Sarkozy to Face Trial in Influence-Peddling Case in France

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Sarkozy to Face Trial in Influence-Peddling Case in France Photo Nicolas Sarkozy, France’s president from 2007 to 2012, is facing legal threats on multiple fronts. Credit Jeff Pachoud/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images PARIS — Former President Nicolas Sarkozy of France has been ordered to stand trial on charges of corruption and influence-peddling in connection with accusations that he tried to illegally obtain confidential information from a magistrate several years ago, a French judicial official said Thursday.
It was another legal blow for Mr. Sarkozy, who served from 2007 to 2012 and has stayed in the background of French politics even amid the recurring headlines of his judicial entanglements. He has already been ordered to stand trial in another case, involving the financing of his failed campaign for re-election in 2012.
Mr. Sarkozy, one of his lawyers and a former magistrate have all been ordered to stand trial on charges of active corruption and influence-peddling, the judici..

Afghan Hunger Strikers Demand Cease-Fire: ‘Our Blood Is Finished’

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Afghan Hunger Strikers Demand Cease-Fire: ‘Our Blood Is Finished’ Photo An attack on a crowd leaving a wrestling match in Lashkar Gah, Afghanistan, on Friday killed at least 14 and wounded more than 40, including many children. Peace protesters have camped near the site. Credit Abdul Khaliq/Associated Press KABUL, Afghanistan — Within 24 hours of a recent suicide bombing in Helmand Province, which added at least 14 names to the long list of the dead in a bitterly contested corner of Afghanistan, a group of local activists began a sit-in at the site of the carnage.
In their moment of anger and sorrow, they asked not for revenge, but for peace.
Over the following days, mothers and fathers of victims came to pour out their hearts and to support the protest, in a tent pitched near the field in the provincial capital, Lashkar Gah, where last week a suicide bomber drove a car full of explosives into a crowd leaving a wrestling match. Emboldened, the protest organizers announced a “long march..

Social Q’s: Must I Visit My Dying and Dangerously Facebook-Active Uncle?

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Must I Visit My Dying and Dangerously Facebook-Active Uncle? Photo Credit Christoph Niemann I am a multiracial woman from a small family that is otherwise white. A close relative is in hospice care. My family made it clear that they expect me, my (immigrant) husband and our young son to visit him before he dies. But this relative has become active in alt-right causes, posting offensive material about minorities, immigrants and women on Facebook. Some family members have asked me to “leave politics at the door” and “turn the other cheek.” Others threatened to ostracize us if we don’t visit. Should I?
A.S.
Ignore your relatives’ claptrap. Leaving politics at the door is easy — so long as it’s not your race, husband or gender being trampled inside its threshold. And have you noticed that requests to “turn the other cheek” are most popular with folks asking us to turn ours, but rarely their own? Finally, the threat of ostracism (a.k.a. bullying) is ridiculous. Who needs relatives that turn..

Laura Ingraham, Facing Boycott, Apologizes for Taunting Parkland Survivor David Hogg

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Supported by Media Laura Ingraham, Facing Boycott, Apologizes for Taunting Parkland Survivor David Hogg Photo David Hogg, a student who survived the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, addressing the crowd during the March for Our Lives rally in Washington last week. Credit Jonathan Ernst/Reuters Laura Ingraham, a Fox News host, apologized under pressure on Thursday for taunting a survivor of the school shooting in Parkland, Fla., as three companies confirmed they would pull advertising from her show.
The dispute began Wednesday when Ms. Ingraham shared an article about the student, David Hogg, 17, getting rejected from some of the colleges to which he had applied and accused him of whining about it.
David Hogg Rejected By Four Colleges To Which He Applied and whines about it. (Dinged by UCLA with a 4.1 GPA…totally predictable given acceptance rates.) https://t.co/wflA4hWHXY
— Laura Ingraham (@IngrahamAngle) March 28, 2018 In response, Mr. Hogg, who has rapidly bec..

A Quick Online Divorce for $60? Not So Fast, Denmark Says

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A Quick Online Divorce for $60? Not So Fast, Denmark Says Photo An art installation in Copenhagen. Under new rules set to go into effect next year, Danish couples who have children and who decide to dissolve their marriage will be required to observe a three-month “reflection period” before the divorce takes effect. Credit Ole Jensen/Corbis, via Getty Images COPENHAGEN — As one of the most wired countries in the world, Denmark offers hospital records, death certificates, tax returns and other important documents with little more than a couple of clicks.
Even a divorce can be obtained in less than a week with only a short online form and a $60 fee. But Denmark has long had one of the highest divorce rates in Europe, and the government has decided that breaking up should be a little a harder to do.
Under new rules set to go into effect next year, couples who have children and who decide to dissolve their marriage will be required to observe a three-month “reflection period” before the di..