China: Canadian citizen loses appeal against death penalty - BBC News

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A Canadian citizen has lost his appeal against a death sentence in China for drug smuggling.

The court said it upheld Robert Lloyd Schellenberg's sentence because evidence against him was "sufficient".

Schellenberg was initially sentenced to 15 years in jail, but in 2019 an appeal court said this was too lenient, leading to a retrial and a death sentence.

The verdict comes as relations between Canada and China remain fraught.

The Canadian ambassador to China Dominic Barton condemned the Chinese court's ruling, saying it was "no coincidence" that the verdict was released while an extradition battle involving senior Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou was ongoing in Canada.

Ms Meng, the daughter of the founder of the Chinese telecoms company, is currently detained in Canada on a US warrant.

Canada had earlier accused China of conducting "hostage diplomacy", though Beijing denies the cases are linked.

Verdict to come for Spavor

Schellenberg was detained in 2014 and charged with planning to smuggle almost 500lb (227kg) of methamphetamine from China to Australia.

He denies the charges, and said he went to China as a tourist.

In November 2018, he was sentenced to 15 years in jail.

But a few days later, Canada detained Meng Wanzhou, a senior executive at Chinese tech giant Huawei, on a US extradition warrant.

China at the time warned of unspecified consequences unless Ms Meng was released.

Schellenberg later appealed against the 15-year-prison term, but instead of reducing his sentence, judges ruled that his previous sentence had been too light and instead sentenced him to death.

At his hearing, the judges said that evidence proved he was more seriously involved in international drug smuggling.

At the time, Zhang Dongshuo, Schellenberg's lawyer, told Reuters that the sentence should not have been increased because no new evidence was presented at the trial.

Another high-profile case involving a Canadian citizen is expected to be handed down by a Chinese court later this week.

Michael Spavor, a businessman accused of espionage, was arrested in China two years ago along with fellow Canadian and former diplomat Michael Kovrig. Their detentions came days after Canada detained Ms Meng.

• Meng Wanzhou: Final arguments in extradition battle

In March, the trial of Mr Spavor, lasting just two hours in the northern Chinese city of Dandong, ended with a no verdict.

Canadian diplomats including the charge d'affaires to China were denied entry to the court.

At the time, Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the closed-door proceedings "completely unacceptable".

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In 2019 the founder of Huawei Ren Zhengfei - who is the father of Meng Wanzhou - claimed in an interview that her arrest was politically motivated.

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2021-08-10 04:38:19Z
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Prince Andrew sued by Virginia Giuffre over alleged sexual abuse when she was 17 - ITV News

Virginia Giuffre is suing Prince Andrew, saying he sexually abused her when she was 17 years old.

Ms Giuffre, who is also one of Jeffrey Epstein's long-time accusers, filed the lawsuit on Monday in a New York federal court.

In the lawsuit, brought under the Child Victims Act, she claims the prince abused her on multiple occasions.

In a statement, Ms Giuffre said: “I am holding Prince Andrew accountable for what he did to me.

"The powerful and rich are not exempt from being held responsible for their actions. I hope that other victims will see that it is possible not to live in silence and fear, but to reclaim one’s life by speaking out and demanding justice.

“I did not come to this decision lightly. As a mother and a wife, my family comes first — and I know that this action will subject me to further attacks by Prince Andrew and his surrogates — but I knew if I did not pursue this action, I would be letting them and victims everywhere down."

Prince Andrew's representatives said they had no comment on the latest developments.

Ms Giuffre is also one of Jeffrey Epstein's long-time accusers. Credit: AP

Ms Giuffre alleges she was trafficked to the duke and sexually abused by him.

On one occasion, she said the prince sexually abused her at Ghislaine Maxwell's home in London when Epstein, Maxwell and Prince Andrew forced her to have sex with the prince.

On another occasion, Prince Andrew allegedly sexually abused Ms Giuffre in Epstein’s New York mansion.

