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• Brief News

European Parliament to vote on Google break-up

The European Parliament is due to vote later on a proposal to break Google's search business away from its other services. It is the latest twist in a four year antitrust investigation which has so far failed to reach a conclusion. The body has no power to break up the net giant but the vote will send out a clear message about whether politicians want regulators to take a tough line. Senior US politicians have criticized the proposal. A joint letter from two US government committees said that the way the EU is targeting US technology companies raised questions about its commitment to open markets.

France plans to recognize Palestinian state if peace talks fail

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius in a speech before parliament Friday stated that France would recognize a Palestinian state if international efforts to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict fails. The French Parliament will hold a symbolic vote on December 2nd on whether the government should recognize Palestine as a state. In addition, Fabius acknowledged that the French government is drafting a United Nations Security Council resolution, which if adopted would launch and conclude statehood negotiations within two years. The foreign minster did not indicate the precise time frame for full French recognition of a Palestinian state.

The history of campus sexual assault

"Male sex aggression on a university campus" was the title of one of the first studies published about a topic now very much in the news. Way back in 1957, sociologist Eugene Kanin posited a model where men used secrecy and stigma to pressure and exploit women. Today student activists and the federal government are successfully raising awareness about a problem that's been around for a very long time. By most accounts, one in five female college students will be assaulted. Gender relations have changed since the 1950s and so has the law. What's still unclear is the best approach for preventing sexual misconduct on campus. Mary Koss, a professor of psychology at the University of Arizona, coined the term "date rape" back in the 1980s. 7.7 percent of male students volunteered anonymously that they had engaged in or attempted forced sex. Almost none considered it to be a crime. "They would say, 'Yes, I held a woman down to have sex with her against her consent but that was definitely not rape,'" Koss says. Part of the reason that few of her respondents considered themselves sexual offenders, she said, is that they faced no negative consequences. No accusation. No shame. No punishment. Compared with when she started doing this research in the 1980s, she says, even more men in current studies, around 11 percent, admit to being perpetrators. The three "primary drivers" that enable a small minority of men to offend without consequences, are a culture of high alcohol consumption, peer pressure from other men to prove sexual prowess and men's own attitudes favoring impersonal sex. Another key factor in understanding campus sexual assault is the response, or lack thereof, by universities. Plus, unfortunately, the criminal justice system has major shortcomings as a venue for bringing sex offenders to justice. That leaves many perpetrators facing few consequences.

Rio mass wedding draws thousands

Nearly 2,000 Brazilian couples have got married at an indoors sports venue in Rio de Janeiro, in the biggest mass wedding in the city's history. The annual event, promoted by the local authorities, is aimed helping low-income couples who cannot afford to pay for a wedding. Volunteer civil judges presided over the ceremony. Couples were also blessed by a Roman Catholic bishop and a Christian evangelical pastor.

Airport raids tackle cyberthieves over ticket fraud

Europol coordinated the cyber-thieves raids at airports, targeting people who were trying to travel using a fraudulently bought ticket. In total, 118 people were arrested at 80 airports in 45 countries during the raids. Airlines lose more than $1bn a year to the trade in fraudulent tickets. The stolen credit cards also helped organised crime groups keep operating and to facilitate the drug trade and human trafficking.

Swiss reject immigration curbs

Voters in Switzerland have decisively rejected a proposal to cut net immigration to no more than 0.2% of the population. The country's 26 cantons rejected the proposal, with about 74% of people voting no in Sunday's referendum. Supporters of the measure argued that it would have reduced pressure on the country's resources. Opponents said it would have been bad for the economy. Around a quarter of Switzerland's eight million people are foreigners.

Qatari appeals court clears US pair

A Qatar appeals court clears a US couple sentenced to three years for neglecting their adopted daughter, but they are stopped from leaving the country. They went to the airport after the decision but say they were barred from leaving and their passports were taken. A post on the Facebook page for the campaign to get them released said that a travel ban remained, and that the Qatari authorities had issued a warrant for their arrest earlier on Sunday.

UN committee urges US to investigate police brutality

The UN Committee Against Torture has urged the US to begin prompt, impartial investigations into all cases of police brutality and excessive use of force by police officers, and to limit the use of electrical discharge weapons. The committee expressed concern over the use of force against people of "certain racial and ethnic groups, immigrants and LGBT individuals, racial profiling by police and immigration offices and growing militarization of policing activities," especially in Chicago, where according to the committee, there have been reports that the Chicago Police Department has harassed, racially profiled and used excessive force on African-American and Latino youths.

UK PM threatens to leave EU if no welfare payments changes allowed

UK Prime Minister David Cameron in a speech Friday raised the possibility of the UK leaving the EU if other member state leaders block plans to restrict access to welfare payments for migrants. Cameron outlined proposed welfare reform which would block European migrants to the UK from receiving welfare payments or state housing until they have been UK residents for four years. Cameron also advocated for restricting unemployment benefits for individuals who do not have job offer before they get to Britain, and deporting migrants if they are not employed within six months.

Black Friday sales down at stores, surge online

More shopping on Thanksgiving Day diluted the Black Friday numbers somewhat, according to a ShopperTrak survey. A separate survey by IBM showed a nearly 10 percent increase in online sales.

Egyptian court drops case against ousted former president

An Egyptian court has dismissed murder charges against ousted President Hosni Mubarak. The verdict concludes Hosni Mubarak's retrial. He'd been convicted and sentenced to life in prison in 2012. The verdict was overturned on appeal. In the courtroom today, people burst into cheers, but those who protested in his rule say this is a sign Egypt's revolution has been defeated. He is serving a three-year sentence on a separate corruption charge. What's unclear is whether the time that he's been in jail is time served. But he will not be serving any jail time for the deaths of those hundreds of people that were killed.

Tanzania parliament votes on PM resignation amid corruption scandal

Tanzania's parliament voted on Saturday to dismiss senior officials, including the attorney general and the minister of energy, following a report released earlier this week implicating public officials in a scandal involving fraudulent payments of public funds. Officials have also called for the resignation of Prime Minister Mizengo Pinda.

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