South African President Cyril Ramaphosa says urgent action is needed to tackle gender-based violence in the country. At an emergency sitting of parliament, Mr Ramaphosa said figures of violence against women and children were similar to those of a country at war.

Some 2,700 women and 1,000 children were murdered by men last year and at least 100 rapes were reported daily. The spike in violence against women has ignited protests in many parts of the country. Mr Ramaphosa pledged $75m (£60m) for measures including public education, strengthening the criminal justice system, increasing sentences for perpetrators of sexual offences and providing better care for victims.

The plan also includes measures to improve women’s economic power. Murders recorded by the police have been rising every year for the last decade, and sexual offences including rape have risen 4.6% this year.

Mr Ramaphosa also addressed the recent xenophobic attacks which gripped parts of Johannesburg a few days ago and acknowledged that South Africa was facing a serious crisis of violence and intolerance. He said a fact finding mission led by two former African heads of state would investigate the causes of recent violent attacks in the country.(BBC)…[+]

SANTIAGO – Michelle Bachelet, Chile’s ex-president and now the UN human rights chief, has denied allegations by a Brazilian businessman under investigation in Brazil’s massive Car Wash scandal that he paid $141,000 to cover debts incurred by her 2013 presidential campaign.

Bachelet, a socialist who served from 2006 to 2010 and again from 2014 to 2018, denied the claims that were reported on Monday by the Brazilian newspaper Folho de Sao Paolo. It said Leo Pinheiro told prosecutors as part of a plea bargain that his engineering firm, OAS, paid the money at the suggestion of the former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. “My truth is the same as always, I have never had links with OAS,” she told Chilean TV station 24 Horas in Geneva.

Lula is serving a 12-year prison sentence for taking bribes in connection with the scandal, which involved payoffs and political kickbacks on contracts with oil company Petrobras and other state-run companies. Cristiano Zanin Martins, Lula’s lawyer, told Reuters his client had not recommended any such payments and that the latest claims were part of a “strategy” by prosecutors to persecute Lula “politically”.

“Leo Pinheiro’s version is denied by a statement filed on Feb. 7, 2017 by his own company – OAS – which said that ‘no contracts or donations were made to former presidents of the Republic, nor for institutes or foundations linked to them’,” he said.(Reuters)…[+]

A Valsayn woman who claimed she stole over $3,000 in clothing to give to the poor, has been arrested. The suspect, of Bamboo #3, was allegedly caught stealing on Saturday from PriceSmart in Chaguanas.

According to police, the woman allegedly picked up several blouses and pairs of pants from the shelves and went to the ladies room. While there she allegedly placed them in the bag she was carrying. She attempted to leave the store, but was stopped by a security guard who searched her bag and allegedly found the clothing items.

Chaguanas police were contacted by and a team of officers led by Cpl Phillips responded. The woman allegedly told police officers that she stole the clothing to give to the poor. She was arrested and charged with the offence of larceny. She is expected to appear before a Chaguanas magistrate on Monday. (Stabroek News)…[+]

A Spanish court has rejected an extradition request for Venezuela’s former intelligence chief General Hugo Carvajal. The US sought his extradition, accusing him of drug trafficking offences.

He turned against the government of President Nicolás Maduro in February and backed opposition leader Juan Guaidó as Venezuela’s leader. Mr Carvajal fled Venezuela on a boat and was arrested in Madrid in April. On Monday he was pictured with his family as he left a prison in Spain.He had been under US sanctions since 2008 due to allegations he helped Colombia’s Farc rebel group and protected US-bound drug shipments.

Federal charges which accuse him of co-ordinating a 5,600kg (12,345lb) shipment of cocaine from Venezuela to Mexico in 2006, became public in 2014. The US Justice Department said in April that if convicted, he could face between 10 years and life in prison. Washington also believes that Mr Carvajal could share incriminating evidence about Mr Maduro.

Mr Carvajal was a close ally of Venezuela’s late socialist leader Hugo Chávez but later denounced his successor President Maduro. He was stripped of his rank after choosing to back opposition leader Juan Guaidó. Mr Guaidó declared himself president in January, citing Venezuela’s constitution. He has the backing of dozens of countries including the US. Mr Carvajal escaped Venezuela by boat to the Dominican Republic before travelling on to Spain.(BBC)…[+]

Boris Johnson sought to suspend Parliament to avoid the risk of MPs “frustrating or damaging” his Brexit plans, the Supreme Court has heard. Lawyers for campaigners challenging the suspension said there was “strong evidence” the PM saw MPs “as an obstacle” and wanted to “silence” them.

But a government lawyer said the PM was “entitled” to suspend Parliament, and it was not a matter for the courts. The judges are hearing two challenges relating to the five-week prorogation. Lady Hale, President of the Court, stressed the landmark case would have no bearing on the timing of Brexit. In her opening statement, the most senior judge in the UK said she and her 10 colleagues would endeavour to address the “serious and difficult questions of law” raised by the case, but would not determine “wider political questions” relating to the Brexit process.(BBC)…[+]