A Virginia man convicted of shooting a New Jersey pastor to death outside her home in 2023 was sentenced Monday to life in prison. Rashid Ali Bynum, 31, of Portsmouth, Virginia, appeared in a county courtroom in New Brunswick, New Jersey, that was filled with relatives and friends of the victim, Eunice Dwumfour. His lawyer, Michael Ashley, has said an appeal of the murder and weapons convictions is planned. Dwumfour, 30, was ambushed in her vehicle on Feb. 1, 2023, as she arrived home at an apartment complex in Sayreville, a central New Jersey town where she also served as a council...
Burkina Faso Junta Declares UN Coordinator Persona Non Grata Over Child Rights Report
The military junta in Burkina Faso on Monday declared the United Nations resident coordinator Carol Flore-Smereczniak as “persona non grata” over an official U.N. report that accused jihadi groups and government forces of abuses against children. In a statement, the government accused Flore-Smereczniak of participating in the preparation of the report — titled Children and Armed Conflict in Burkina Faso — which it says is “without evidence or supporting documentation” and that conveyed “serious and false information.” The U.N. has been approached for comment. The report was published in April and accused both jihadi groups and government forces of abuses against children,...
A New Zealand Soldier Admits Attempted Espionage In The Country’s First Spying Conviction
A New Zealand soldier who tried to spy for a foreign power has admitted to attempted espionage in a military court. Monday’s conviction was the first for spying in New Zealand’s history. The soldier’s name was suppressed, as was what country he sought to pass secrets to. Military court documents said the man believed he was engaged with a foreign agent in 2019 when he tried to communicate military information including base telephone directories and maps, assessments of security weaknesses, his own identity card and log-in details for a military network. The wording of the charge said his actions were “likely to...
Former President Jimmy Carter To Be Honored By USPS With Commemorative Forever Stamp
The late President Jimmy Carter will be honored with a commemorative Forever stamp on what would have been his 101st birthday. The U.S. Postal Service will release the stamp for purchase on Oct. 1 in Atlanta. The postage features a 1982 portrait of the nation’s 39th president by painter Herbert E. Abrams. The stamp art was unveiled Saturday at the Jimmy Carter National Historical Park in Plains. Carter, the longest-lived U.S. president, died Dec. 29, 2024. “The stamp program celebrates the best in American culture, places and people, and it is difficult to consider a more fitting honoree than former President Jimmy Carter,”...
Google To Pay $36m Fine For Anticompetitive Deals With Australia’s Largest Telcos
Google has agreed to pay a 55 million Australian dollar ($36 million) fine for signing anticompetitive deals with Australia’s two largest telcos that banned the installation of competing search engines on some smartphones, the U.S. tech giant and Australia’s competition watchdog said. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said in a statement it had commenced proceedings in the Australian Federal Court on Monday against the Singapore-based Google Asia Pacific division. The court will decide whether the AU$50 million ($36 million) penalty is appropriate. Under the anticompetitive agreements, which were in place for 15 months until March 2021, Telstra and Optus only pre-installed Google...