocence. His U.S. lawyer, Steve Zissou, says the whole operation was unfair, because Bout had been retired and living in Moscow.

☆ Factbox: FACTBOX Viktor Bout, the arms dealer Russia has swapped for Brittney Griner
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Dec 8 (Reuters) - U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner was freed from jail in Russia on Thursday in exchange for the release of Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer jailed in the United States, according to U.S. and Russian officials. He became notorious for his willingness to arm almost anyone, from militias in Sierra Leone, to Charles Taylor's brutal Liberian regime, to the Taliban. He has said he attended a Moscow language institute that serves as a training ground for military intelligence officers. - In 2012, he was given a 25-year prison sentence by a U.S. court on multiple charges related to his arms dealing career. Russia has always proclaimed his innocence, describing his case as a glaring injustice and attempting to secure his release.

☆ Viktor Bout: The Russian arms dealer swapped for Brittney Griner
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Eliza Mackintosh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Brittney Griner’s freedom ultimately hinged on the release of a convicted Russian arms dealer whose life story inspired a Hollywood film. On Thursday, a source told CNN that the US basketball star had been released from Russian detention in a prisoner swap for Viktor Bout, nicknamed the “Merchant of Death” by his accuser. Viktor Bout is pictured in a temporary cell ahead of a hearing at a court in Bangkok in August 2010. Christophe Archambault/AFP/Getty Images“His early days are a mystery,” Douglas Farah, a senior fellow at the International Assessment and Strategy Center who co-authored a book on Bout, told CNN in 2010. He said that Bout graduated from the Military Institute on Foreign Languages, a well-known feeder school for Russian military intelligence.

☆ Column: Key African nations set off on energy & emissions growth paths
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Gavin Maguire | Thomson Reuters | Gavin Maguire Is The Global Energy Transition Columnist. He Was Previously Asia Commodities | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

However, the power mix varies greatly by country depending on locally available power sources, legacy power production infrastructure, and proximity to energy exporters. Electricity generation by source in key African economiesThis wide variance in power mix is clear when comparing the electricity source profiles of Africa's two largest electricity producers, South Africa and Egypt. In contrast, Egypt uses natural gas for 77% of its electricity, and uses no coal in electricity generation at all. The two countries' electricity systems have starkly divergent emissions footprints as a result of their different primary fuels. Across Northern Africa, natural gas is making rapid inroads into energy systems, primarily from the abundant local supplies in Algeria and Egypt.

☆ From Pacific to Red Sea: climate court action gathers wave of support
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Valerie Volcovici | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/2] Climate activists stand next to banners as they take part in a protest during the COP27 climate summit, in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, November 18, 2022. As climate change has accelerated the rise of sea levels, Vanuatu and other low-lying island states and coastal communities face particular risk from storms and flooding. An advisory opinion by the court would not be binding in any jurisdiction, but could underpin future climate negotiations by clarifying what financial obligations countries have on climate change, and define it as a human rights issue. At a demonstration on Wednesday rallying support for the ICJ to take an advisory opinion, some of the law students were joined by allies from different countries. An ICJ opinion would send a clear signal to governments that hesitate to take decisive action at climate talks, said Solomon Yeo from the Solomon Islands, another Pacific island law student.

☆ Uganda to roll out trial vaccines as it scrambles to control Ebola outbreak
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Larry Madowo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Mubende, Uganda CNN —Joseph Singiringabo has lost almost everything and everyone he held dear to Ebola. An Ebola treatment unit in Mubende, Uganda. Larry Madowo/CNNHe has been involved in every Ebola outbreak in Uganda as well as in Sierra Leone in 2017. However, the country is about to roll out three trial vaccines that have been certified as safe by the World Health Organization (WHO) working group. He has now barred traditional healers and witchdoctors from taking clients during the Ebola outbreak.

☆ COP27: Activists hoped Egypt would bring a focus on Africa. They were disappointed
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Ivana Kottasová | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt CNN —The crowd was loving what Bhekumuzi Bhebhe had to say, cheering loudly as he yelled “don’t gas Africa!” into the megaphone. Bhekumuzi Bhebhe speaks at a protest against the development of new fossil fuel projects in Africa. Experts and activists are stressing that many African countries are getting locked in fossil fuel investments that are polluting and will likely prove uneconomical in a few years. “Africa has contributed very little to the climate problem, but the fossil fuel companies are using that to their advantage. What Elmaawi, Adow and other activists want is for the COP27 conference to help African countries foster more investment into renewable energy.

