by tyler | Dec 18, 2023 | CNN, world
Here is a look at the life of Britain’s Prince Harry.
Birth date: September 15, 1984
Birth place: London, England at St. Mary’s Hospital, Paddington
Birth name: Henry Charles Albert David
Father: Charles, the Prince of Wales
Mother: Diana, the Princess of Wales
Marriage: Rachel Meghan (Markle) Windsor (May 19, 2018-present)
Children: Archie Harrison, Lilibet ‘Lili’ Diana
Education: Eton College, 1998-2003; Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, 2005
Military: British Army, 2011-2015, Captain
Military name is Captain Harry Wales.
Is referred to as Prince Harry or Duke of Sussex.
Founder of the Invictus Games, an international sporting competition for injured servicemen and women. The first games were held in London in 2014.
December 21, 1984 – Is christened Prince Henry Charles Albert David at St George’s Chapel, Windsor, by the Archbishop of Canterbury.
September 6, 1997 – Attends his mother’s funeral.
November 1997 – Accompanies his father to South Africa, where he meets President Nelson Mandela, goes on a safari, and meets the pop group the Spice Girls.
January 2002 – A confession of heavy drinking and marijuana use when he was 16, prompts his father to send him to the drug rehab center, Phoenix House UK, for a day.
September 15, 2002 – For his 18th birthday, Harry receives his official coat of arms as a birthday present from his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II.
May 18, 2003 – Is promoted to cadet officer, the highest rank in the Combined Cadet Corps.
January 2005 – Pictures surface of him wearing a Nazi uniform to a costume party. He apologizes days later.
May 2005 – Begins military training at Sandhurst Royal Military Academy.
September 15, 2005 – Replaces his uncle Edward, the Earl of Wessex, as a Counsellor of State. As a counsellor, Prince Philip and four adult members of the royal family in the line of succession, are to carry out the duties of the Queen in her absence.
December 12, 2006 – Prince William and Harry announce their plans for a concert and memorial service to mark the 10th anniversary of their mother’s death. The Concert for Diana is held on July 1, 2007, and features Elton John and Duran Duran. The memorial service takes place on August 31.
April 12, 2006 – Graduates from Sandhurst as a 2nd lieutenant.
April 2006 – Harry and Prince Seeiso of Lesotho co-found a charity to help Lesotho’s AIDS orphans. The organization is named Sentebale, which means “forget me not” in the language of Lesotho.
February 2007 – The British Ministry of Defense announces that Harry will be deployed to Iraq with his army unit.
May 16, 2007 – Sir Richard Dannatt, the chief of the general staff, announces that Harry will not deploy to Iraq because of several threats against him.
February 28, 2008 – The British Ministry of Defense announces that Harry has secretly been serving in Afghanistan with his Army unit on a four-month mission since December 2007. The next day, he is withdrawn from Afghanistan for security reasons.
May 5, 2008 – Princess Anne presents Harry and his unit, the Household Cavalry Regiment, with the Operational Service Medal for their time in Afghanistan.
May 2009 – During his first official visit to the United States, Harry visits Ground Zero and leaves a wreath of flowers with a signed note.
May 7, 2010 – Completes the Army Pilots Course and receives his provisional “wings.”
July 2010 – Begins Apache helicopter training with the Army Air Corps.
March 29-April 5, 2011 – Accompanies the Walking with the Wounded Expedition to the North Pole.
April 14, 2011 – Is promoted to captain and qualifies as an Apache helicopter pilot.
October 2011 – Trains in the California and Arizona deserts with Apache helicopters during Exercise Crimson Eagle.
August 21, 2012 – TMZ posts photos of the prince partying nude in a Las Vegas hotel. A few days later, British tabloid The Sun publishes the photos.
September 7, 2012 – Harry arrives in Afghanistan to begin serving a 20-week deployment as an Apache helicopter pilot. He returns home in January 2013.
May 9-16, 2013 – A week-long official visit to the United States begins in Washington, DC and ends in Greenwich, Connecticut. During his stay the prince meets with First Lady Michelle Obama at the White House, plays volleyball in Colorado Springs with wounded veterans and tours areas stricken by Hurricane Sandy with New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.
December 13, 2013 – Harry and a trekking team made up of servicemen and women reach the South Pole as part of a charity event.
January 2014 – Begins a new Army position as a Staff Officer (SO3). He also remains with the Household Cavalry Regiment based in London as a commissioned officer.
September 2014 – Turns 30. The terms of Princess Diana’s will state that her 1981 wedding gown is to be given to Prince William and Prince Harry on this date.
June 19, 2015 – Kensington Palace announces that Harry has ended his career with the Army.
August 22, 2015 – Harry joins the inaugural “Walk of Britain” to raise awareness for wounded warriors. The Walk begins in Aberdeen, Scotland and ends at Buckingham Palace, a trek of 1,000 miles.
April 16, 2017 – In an interview with the Telegraph newspaper, Harry reveals that he sought mental health counseling in 2013 to help him cope with ongoing emotional issues rooted in the sudden death of his mother.
November 27, 2017 – Engagement to American actress Meghan Markle is announced.
May 19, 2018 – The Queen confers Dukedom on Prince Harry of Wales. His titles will be Duke of Sussex, Earl of Dumbarton and Baron Kilkeel.