In November 2019, Prince Andrew told BBC Newsnight that he never had sex with Ms Giuffre, saying "it didn't happen."

He said he had "no recollection" of ever meeting her and that there were “a number of things that are wrong" about Giuffre’s account, which alleges the encounter occurred in 2001.

Maxwell, 59, has pleaded not guilty to sex trafficking charges in Manhattan federal court, where she faces trial in November.

Epstein, 66, took his own life in a federal jail in Manhattan in August 2019, a month after he was arrested on sex trafficking charges.

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2021-08-09 22:29:51Z
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Prince Andrew: US lawsuit accuses royal of sexually abusing Virginia Giuffre - Sky News

A lawsuit has been filed in the US accusing Prince Andrew of sexually abusing Virginia Giuffre, according to one of her lawyers.

Ms Giuffre says she was a victim of financier and convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

She claims she was made to have sex with Prince Andrew when she was 17, but he has always categorically denied any sexual contact or relationship with her.

Ms Giuffre's lawyer, David Boies, confirmed to Sky News that a lawsuit had been filed on Monday afternoon in a federal court in Manhattan.

It alleges the prince abused Ms Giuffre on three occasions when she was under 18, nearly two decades ago.

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It claims on one occasion she was forced her to have sexual intercourse with Andrew against her will at the London home of Ghislaine Maxwell.

On another occasion, he sexually abused Ms Giuffre in Epstein's New York mansion, the lawsuit alleges, as well as on a private island that Epstein owned.

More on Prince Andrew

Prince Andrew's representatives said they had no comment on the latest developments.

"In our country, no person, whether President or Prince, is above the law, and no person, no matter how powerless or vulnerable, can be deprived of the law's protection," said Mr Boies.

Image: Virginia Roberts Giuffre says she did not come to the decision to take legal action lightly

"Over the past five years, Prince Andrew and his advisors have stonewalled every attempt to resolve this matter without litigation. It is now long past the time for him to be held to account."

Ms Giuffre said in a statement that the lawsuit was brought under the Child Victims Act to allege she was trafficked to him and sexually abused by him.

"I am holding Prince Andrew accountable for what he did to me," she said.

"The powerful and rich are not exempt from being held responsible for their actions.

"I hope that other victims will see that it is possible not to live in silence and fear, but to reclaim one's life by speaking out and demanding justice.

"I did not come to this decision lightly," she added.

"As a mother and a wife, my family comes first - and I know that this action will subject me to further attacks by Prince Andrew and his surrogates - but I knew if I did not pursue this action, I would be letting them and victims everywhere down."

In a BBC Newsnight interview in 2019, Prince Andrew said he had never had sex with Ms Giuffre, saying: "I can absolutely categorically tell you it never happened."

The duke said he had "no recollection" of ever meeting her and that there were "a number of things that are wrong" about her account.

He has also suggested a photo showing him with his arm around Ms Giuffre may have been doctored.

Epstein, 66, killed himself in jail in August 2019, a month after being detained on sex trafficking charges.

Ghislaine Maxwell was arrested in an FBI raid last July and has pleaded not guilty to sex trafficking charges in the US.

She faces trial in November.

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2021-08-09 22:01:15Z
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Germany rejects calls to send military back to Afghanistan - Al Jazeera English

German politicians have called on the government to intervene militarily in Afghanistan again to halt the Taliban’s sweeping offensive.

Germany’s defence minister has rejected calls for its soldiers to return to Afghanistan after Taliban fighters took Kunduz city where German troops were deployed for a decade.

The country had the second-largest military contingent in Afghanistan after the United States, losing more troops in combat in Kunduz than anywhere else since World War II.

The Taliban overran six provincial capitals, including Kunduz, during the last four days as it pressed an offensive since foreign troops began a withdrawal.

“The reports from Kunduz and from all over Afghanistan are bitter and hurt a lot,” Defence Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer said on Twitter on Monday.