(Reuters) - The shooting death of teenager Michael Brown by a Ferguson, Missouri, police officer prompted the U.S. Justice Department's most significant investigation of policing practices since the beginning of the Black Lives Matter movement. The DOJ also pointed out that “police departments in surrounding municipalities and the County” have practices similar to Ferguson, although that issue was “beyond the scope” of the investigation. In fact, federal officials even considered opening another investigation of the St. Louis police department for similar problems, Reuters reported in October 2020. Ferguson officials expressed concerns that the reforms required to stop exploitative policing in their city would “cripple city finances,” Reuters reported in March 2016. (A measure to institute a modest property tax increase to fund the reforms didn't get the required two-thirds majority vote.)

☆ Wheat prices jump by nearly 6% after Russia withdraws from vital Ukrainian export deal
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Anadolu Agency | Anadolu Agency | Getty ImagesGlobal wheat prices rose sharply Monday following Russia's withdrawal from the Black Sea grain export deal over the weekend. The increases come after Russia announced Saturday that it was suspending its involvement in the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which allowed vital agricultural products to be exported from several Ukrainian ports. Zelenskyy and Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba accused Russia of starting to sabotage the grain deal in September. Antonov told Russian media on Saturday that Kyiv's "reckless actions" had caused Moscow to suspend implementation of the grain deal. Many of the grain ships that left Ukraine in recent months, under the grain deal, were bound for both European and African ports.

☆ Russia halts participation in the Black Sea Grain Initiative, the UN-backed deal that reopened Ukraine’s ports to feed countries around the world
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-29 | by ( Amanda Macias | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The Sierra Leone-flagged cargo ship Razoni, carrying Ukrainian grain, is seen in the Black Sea off Kilyos, near Istanbul, Turkey August 3, 2022. WASHINGTON – Moscow suspended its participation in the Black Sea Grain Initiative, an agreement brokered earlier this year that reopened Ukrainian ports for agricultural product export. Russia also said British operators helped Ukraine's military carry out the predawn attack, adding that at least 15 drones were involved. "We have warned of Russia's plans to ruin the Black Sea Grain Initiative," Kuleba wrote in a tweet. "I call on all states to demand Russia to stop its hunger games and recommit to its obligations."

☆ Fact Check-Hoax about serial killer posing as taxi driver in New York City resurfaces
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A fabricated report that is several years old about a New York City taxi driver who is a serial killer has recirculated on social media. An example can be seen (here) with the text: “*** Warning *** This is a man with Taxi number (2465RB) in NY Who drives around taking People to kill. A Google search on the story or on the license plate number produces no credible results to support the claims about a New York City serial killer taxi driver (bit.ly/3Sl6ZBE), (bit.ly/3ShD25K). The story has been debunked by fact checkers Snopes (here) in 2018 and PolitiFact (here) in 2022. There is no evidence of a serial killer posing as a taxi driver in New York City.

☆ Opinion | Abortion Is Legal in Ethiopia. But Half of These Clinics Won’t Provide Them.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( Anu Kumar | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +12 min

When Congress passed the Helms Amendment, only six of those countries allowed abortion in circumstances beyond saving a woman’s life. And every year, more than 16,000 of the women and girls who have received these unsafe abortions die from more serious complications. President Biden also has the power to mitigate some of the harms of the Helms Amendment. His administration could also ensure that clinics in countries where abortion is legal understand that U.S. rules allow them to offer abortion information and counseling. The Helms Amendment is an act of international interference and overreach, and it has to end.

☆ Ukraine ports have shipped around 4.7 million tonnes of food under grain deal, infrastructure ministry says
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The Sierra Leone-flagged cargo ship Razoni, carrying Ukrainian grain, is seen in the Black Sea off Kilyos, near Istanbul, Turkey August 3, 2022. The ministry said eight ships with 131,300 tonnes of agricultural products are due to leave Ukrainian Black Sea ports on Saturday. Ukraine's grain exports slumped after Russia invaded the country on Feb. 24 and blockaded its Black Sea ports, driving up global food prices and prompting fears of shortages in Africa and the Middle East. Ukraine, a global major grain producer and exporter, shipped up to 6 million tonnes of grain per month before the war. Three Black Sea ports were reopened under a deal signed on July 22 by Moscow and Kyiv and the ministry has said these ports are able to load and send abroad 100-150 cargo ships per month.

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