May 19, 2018 – Marries Markle at St. George’s Chapel in the grounds of Windsor Castle.
April 10, 2019 – It is announced that Harry and Oprah Winfrey are partnering on a multi-part documentary series focusing on mental health. The series is set to air on the Apple TV platform in 2020.
May 6, 2019 – Duchess Meghan gives birth to the couple’s first child, a son weighing 7 lbs., 3 oz. The baby is named Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor.
October 4, 2019 – Harry files claims against the owners of The Sun and The Daily Mirror tabloids for allegedly hacking his phone. This comes days after he publishes an online statement denouncing the ‘bullying’ British media, accusing the Mail on Sunday tabloid of unlawfully editing, then publishing a private letter written by his wife, Meghan. On December 15, 2023, the UK High Court rules that Harry was the subject of “extensive” phone hacking by Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) from 2006 to 2011.
January 8, 2020 – Harry and Meghan announce that they are stepping back from their roles as senior members of the British royal family and plan to work toward becoming “financially independent” and to split their time between the United Kingdom and North America.
January 18, 2020 – The Queen issues a statement announcing that Harry and Meghan will no longer be working members of the royal family. Along with stepping away from official royal duties and ceasing the use of public funds, the couple will no longer use the titles of His and Her Royal Highness.
March 9, 2020 – Harry and Meghan attend the annual Commonwealth Service at Westminster Abbey. This is their final engagement as senior members of the royal family.
May 2020 – Harry introduces a special edition of an animated program about “Thomas the Tank Engine.” The episode, “Thomas & Friends: The Royal Engine,” features animations of the Queen and Prince Charles as a child.
July 23, 2020 – It is announced that Harry and Meghan are suing over paparazzi photographs of their son, Archie. “The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are filing this lawsuit to protect their young son’s right to privacy in their home without intrusion by photographers,” lawyer Michael Kump said in a statement. In October, they receive an apology and X17, the agency responsible, agrees to pay a portion of their legal fees.
September 2, 2020 – Harry and Meghan sign a multiyear production deal with Netflix.
February 1, 2021 – Settles a dispute with the Mail on Sunday and the MailOnline, accepting what his legal team call “significant damages” over an article from October 2020 alleging he had turned his back on the Royal Marines.
February 17, 2021 – Buckingham Palace announces that Harry and Meghan have agreed with Queen Elizabeth II that they will not be returning as working members of the British royal family.
March 7, 2021 – Harry and Meghan’s highly-anticipated sit-down interview with Oprah Winfrey airs. Over the course of the two-hour special, the couple is intensely critical of the way Britain’s Royal institution treated them, and say the couple had no option but to leave royal life.
March 23, 2021 – Harry joins BetterUp as its chief impact officer. BetterUp is a Silicon Valley startup that provides coaching and mental health services to client.
May 21, 2021 – Harry and Winfrey’s multi-part documentary series “The Me You Can’t See,” featuring stories meant to help lift the veil on the current state of mental health and emotional well-being, premieres on Apple TV+.
June 4, 2021 – Duchess Meghan gives birth to a daughter, the second child for the couple. The baby is named Lilibet ‘Lili’ Diana Mountbatten-Windsor and was born at 11:40 a.m., weighing 7 pounds, 11 ounces.
June 2, 2022 – Harry and Meghan attend the Queen’s birthday parade in London, their first joint public appearance with the royal family since they quit as working royals two years ago. They do not join other royals for the traditional balcony appearance following the parade.
April 12, 2023 – Buckingham Palace announces that Prince Harry will attend the coronation of King Charles, but Meghan will remain in the United States with the couple’s children.
by tyler | Dec 18, 2023 | CNN, world
Here is a look at the life of Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
Birth date: December 25, 1949
Birth place: Lahore, Pakistan
Birth name: Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif
Father: Muhammad Sharif
Mother: Shamim Akhtar
Marriage: Kulsoom Sharif (until September 11, 2018, her death)
Children: two sons and two daughters
Education: Government College Lahore; Punjab University Law College, Law degree, Lahore, Pakistan
Although elected prime minister on three separate occasions, and is Pakistan’s longest-serving prime minister, he never completed a full term.
1977 – Opens Ittefaq Industries, a family business involved in the steel, sugar and textile industries.
1981 – Is appointed Pakistan’s finance minister.
1985 – Becomes chief minister of Punjab province.
October 1990 – Is elected as Pakistan’s prime minister.
November 6, 1990 – Is sworn in as prime minister.
April 18, 1993 – Sharif’s government is dismissed by President Ghulam Ishaq Khan after charges of corruption and mismanagement are raised. Sharif’s family-owned business grew tremendously during his tenure in office, causing suspicion of corruption.
May 26, 1993 – Pakistan’s Supreme Court orders the reinstatement of Sharif, calling his dismissal unconstitutional and the charges false. Sharif and Khan both later resign.
February 3, 1997 – Is reelected as prime minister.
February 17, 1997 – Is sworn in as prime minister.
October 12, 1999 – Army General Pervez Musharraf overthrows Sharif in a bloodless coup.
January 2000 – Sharif goes on trial for charges of hijacking/terrorism and conspiracy to commit murder.