“Are society and parliament prepared to send the armed forces into a war and remain there with lots of troops for at least a generation? If we are not, then the joint withdrawal with the partners remains the right decision.”

The German minister said that those now calling for renewed military intervention in Afghanistan must ask themselves what would be the goal and the strategy, as well who would be the partners.

Some within her own conservative party want German troops to participate in an intervention against the Taliban, but Kramp-Karrenbauer said defeating them would require a long and hard campaign.

Since the US announced plans in April to pull out troops by September 11, and the transatlantic alliance NATO followed suit, violence has escalated as the Taliban has seized territory.

‘Trump’s unfortunate deal’

Kramp-Karrenbauer accused former US President Donald Trump of undermining the Afghanistan operation, even though it is his successor Joe Biden implementing the withdrawal policy.

“Trump’s unfortunate deal with the Taliban was the beginning of the end,” she said of an agreement Trump struck with the Taliban in 2020 for US troops to leave.

On Monday, the Taliban seized a sixth Afghan provincial capital following days of blitz across in the north that saw urban centres fall in quick succession, including previously German-defended Kunduz.

Taliban fighters entered Aibak, the capital of Samangan province, without a fight after community elders pleaded with officials to spare the city from more violence following weeks of clashes on the outskirts, Sefatullah Samangani, deputy governor of Samangan province, told the AFP news agency.

“The governor accepted and withdrew all the forces from the city,” Samangani added, saying the Taliban were now in “full control”.

A Taliban spokesman quoted by AFP confirmed the city had been taken.

The fighters took three provincial capitals during the weekend – Zaranj, the capital of the southern province of Nimruz, Sar-e-Pol, the capital of the northern province of the same name, and Taloqan, the capital of northeastern Takhar province.

They had already taken the capitals of Kunduz in the north and Helmand province in the south.

British reaction

Meanwhile, United Kingdom Defence Secretary Ben Wallace told Britain’s Daily Mail that the accord struck last year between the US and the Taliban was a “rotten deal,” echoing criticism of his German counterpart.

Wallace said his government had asked some NATO allies to keep their troops in Afghanistan once the US troops departed, but failed to garner enough support.

“Some said they were keen, but their parliaments weren’t. It became apparent pretty quickly that without the United States as the framework nation it had been, these options were closed off,” Wallace said.

A Taliban spokesman warned Washington on Sunday against intervening following US air raids to support beleaguered Afghan government forces.

Speaking to Al Jazeera, Taliban spokesman Muhammad Naeem Wardak warned the US against further intervention to support government forces.

UNICEF in a statement on Monday said 20 children were killed and 130 children had been injured in southern Kandahar province in the last 72 hours.

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2021-08-09 16:55:09Z
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Taliban rejects calls for ceasefire in Afghanistan - BBC News - BBC News

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2021-08-09 15:11:57Z
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Taliban captures sixth Afghanistan provincial capital: Official - Al Jazeera English

DEVELOPING STORY

Taliban fighters seize Aibak, capital of Samangan in the north – the sixth Afghan provincial capital to fall in four days.

Kabul, Afghanistan – The Taliban has captured a sixth provincial capital in Afghanistan in four days.

The armed group’s spokesman on Monday morning sent messages to the media, claiming it has overrun Aibak, the capital of the northern province of Samangan.

Samangan’s deputy provincial governor confirmed the takeover to the AFP news agency.

The Taliban is “in full control”, he said, shortly after a Taliban spokesman tweeted that all government and police installations in Aibak had been “cleared”.

The armed group said its fighters now control the provincial governor’s compound, the intelligence directorate, police headquarters and all other official buildings.

Aibak is the fifth northern provincial capital to fall to the Taliban in less than a week, and the sixth overall in the country.

The fall of Samangan will put further strain on an already stretched Afghan security forces, as commandos and backup forces have been dispatched to the five other provinces whose capital have fallen — Kunduz, Takhar, Jowzjan, Sar-e-Pol, Nimruz — as well as the provinces of Herat, Kandahar and Helmand.

