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Amnesty International cites Canadian foot-dragging on UN torture concerns

The Canadian PressMay 15, 2013 17:37

OTTAWA - Canada is obstructing efforts to compensate three men who suffered torture in Syria — effectively ignoring a key recommendation from the United Nations Committee against Torture, says Amnesty International. In a brief to the UN committee, the human rights group says it is "profoundly concerned" that Canada has not heeded the committee's call to provide redress to Abdullah Almalki, Ahmad El-Maati and Muayyed Nureddin. The three Arab-Canadians were brutalized in Syrian prisons, in part due to lapses by Canadian agencies documented by a federal inquiry in 2008.

Canada looking at criminalizing cyber-bullying

Agence France-PresseMay 13, 2013 16:43

Canada is looking to criminalize cyber-bullying, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced Friday, after a pair of teenage suicides provoked by unrelenting online harassment. "The Internet is in most ways a great development for our society," Harper said at a roundtable on ways to protect youth from cyber-bullying. "Unfortunately, it has other purposes and other uses, and young people are extremely vulnerable."

Anti-bullying panel outlines scope of its review in Rehtaeh Parsons case

The Canadian PressMay 13, 2013 13:39

HALIFAX - A review of the Halifax school board's handling of the Rehtaeh Parsons case could lead to revised anti-bullying guidelines to help schools prevent a similar tragedy, a panellist said Monday. "We're really hoping to move forward and look at how we could prevent something like this from ever happening again," said Debra Pepler, a professor at York University in Toronto. "We hope we'll be able to provide some guidelines so students who struggle are supported and recognized in a different way."

Guinea indicts gendarme for rape in 2009 stadium massacre

Thomson ReutersMay 13, 2013 10:45

CONAKRY (Reuters) - Guinea has indicted a gendarme officer on rape charges related to a stadium massacre of pro-democracy protesters by forces linked to the military junta in September 2009. Rights groups have criticized President Alpha Conde, elected in 2010 in Guinea's first democratic handover of power since independence from France in 1958, for not moving fast enough to bring those responsible to justice.

Harper says society must do whatever it can to stop cyberbullying

The Canadian PressMay 10, 2013 18:16

WINNIPEG - Prime Minister Stephen Harper met in Winnipeg today with parents of some children who have been victims of cyberbullying. Harper says he wishes such meetings weren't needed, but they are. Among those at the meeting were the parents of Rehtaeh (reh-TAY'-uh) Parsons and the mother of Amanda Todd —- two girls who committed suicide after relentless bullying. The federal government has already committed to look at new criminal laws that could include a ban on distributing intimate images without consent.

Former roommate pleads 'no contest' in Florida band hazing death

Thomson ReutersMay 10, 2013 18:01

By Barbara Liston ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - A former roommate who insisted he tried to protect a Florida college drum major from a fatal hazing ritual in 2011 accepted a plea deal on Friday to avoid facing worse charges at a trial that had been set for next week. Rikki Wills, 24, who saw drum major Robert Champion gasp his last breath, pleaded no contest to felony and misdemeanor hazing in exchange for prosecutors dropping a manslaughter charge that carried a potential 15-year prison sentence, his lawyer told Reuters.

Kids can play active role in combating bullying among peers, experts say

The Canadian PressMay 7, 2013 22:41

TORONTO, Cananda - While adults have a pivotal role to play in cases of childhood bullying, expert speakers at a conference on the hot-button subject say kids and their peers are also vital in helping to put an end to the practice. Tools and strategies to help combat bullying were the focus at the seventh annual conference hosted by PREVNet (Promoting Relationships and Eliminating Violence Network), a national authority on research and resources for bullying prevention.

Senior UK lawmaker quizzed over rape, denies allegations

Thomson ReutersMay 7, 2013 11:26

LONDON (Reuters) - The deputy speaker of Britain's parliament, Nigel Evans, was arrested this weekend on suspicion of rape and sexual assault, but said on Sunday the allegations against him were "completely false". The 55-year-old member of Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservative party was detained on Saturday over attacks allegedly carried out at his home in Lancashire, northern England between July 2009 and March of this year, police said.

Senior UK lawmaker quizzed over rape, denies allegations

Thomson ReutersMay 7, 2013 11:12

LONDON (Reuters) - The deputy speaker of Britain's parliament, Nigel Evans, was arrested at the weekend on suspicion of rape and sexual assault, but said on Sunday the allegations against him were "completely false". The 55-year-old member of Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservative party was detained on Saturday over attacks allegedly carried out at his home in Lancashire, northern England between July 2009 and March of this year, police said.

U.N. names team to investigate torture, camps in North Korea

Thomson ReutersMay 7, 2013 11:08

By Stephanie Nebehay GENEVA (Reuters) - The United Nations on Tuesday named a team of three human rights investigators who will look into allegations of torture and labor camps in North Korea that are believed to hold at least 200,000 people. Pyongyang denies the existence of such camps and is not expected to cooperate with the investigation, having denounced it during a U.N. Human Rights Council debate, activists said.