April 6, 2000 – Is convicted of plane hijacking/terrorism and sentenced to life imprisonment. He is charged with hijacking because he attempted to prevent a plane Musharraf was flying in from landing at any airport in Pakistan, when the plane was low on fuel. Sharif knew of Musharraf’s coup intentions.
July 22, 2000 – Is convicted of corruption and sentenced to an additional 14 years in prison while already serving a life sentence. His failure to declare assets and pay taxes led to the conviction.
December 2000 – Is released from prison by a deal brokered by the Saudi royal family.
December 2000-August 2007- In exile in Saudi Arabia.
October 29, 2004 – His father dies and Sharif seeks a brief return to Pakistan to attend the funeral, after serving only four of his 10-year exile in Saudi Arabia. The request is denied.
August 23, 2007 – Pakistan’s Supreme Court lifts the exile imposed on Sharif. He served only seven of his 10-year exile.
September 10, 2007 – Attempts to return to Pakistan but is deported just hours after his arrival.
November 25, 2007 – Sharif returns to Pakistan from exile in Saudi Arabia, flying into the city of Lahore.
February 18, 2008 – In parliamentary elections, Sharif’s party Pakistan Muslim League-N wins 67 seats, placing second to the party of the late Benazir Bhutto, the PPP.
February 20, 2008 – The PPP and the Pakistan Muslim League-N announce that they will form a coalition government.
August 25, 2008 – At a press conference, Sharif announces his party, the Pakistan Muslim League-N, is splitting from the coalition government it formed with the PPP, following disagreements over the reinstatement of judges Musharraf dismissed.
May 26, 2009 – The Supreme Court of Pakistan rules that Sharif is eligible to run in elections and hold public office. In February 2009, the court had ruled that Sharif was ineligible for office because he had a criminal conviction. He is still ineligible to run for prime minister due to term limits.
July 17, 2009 – Pakistan’s Supreme Court clears Sharif of hijacking charges, paving the way for him to legally run for office.
April 19, 2010 – Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari voluntarily signs the 18th Amendment to the constitution, significantly diminishing his powers. Among the sweeping changes is a measure removing the two-term limit for prime ministers, allowing Sharif to vie for a third term.
June 5, 2013 – Is elected prime minister of Pakistan.
August 30, 2014 – Sharif announces in a statement that he will not resign. He has vowed to remain on the job despite violent demonstrations. The protesters have accused him of rigging last year’s elections that allowed his party to take power.
December 16, 2014 – Sharif lifts the 2008 moratorium on the death penalty after the Taliban attack a school, killing 145 people, most of them children. He also announces “that the distinction between good and bad Taliban will not be continued at any level.”
November 1, 2016 – The Supreme Court announces that a commission will investigate Sharif’s finances after leaked documents showed that his children owned shell companies in the British Virgin Islands. The documents were released as part of the Panama Papers, a trove of secret financial forms associated with a Panamanian law firm.
November 30, 2016 – In violation of diplomatic protocol, Sharif’s office releases a statement quoting his recent conversation with US President-elect Donald Trump.
April 20, 2017 – A panel of judges orders a new probe of Sharif’s finances, calling on the prime minister and his family to testify.
July 28, 2017 – Sharif resigns shortly after Pakistan’s Supreme Court rules that he has been dishonest to Parliament and to the judicial system and is no longer fit for office.
July 6, 2018 – Sharif is sentenced to 10 years in prison and fined £8 million ($10.5 million) relating to corruption charges over his family’s purchase of properties in London. His daughter Maryam, seen as his heir apparent, receives a seven-year sentence and a £2 million ($2.6 million) fine. Captain Muhammad Safdar Awan, her husband, receives a one-year sentence. They are barred from engaging in politics for 10 years.
July 13, 2018 – Sharif and his daughter Maryam are arrested and held in Islamabad after they fly back from the United Kingdom to face prison sentences. Before the landing, Sharif tells supporters his return is a “sacrifice for the future generations of the country and for its political stability.”
September 19, 2018 – The Islamabad High Court suspends a corruption sentence against Sharif and his daughter Maryam. The two are ordered to pay bail of $5,000 each. Sharif is released after serving less than three months of a 10-year sentence.
December 24, 2018 – Sharif is found guilty of fresh corruption charges relating to the purchase of Al-Azizia Steel Mills where prosecutors alleged that the Sharif family misappropriated government funds to buy the mills. An accountability court in Islamabad sentences him to seven years in prison and fines him $25 million. Sharif is immediately arrested and taken into custody by courtroom officials.
October 2019 – Sharif is released on bail due to health issues.
November 19, 2019 – Sharif flies to London for medical treatment.
December 2020 – The Islamabad High Court declares Sharif a proclaimed offender for his continued absence from the court.
April 11, 2022 – Sharif’s younger brother, Shehbaz Sharif, is was sworn in as Prime Minister.
October 21, 2023 – Sharif returns to Pakistan after nearly four years in self-exile after an Islamabad court granted him protective bail, meaning he cannot be arrested before appearing in court.
December 12, 2023 – A Pakistan court overturns Sharif’s 2018 conviction for graft. As a result he may be able to run in national elections in February 2024.
by tyler | Dec 4, 2023 | CNN, world
Here’s a look at the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103.