The group also said on Monday that they were moving in on Mazar-i-Sharif, northern Afghanistan’s largest city.

Overnight on Sunday and throughout the day on Monday, reports came in from the northern districts of Balkh, Badakhshan and Panjshir provinces, with the Taliban hoping to close in on their capitals.

Unlike Jowzjan, Kunduz and Sar-e-Pol, Samangan was once known to be one of the safest provinces in Afghanistan, with a minimal Taliban presence.

However, the last three years saw a growing presence of the group in the province.

Battle for Kunduz airport

On Sunday, the Ministry of Defence claimed government forces had launched clearance operations in Kunduz, but residents speaking to Al Jazeera said the Taliban spent much of Monday trying to get closer to the airport.

According to sources on the ground, the armed group has made it within 3km (2 miles) of the airport and fighting continues in the city.

With the road from Kabul to Kunduz having been under the rebel’s control for several months, residents fear that a Taliban takeover of the airport would be a “disaster”, robbing officials and residents of a possible evacuation.

Health officials in Kunduz say they have treated dozens of injured civilians since Sunday afternoon, when the Taliban first flew its white flag from the city’s main square.

Meanwhile, residents in Kandahar, Herat and Lashkar Gah say fighting still rages near their capitals, which the Taliban has been trying to overrun for more than a month.

There have been unconfirmed media reports that US and government air attacks have damaged a hospital and a high school near Lashkar Gah, the capital of Helmand province. The Ministry of Defence confirmed the air raids occurred, but said they targeted Taliban positions, killing 54 fighters and wounding 23. Its statement made no mention of a clinic or school being bombed.

Afghan officials have long called for additional air support, either through foreign air attacks or the procurement of their own airpower, but such tactics have proven controversial in Afghanistan, as there have been repeated reports of civilian casualties from such tactics.

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2021-08-09 14:14:32Z
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Andrew Cuomo: Accuser Brittany Commisso says governor broke law - BBC News

An executive assistant to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has broken her anonymity and called for accountability over his alleged sexual harassment.

Brittany Commisso's claims were first detailed in a report which found Mr Cuomo sexually harassed 11 women.

"What he did to me was a crime," Ms Commisso, 32, said about alleged instances of groping while she worked under the governor.

Mr Cuomo, 63, denies any wrongdoing and has so far resisted calls to resign.

An inquiry by Attorney General Letitia James's office last week found that Mr Cuomo's alleged behaviour against women had violated state and federal law.

The investigation took months and involved interviews with almost 200 people, including staff members making complaints against him.

Ms Commisso, referred to in the report as Executive Assistant #1, told investigators that the governor made increasingly suggestive comments about her appearance and relationship status after she began working with him.

She said he had inappropriately hugged her - and once kissed her on the lips without her consent.

She also accused the governor of touching her bottom while the pair took a photograph together and alleged that on another occasion put his hand up her blouse and grabbed her breast.

• Biden says Cuomo should resign
• Andrew Cuomo faces impeachment threat

Speaking about her experience in the interview to be aired on Monday, Ms Commisso said she had not spoken out at the time because she had not thought she would believed.

"I was afraid that if I had come forward, and revealed my name, that the governor and his 'enablers' [as] I like to call them would viciously attack me, would smear my name as I had seen and heard them do before to people," she said.

Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple previously confirmed that a criminal investigation has been opened against Mr Cuomo, with Ms Commisso identifying herself as the complainant.

Mr Cuomo has so far resisted calls to resign over the allegations, including from President Joe Biden, but may soon face impeachment by state lawmakers.

He denied specific allegations to investigators and said in a statement last week that he had "never touched anyone inappropriately or made inappropriate sexual advances".

On Sunday his top aide, Melissa DeRosa, announced her resignation.

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2021-08-09 12:36:37Z
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