Police in the United States have arrested former Ecuadorean police commander Edgar Vaca, who is accused of human rights abuses. The interior minister in Quito issued a statement saying that the retired general was arrested in Washington and will be extradited to Ecuador.
In this investigation 36 individuals were questioned who are considered to be highly-qualified experts in the study of political and socio-economic processes within the Republic of Kazakhstan (RK). In December 2013 the research bureau rating.kz conducted an expert poll aimed at making the most objective possible assessment of the key professional and business attributes of the leaders of the Government of Kazakhstan since the time that the country gained independence.
Claude Turmes, a member of the European Parliament, is concerned that inaction of European authorities on mounting serious accusations against Aliyev could undermine public confidence to EU justice, Tengrinews reports citing the inquiry of the the Greens–European Free Alliance representative in the European Parliament posted on the Parliament's official website.
Also doch: Dass die Stadt Wien die Prüfung des Media Quarter Marx (MQM) unterbunden hat, ist nicht nur einzigartig in der Geschichte des Rechnungshofs, es ist auch rechtswidrig. Das hat der VfGH nun entschieden. "Das ist eine gehörige Watschn für Bürgermeister Häupl und seine SPÖ, die laufend versuchen, mit dem Geld der Wienerinnen und Wiener hinter deren Rücken Geschäfte zu machen", erklärt Wiens FPÖ-Klubchef Mag. Johann Gudenus.
Four years ago, Kazakhstan took control of the private BTA Bank, sending its sacked chairman fleeing to London and unraveling what was allegedly one of Europe's biggest financial frauds. Along the way, private investigators unearthed some 1,000 shell companies allegedly used by Mukhtar Ablyazov to hide $6 billion in stolen bank assets and cash. Ablyazov himself was eventually tracked down on the French Riviera, spotted through a villa window, clad only in underwear, arranging lilies on a bed while awaiting his mistress. Days later, French commandos disguised as gardeners arrested him.
Malta will not back down from a plan to sell Maltese passports to foreigners, despite European Union opposition. Malta's Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said the initiative could net the country a billion euros
Kazakhstan's parliament is to discuss the possibility of introducing legal sanctions against "lesbianism," a member of the lower house revealed on January 14 in remarks that will alarm Kazakhstan's low-profile lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community.
Starting in February, Malta is planning to sell EU passports to foreigners, but a European Parliament vote on Thursday (16 January) is unlikely to overturn the decision, as the country has a long track-record of handing out citizenship for a price, EurActiv Germany reports.
The lavish life of Mukhtar Ablyazov – financial fugitive, convicted fraudster, political patsy, British jailbird-in-absentia – was all but over on July 13 2013. Not that he knew it. Kazakhstan's most wanted man, on trial in London on charges of eye-watering financial fraud – charges he continues to deny – was rather enjoying life on the run. Safely ensconced in a plush villa on the outskirts of Nice, he was awaiting the arrival of a very special guest.
Over the past couple of years, many of the world's dictators have died or been deposed. Here are Asia's worst dictators as of 2013. Some are new to the scene, since the Worst Asian Dictators, 2008 list, while others have been holding on to power for more than a decade.
Kim Jong-un