December 21, 1988 – Pan Am Flight 103 explodes 31,000 feet over Lockerbie, Scotland, 38 minutes after takeoff from London.
Two hundred fifty-nine people on board the New York-bound Boeing 747 were killed, along with 11 people on the ground.
Afterward, United States and British investigators found fragments of a circuit board and a timer, and ruled that a bomb, not mechanical failure, caused the explosion.
Libyans Abdelbeset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi and Al Amin Khalifah Fhimah were tried for the bombing. Megrahi was found guilty, while Fhimah was found not guilty.
The two initial suspects were tried in a Scottish court at Camp Zeist, a former US air base 20 miles south of the Dutch capital of Amsterdam. The Dutch declared 30 acres of the 100-acre base Scottish territory so that the trial could be held in a neutral country as Megrahi, Fhimah and Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi had wanted. There was no jury; three Scottish judges presided, with a fourth as a reserve.
Authorities said Megrahi and Fhimah manufactured the bomb out of Semtex plastic explosives, concealed it in a Toshiba cassette recorder, hid the recorder in a Samsonite suitcase and slipped the suitcase aboard an Air Malta flight headed from Malta to Frankfurt, Germany. The unaccompanied bag is believed to have been transferred to a Pan Am flight to London and then to Flight 103.
The CIA and FBI said the suspects, employed by Libyan Arab Airlines in Malta, were also Libyan intelligence agents. Lesser charges of conspiracy to murder and violating Britain’s 1982 Aviation Security Act were dropped.
Over three years, investigators from the United States, Britain, Germany and other countries questioned more than 15,000 people in more than 30 countries and collected thousands of pieces of evidence.
The death penalty is not permitted under Scottish law. There is no prescribed punishment for a conviction of conspiracy to murder. Any punishment is at the discretion of the court. Life imprisonment is the prescribed punishment for murder or contravention of the Aviation Security Act 1982. Any prison sentence would be served in Scotland.
December 21, 1988 – Pan Am Flight 103 explodes 31,000 feet over Lockerbie, Scotland, 38 minutes after takeoff from London. The 259 people on board the New York-bound Boeing 747 are killed, along with 11 people on the ground.
July 1990 – The British Civil Aviation Authority’s Air Investigation Branch officially reports that an explosive device caused the crash of Pan Am Flight 103.
November 13, 1991 – US and British investigators indict Libyans Megrahi and Fhimah on 270 counts of murder, conspiracy to murder and violating Britain’s 1982 Aviation Security Act. The men are accused of being Libyan intelligence agents.
April 15, 1992 – The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) imposes sanctions on air travel and arms sales to Libya, over Libya’s refusal to hand the suspects over for trial in a Scottish court.
March 1994 – Libya says it will consider a proposal to try the suspects in a neutral site with a panel of international judges. Britain and the United States reject the plan, insisting the pair be tried in a British or American court.
August 24, 1998 – Britain and the United States propose trying the suspects in the Netherlands under Scottish law.
December 5, 1998 – UN Secretary General Kofi Annan meets with Gadhafi to urge Libya to hand over the bombing suspects.
December 15, 1998 – A US appeals court rules relatives of the 189 Americans killed in the bombing can sue Libya for its possible role in sponsoring the attack.
December 16, 1998 – The Libyan People’s Congress agrees to a proposal to try Lockerbie bombing suspects in the Netherlands under Scottish law.
April 5, 1999 – Libya hands over the suspects to the United Nations. They are taken to the Netherlands to stand trial.
April 5, 1999 – The UNSC suspends air and arms sanctions against Libya after the bombing suspects are taken into UN custody.
June 11, 1999 – US and Libyan representatives meet for the first time in 18 years to discuss lifting UN sanctions.
December 7, 1999 – Megrahi and Fhimah make their first appearance at a two-day pre-trial hearing at Camp Zeist.
May 3, 2000 – The trial of suspects Megrahi and Fhimah begins.
November 28, 2000 – Judges at the Lockerbie trial reject a plea to acquit one of the two Libyans accused of planting a bomb on the Pan Am plane.
January 9, 2001 – Prosecutors drop the lesser charges of conspiracy and endangering aircraft safety against Megrahi and Fhimah and ask the court to only consider the murder charges.
January 10, 2001 – Prosecutors present their closing arguments in the case after calling 232 witnesses over eight months. Defense closing arguments follow, after lawyers for the pair call only three witnesses.
January 31, 2001 – Megrahi is found guilty and jailed for a minimum of 27 years. Fhimah is found not guilty.
March 14, 2002 – Megrahi loses his appeal against his murder conviction in the 1988 Lockerbie bombing.
2003 – Gadhafi agrees to pay $2.7 billion in compensation to families of those killed in the bombing.
June 28, 2004 – The United States resumes direct diplomatic ties with Libya after 24 years.
June 2007 – The Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission (SCCRC) rules that Megrahi can appeal his conviction.
October 2008 – It is announced that Megrahi is suffering from terminal cancer.
October 31, 2008 – US President George W. Bush signs an executive order that restores Libya’s immunity from terrorism-related lawsuits.
