DAILY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Indiaʼs top court decriminalizes adultery A colonial-era law that punished adultery with jail time was ruled unconstitutional on Thursday by Indiaʼs top court. The law was in place for more than a century and dictated that any man who slept with a married woman, without her husbandʼs permission, could go to prison for up to 5 years. "Thinking of adultery from a point of view of criminality is a retrograde step," the five-judge bench of the Supreme Court said in what was a unanimous decision. The law was challenged in front of the court on the grounds that it was arbitrary and discriminated women, as they could not file a complaint or be held liable under the archaic law. ʼMan is the seducerʼ Government lawyers had argued that overturning the law threatened the institution of marriage, and caused harm to children and families. But the 158-year-old law deprived women of dignity and individual choice and gave "license to the husband to use women as a chattel," the court retorted.
Students at German Catholic school protest for gay teacher Around 600 pupils protested Thursday against their schoolʼs decision not to hire a gay teacher at the Gymnasium Mariengarden, a private high school in the town of Borken in western Germany. The students assembled to form a rainbow out of colored balloons alongside a banner that read, "Mariengarden is colorful." The man had completed his teacher training at the Catholic school and subsequently been offered a job. However, when he told the school principal that he intended to marry his male partner, his offer of employment was withdrawn. Read more: Opinion: Catholic Church must change Church officials responsible for the administration of the school said Wednesday that, "The plan to marry contravenes the churchʼs position on matrimony and family."
222/2018 • 28 SEPTEMBER, 2018
WikiLeaks names new editor-in-chief as Julian Assange sits in Ecuadorian Embassy Julian Assange has named Kristinn Hrafnsson as WikiLeaksʼ new editor-in-chief
Brett Kavanaugh accuser Christine Ford testifies before Senate hearing Christine Blasey Ford fought back tears on Thursday as she told a Senate committee about an alleged sexual assault by President Donald TrumpʼsSupreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh when they were both teenagers in the 1980s. Ford said Kavanaugh locked her in a bedroom during a social gathering and pinned her to the bed. "Brett groped me and tried to take off my clothes. He was having a hard time because he was inebriated… I believed he was going to rape me." The 51-year-old said she was "terrified," but wanted to share her experience "because I believe it is my civic duty to tell you what happened to me while Brett Kavanaugh and I were in high school."
Slovakia police arrest suspects in journalist Jan Kuciakʼs killing Assange remains in the Ecuadorian embassy in London where for the last six months he has only been able to communicate with his lawyers. WikiLeaks on Wednesday announced Icelandic investigative journalist Kristinn Hrafnsson would take over from founder Julian Assange as editor-in-chief. Assange will continue to be the publisher of WikiLeaks, a not-for-profit organization that publishes classified documents provided by anonymous sources. WikiLeaks said a new editor-in-chief had been appointed due to the "extraordinary circumstances" of Assange having been held in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London without any contact for six months aside from his lawyers. Hrafnsson was a spokesperson for WikiLeaks from 2010–2016, and has since overseen certain legal projects for WikiLeaks, the organization said. "I condemn the treatment of Julian Assange that leads to my new role," Hrafnsson said in a statement. "But I welcome the responsibility to secure the continuation of the important work based on WikiLeaks ideals." Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno said Wednesday that
Ecuador and Britain are working on a legal solution for Assange to allow him to leave the Ecuadorian Embassy in London in "the medium term." Moreno told The Associated Press news agency that Assangeʼs lawyers were aware of the negotiations, but declined to provide further information due to the sensitivity of the case. Ecuador granted Australian-born Assange asylum in August 2012 after he sought refuge in the embassy to avoid extradition to Sweden over allegations of sexual assault and rape, which he denied. Assange said Sweden would eventually extradite him to the United States to face prosecution for WikiLeaksʼ publication of leaked classified military and diplomatic documents. AlthoughSweden dropped the case in May 2017, Assange could still be arrested by UK authorities for breaching the conditions of his bail agreement. Earlier this year, Ecuador said it had granted Assange citizenship.
Daniel Lipsic, a lawyer representing the families ofJan Kuciak and Martina Kusnirova, said suspects were arrested early on Thursday, with local media reporting one or more arrests. Slovak police said on its Facebook page it had detained "persons suspected of violent crime and was carrying out home searches," but did not say in which case. Prime Minister Peter Pellegriniwrote on Facebook that: "Police have arrested the suspects in the murder of two innocent young people," adding that the ongoing investigation was "a priority" for his government.
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