November 2008 – US Senator Frank Lautenberg announces at a press conference that the families of American victims of the Pan-Am bombing have received final compensation from the Libyan government. Each family received about $10 million, paid in installments between 2004 and 2008.
August 20, 2009 – Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill announces that Megrahi will be released from prison on compassionate grounds due to his terminal cancer. After being released, Megrahi returns to Libya and receives a jubilant welcome.
August 2, 2010 – Senators Lautenberg and Robert Menendez hold a press conference to outline their plan to press for more information about the 2009 release of Megrahi. A group of US senators attempts to investigate rumors that the Lockerbie bomber was released as part of a deal to allow BP to drill off the coast of Libya. BP has denied such claims.
July 26, 2011 – Megrahi appears in a wheelchair at a pro-Gadhafi rally in Tripoli.
August 28, 2011 – CNN’s Nic Robertson tracks down Megrahi at his family’s villa in Tripoli. He appears to be comatose and near death, on oxygen and an IV. The National Transitional Council announces that it will not allow Megrahi’s extradition. Justice Minister Mohammed al-Alagi says, “We will not give any Libyan citizen to the West.”
October 2, 2011 – Reuters interviews Megrahi at his home. Megrahi claims his innocence.
May 20, 2012 – Megrahi dies in Libya.
October 15, 2015 – Scottish officials announce that two additional Libyans have been identified as suspects in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103.
November 24, 2020 – Scotland’s High Court begins hearing an appeal by Megrahi’s family to overturn his conviction.
December 21, 2020 – US Attorney General William Barr announces criminal charges against former Libyan intelligence officer Abu Agela Mas’ud Kheir Al-Marimi. Mas’ud is charged in a criminal complaint with for allegedly providing the suitcase with the prepared explosive that was later placed onboard the flight. He is currently in custody in Libya.
January 15, 2021 – The Court of Criminal Appeal in Scotland denies the appeal by the Megrahi family.
April 1, 2021 – Megrahi’s son, Ali, announces the family intends to appeal the case directly to the United Kingdom’s Supreme Court.
July 14, 2022 – The UK’s Supreme Court refuses permission to appeal the case “because the application does not raise an arguable point of law.”
December 11, 2022 – The US Justice Department says that alleged bombmaker Mas’ud is in US custody and is expected to make his “initial appearance in the US District Court for the District of Columbia.” He was in custody in Libya.
February 8, 2023 – Mas’ud pleads not guilty to three federal charges brought against him in Washington, DC.
by tyler | Nov 28, 2023 | CNN, world
Here’s a look at the life of former Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff.
Birth date: December 14, 1947
Birth place: Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Birth name: Dilma Vana Rousseff
Father: Pedro Rousseff, construction entrepreneur
Mother: Dilma Jane (da Silva) Rousseff, teacher
Marriages: Carlos Araujo (1973-2000, divorced); Claudio Galeno Linhares (1968-early 1970s, divorced)
Children: with Carlos Araujo: Paula, 1976
Education: Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, B.A. Economics, 1977
Prior to running for president, she had never run for an elected office.
Joined the resistance movement against the military dictatorship and was jailed and allegedly tortured in the early 1970s.
Rousseff democratized Brazil’s electricity sector through the “Luz Para Todos” (Light for All) program, which made electricity widely available, even in rural areas.
1986 – Finance secretary for the city of Porto Alegre.
2003 – Is named minister of mines and energy by President Luis Inácio Lula da Silva.
2003-2010 – Serves as chair of Petrobras, Brazil’s state-run oil company.
June 2005-March 2010 – Lula da Silva’s chief of staff.
April 2009 – Is diagnosed with stage one lymphoma and begins treatment. By September, she is declared cancer free.
October 31, 2010 – Wins a run-off election to become Brazil’s first female president.
September 21, 2011 – Becomes the first female leader to kick off the annual United Nations General Assembly debates.
2011 – Allegations of corruption are the basis of her dismissal of six cabinet ministers in her first year in office. Between June and December, her chief of staff, ministers of tourism, agriculture, transportation, sports and labor along with 20 transportation employees resign as a result of the scandal.
September 17, 2013 – The United States and Brazil jointly agree to postpone Rousseff’s state visit to Washington next month due to controversy over reports the US government was spying on her communications.
September 24, 2013 – In a speech before the UN General Assembly, Rousseff speaks about allegations that the US National Security Agency spied on her. “Tampering in such a manner in the lives and affairs of other countries is a breach of international law and, as such, it is an affront to the principles that should otherwise govern relations among countries, especially among friendly nations.”
2014 – Executives at Petrobras are accused of illegally “diverting” billions from the company’s accounts for their personal use or to pay off officials. Rousseff served as chair of Petrobras during many of the years when the alleged corruption took place. She denies any knowledge of the corruption.
October 26, 2014 – Is reelected president.
December 2, 2015 – A bid to impeach Rousseff is launched by the speaker of the country’s lower house of Congress, Eduardo Cunha. Rousseff has been accused of hiding a budgetary deficit to win reelection in 2014, and opponents blame her for the worst recession in decades.
April 17, 2016 – A total of 367 lawmakers in the Brazilian parliament’s lower house vote to impeach Rousseff, comfortably more than the two-thirds majority required by law. The impeachment motion will next go to the country’s Senate.
May 12, 2016 – The Brazilian Senate votes 55-22 to begin an impeachment trial against Rousseff. Rousseff will step down for 180 days and Vice President Michel Temer will serve as interim president while the trial takes place.
August 4, 2016 – After a final report concludes that reasons exist to proceed with formally removing Rousseff, the Brazilian Senate impeachment commission votes in favor of trying the suspended president in front of the full senate chamber.
August 25, 2016 – Rousseff’s impeachment trial begins.
August 31, 2016 – Brazil’s Senate votes 61-20 in favor of removing Rousseff from office.
September 5, 2017 – Corruption charges are filed against Rousseff, her predecessor Lula da Silva, and six Workers’ Party members. They are accused of running a criminal organization, to divert funds from state-owned oil firm Petrobras. The charges are related to Operation Car Wash, a lengthy money laundering investigation conducted by the Brazilian government. Lula da Silva, Rousseff, and the Workers’ party deny the allegations.
October 7, 2018 – Rousseff only receives 15% of the vote for senator in the general election.
March 24, 2023 – The New Development Bank announces its board of governors elected Rousseff as its new president.
by tyler | Nov 27, 2023 | CNN, world
Here is a look at the life of Oscar Pistorius, double-amputee and former Olympic sprinter convicted in the shooting death of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
Birth date: November 22, 1986
Birth place: Johannesburg, South Africa
Birth name: Oscar Leonard Carl Pistorius
Father: Henke Pistorius
Mother: Sheila Pistorius
Education: Attended the University of Pretoria
Born without fibulas in either leg, doctors amputated both his legs below the knee at 11 months of age.
Grew up in Pretoria, South Africa.
Nicknamed “Blade Runner” and “the fastest man on no legs” because of the carbon-fiber prosthetic blades he wears to run track.
Winner of six gold, one silver and one bronze Paralympic medals.
First double-amputee athlete to compete against able-bodied runners in the Olympics.
1987-1988 – Both legs are amputated below the knee and Pistorius is fitted with his first prosthetics.
June 21, 2003 – Sustains a knee injury while playing rugby in high school.
November 2003 – Runs track as part of his rehabilitation program at the Sports Science Institute at the University of Pretoria.
June 2004 – Is given his first pair of carbon fiber J-shaped limbs, with the brand name Flex-Foot Cheetah.
September 2004 – Competes in the Athens Paralympics, winning the gold medal for the 200m and the bronze for the 100m in the T44 class. He sets a Paralympic world record for the 100m.
March 26, 2007 – The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) introduces rule 144.2, which prohibits: (e) Use of any technical device that incorporates springs, wheels or any other element that provides the user with an advantage over another athlete not using such a device.
July 13, 2007 – In Rome, Pistorius finishes second in the 400m ‘B’ race against able-bodied athletes. The race is an IAAF test to observe and determine if rule 144.2 is being broken. The results are inconclusive.
November 12-13, 2007 – Completes a series of tests in Cologne, Germany, to evaluate the metabolic differences in amputees and non-amputees and whether those differences caused by use of the Flex-Foot Cheetah prosthetics violate rule 144.2. The report claims that the prosthetics give Pistorius an advantage over able-bodied competitors, which Pistorius strongly rejects.
January 14, 2008 – Pistorius is banned from competing in all IAAF-sanctioned events, “…running with these prostheses requires a less-important vertical movement associated with a lesser mechanical effort to raise the body, and the energy loss resulting from the use of these prostheses is significantly lower than that resulting from a human ankle joint at a maximal sprint speed.” The ruling is based on the evaluation done in Germany in November 2007. On February 13, 2008, Pistorius files an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
May 16, 2008 – The CAS reverses the IAAF ban on Pistorius, making him eligible to compete in the Beijing Olympics.
July 2008 – Fails to qualify for the South African Olympic team.
September 2008 – Wins three gold medals for the 100m, 200m and 400m sprints in the Beijing Paralympics, establishing a new Paralympic record in the 400m.
February 21, 2009 – Sustains major head and facial injuries in a boat accident on the Vaal River near Johannesburg.
September 2009 – Pistorius is arrested and accused of common assault, but the case is thrown out because of a lack of evidence, according to police. The incident involved Pistorius allegedly slamming a door during a party, and a piece of the door falling off and hitting someone.
September 2011 – At the IAAF World Championships in Daegu, South Korea, Pistorius runs the opening 400m for the 4x400m relay to help South Africa qualify. He isn’t selected to run the final but earns a silver medal for competing in the heats, becoming the first Paralympian to win a world championship medal.
August 4, 2012 – Becomes the first double-amputee runner to compete in the Olympics, coming in eighth place in the 400m semifinal. Pistorius also later runs the anchor leg of the 4x400m relay final in which the South African team comes in eighth place.
September 2012 – Wins a silver medal and two gold medals at the London Paralympics. He sets Paralympic records for the 400m and the 4x100m relay.
February 14, 2013 – Pistorius’ girlfriend, South African model Reeva Steenkamp, is found shot to death at Pistorius’ home in Pretoria, South Africa. Pistorius is arrested. On February 15, 2013, Pistorius is charged with premeditated murder.
February 20, 2013 – Nike suspends their endorsement deal with Pistorius.
February 22, 2013 – Pistorius leaves jail after posting a cash bond. The conditions of Pistorius’ bail are that he must avoid his home where the shooting occurred, relinquish his passport and abstain from drinking alcohol.
March 28, 2013 – Judge Bert Bam lifts the travel ban on Pistorius, saying he sees no reason Pistorius should not be allowed to travel for competition. The ban on drinking alcohol and avoiding his home where the shooting occurred is also lifted.
August 19, 2013 – Pistorius is indicted on a premeditated murder charge.
March 3, 2014 – The murder trial begins with Pistorius pleading not guilty to one charge of murder and a firearms charge associated with Steenkamp’s killing, as well as two gun indictments unrelated to Steenkamp.
May 20, 2014 – The judge rules that Pistorius must undergo mental health examinations over the next month. The testing was triggered by the testimony of a psychiatrist who said that the sprinter has suffered from generalized anxiety disorder since he was an infant, stemming partly from the amputation of both of his lower legs.
June 30, 2014 – A psychiatric assessment finds that Pistorius was not mentally incapacitated when he shot Steenkamp.
September 12, 2014 – Pistorius is found guilty of culpable homicide, the South African term for unintentionally – but unlawfully – killing a person. On October 21, 2014, he is sentenced to five years in prison.
June 8, 2015 – South Africa’s Department of Correctional Services tells CNN that a parole board is set to recommend that Pistorius be released from prison and transferred to house arrest in August.
August 2015 – Justice and Correctional Services Minister Michael Masutha orders a review of the June parole decision, on the grounds that the parole ruling may have been made too early.
October 5, 2015 – A parole review board opts to “set aside the decision” and refers Pistorius’ case “back to the (broader Correctional Supervision and Parole Board) for reconsideration.”
October 15, 2015 – In a statement, the parole board says it has approved Pistorius’ placement under house arrest and correctional supervision for four years.
October 19, 2015 – Is released from prison and placed under house arrest, according to a Correctional Services spokesperson.
December 3, 2015 – Pistorius’ conviction for “culpable homicide” is changed to murder. Judge Eric Leach overturns the previous conviction, saying the original ruling was flawed.
December 8, 2015 – Is granted bail. Pistorius will be able to leave his uncle’s home, where he has been under house confinement, and can travel up to 20 kilometers (12 miles) between the hours of 7 a.m. and noon.
July 6, 2016 – A South African judge sentences Pistorius to six years in prison for Steenkamp’s murder. Barring an appeal, this will be the final sentencing.
November 3, 2017 – State prosecutors ask to appeal the sentencing, telling the Supreme Court of Appeal that a six-year prison term is too lenient.
November 24, 2017 – The Supreme Court of Appeal increases Pistorius’ sentence to 13 years and five months for the murder of Steenkamp.
April 9, 2018 – Pistorius loses his final appeal.
November 9, 2021 – Under South Africa’s victim-offender dialogue policy, Pistorius will meet with the family of Steenkamp before being granted a parole hearing and possibly released early from prison. Pistorius must first participate in “Restorative Justice” to be eligible for release, the Department of Correctional Services confirms.
November 30, 2021 – South Africa’s Department of Correctional Services tells CNN that Pistorius has been transferred to a prison closer to Steenkamp’s family.
June 22, 2022 – Pistorius meets with Barry Steenkamp, the father of Reeva Steenkamp, for a victim-offender dialogue. Pistorius is later transferred back to Atteridgeville prison near Pretoria.
March 31, 2023 – Pistorius is denied parole, according to local authorities who say he has yet to complete his minimum sentence.
November 24, 2023 – Prison authorities announce Pistorius will be released on parole in January.
by tyler | Nov 16, 2023 | CNN, world
Here’s a look at the armed conflict in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, between Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s federal Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) and forces of the previously dominant political party, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).
The Tigray conflict, which lasted from 2020 to 2022, has left thousands dead, more than two million displaced and has fueled a famine.
Tigray is one of 11 administrative regions in Ethiopia, Africa’s second-most populous country. Each region is mostly autonomous, with its own police force and militia. Regional governments are largely divided along entrenched ethnic lines. Long-standing tensions between regions have led to ethno-nationalist clashes there.
The TPLF, which ruled the country for more than three decades before Abiy came to power in 2018, has been designated a terrorist group by the current government.
After becoming prime minister, Abiy worked to dismantle the power of the TPLF. He announced the rearrangement of the ruling coalition that TPLF founded – the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Front (EPRDF), comprised of four parties – into a single, new Prosperity Party (PP), ostracizing the TPLF in the process.
Abiy won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019 for helping to end Ethiopia’s 20-year war with neighboring Eritrea.
Eritrean forces have since joined in the military campaign in Tigray on the side of the Ethiopian government.
All actors in the conflict have been accused of carrying out atrocities, but Eritrean forces have been linked to some of the most gruesome. In addition to perpetrating mass killings and rape, Eritrean soldiers have also been found blocking and looting food relief in multiple parts of Tigray. Eritrea’s government has denied any involvement in atrocities.
November 4, 2020 – After accusing the TPLF of attacking a federal army base outside Tigray’s regional capital Mekelle, Abiy orders a military offensive against TPLF in the northern Tigray region and promises that the conflict will be resolved quickly.
November 9, 2020 – According to Amnesty International, more than 600 civilians are killed in Tigray amid fighting between the local and federal governments. The killings occur in Mai-Kadra, a town in the region’s southwest.
November 26, 2020 – Abiy tweets Ethiopia has entered the “final phase” of a “law enforcement” military operation in northern Tigray after a 72-hour deadline to surrender expires.
February 26, 2021 – A CNN investigation brings to light a massacre which took place during a religious festival in the town of Dengelat late last year. Eyewitnesses told CNN that a group of Eritrean soldiers opened fire at church during a service, claiming the lives of priests, women, entire families and a group of more than 20 school children.
February 26, 2021 – An Amnesty International report finds that Eritrean forces killed hundreds of unarmed civilians in the city of Axum in November 2020 through indiscriminate shelling and shooting and extrajudicial killings, in what the human rights organization says could amount to a crime against humanity.
February 27, 2021 – US Secretary of State Antony Blinken calls for the withdrawal of Eritrean and Ethiopian regional forces from the Tigray region, and an end to killings and human rights violations.
March 4, 2021 – UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michele Bachelet calls for an independent investigation into human rights violations that may amount to war crimes in Tigray, days after CNN’s exclusive report about the massacre in Dengelat.
March 10, 2021 – During a Congressional committee hearing, Blinken uses the term “ethnic cleansing” to describe human rights abuses he says are being carried out in western Tigray, calling the situation “unacceptable.”
June 2021 – A new United Nations report warns of famine in Ethiopia, as more than 350,000 people in the Tigray region are experiencing “catastrophic” levels of “acute food insecurity.”
June 21, 2021 – Abiy wins another five-year term in Ethiopia’s first multi-party election in 16 years. A month later, the election board confirms Abiy’s landslide win.
June 28, 2021 – The Ethiopian government declares an immediate and unilateral ceasefire after Tigrayan forces retake Mekelle.
August 10, 2021 – Amnesty International publishes a report detailing widespread rape and sexual violence carried out by members of the ENDF, the Eritrean Defense Forces and other aligned special forces and militia groups.
September 17, 2021 – The Biden administration sanctions Eritrea’s military and its sole political party People’s Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ) for involvement in the ongoing Tigray crisis. The administration also sanctions two individuals and two entities with ties to the groups.
October 6, 2021 – A CNN investigation finds that the Ethiopia’s government used Ethiopian Airlines, the country’s primary commercial airline, to shuttle weapons to and from neighboring Eritrea during the war.
November 2, 2021 – Ethiopia’s Attorney General Gedion Timotheos announces a state of emergency after Tigrayan forces claim to have gained territory in the key cities of Dessie and Kombolcha. The move comes two days after Abiy urges citizens to take up arms to defend themselves against TPLF.
November 22, 2021 – Abiy announces he personally will lead his country’s soldiers on the front lines of the war against advancing rebel fighters, “Starting tomorrow, I will head to the war front to lead the defense forces in person,” he writes in a statement on Twitter, urging citizens to “lead the country with a sacrifice” and join him.
January 8, 2022 – Fifty-six are killed and 30 injured during an air strike on a Tigray camp for internally displaced persons.
January 10, 2022 – Biden speaks with Abiy, urging the leader to negotiate a ceasefire after 14 months of war.
March 24, 2022 – The Ethiopian government declares the cessation of hostilities, in order to allow food aid to reach Tigray. Tigrayan forces say they will respect the ceasefire as long as sufficient aid is delivered to the region “within [a] reasonable time.”
April 1, 2022 – Trucks carrying food aid enter Tigray for the first time since mid-December, according to a tweet from the UN World Food Program (WFP). The convoy carrying more than 500 metric tons of food and nutrition supplies is expected to reach Mekelle soon for “communities on edge of starvation.”
June 14, 2022 – The Ethiopian government forms a committee to negotiate with the TPLF, which will be led by Deputy Prime Minister Demeke Mekonnen.
August 24, 2022 – Military hostilities between Ethiopian government forces and Tigrayan forces resume after a three month ceasefire.
September 11, 2022 – The TPLF says it’s ready to observe an immediate ceasefire and accept an African Union-led peace process to end a conflict with federal forces, “We are ready to abide by an immediate and mutually agreed cessation of hostilities in order to create a conducive atmosphere.”
October 6, 2022 – According to Tigrayan forces, an air strike in Adi Diero kills more than 65 people and injures more than 70. Many of those killed are displaced people sheltering inside a school building.
November 2, 2022 – Ethiopia and TPLF agree to a “permanent cessation of hostilities,” following about a week of AU-led negotiations in Pretoria, South Africa. The truce marks a significant step towards peace between the warring parties which have been locked in conflict for two years.
March 15, 2023 – During a trip to Ethiopia, Blinken presses Abiy on accountability for atrocities committed by all parties throughout the conflict. In the week following the visit, Blinken announces the US government has formally determined that armed forces on all sides of the conflict have committed war crimes.
September 4, 2023 – An Amnesty International report alleges that the Eritrean Defense Forces committed war crimes and possibly crimes against humanity in Tigray immediately before and after signing a ceasefire last year.
