Headline
Hungary’s President Resigns Over Child Sexual Abuse Scandal
Published
2 years agoon
By
Editor
Hungary’s president has resigned amid outrage over her pardoning of a man convicted in a child sexual abuse case.
President Katalin Novak has faced days of growing pressure to resign because of her controversial decision to pardon a man who was convicted of covering up crimes committed by a sexual predator at a children’s home.
The 46-year-old announced in a televised message on Saturday that she would step down from the presidency, an office she has held since 2022.
READ ALSO: JUST IN: Access Bank CEO, Wigwe, Wife, Others Feared Dead In US Chopper Crash
“I issued a pardon that caused bewilderment and unrest for many people,” Novák said on Saturday. “I made a mistake.”
Novak – the first female president in Hungary’s history – had unleashed a political scandal unprecedented for the country’s long-serving nationalist government.
There were protests in the Hungarian capital Budapest on Friday, demanding Novak’s resignation.
READ ALSO: NECO Postpones 2024 Staff Promotion Examination Indefinitely
The man who Novak pardoned was sentenced to more than three years in prison in 2018 for pressuring victims to retract their claims of sexual abuse in a state-run children’s home by its director, who was sentenced to eight years for abusing at least 10 children between 2004 and 2016.
It was well known that Novak had pardoned some two dozen people ahead of Pope Francis’ visit to Hungary in April 2023.
However, it was only recently disclosed that one of those pardoned was the deputy director of the children’s home who covered for his boss while he preyed on its residents.
Source: Euronews
You may like
Mourning, Tribute, As ‘World’s Poorest President’ Dies
Five Things To Know About Namibia’s First Woman President
Tinubu Meets Jonathan, Obasanjo, Others At Ghana President’s Inauguration
Tunisia Presidential Candidate Jailed For 12 Years — Lawyer
Top 10 Longest-serving Presidents In Africa[PHOTOS]
JUST IN: Almost 3 Years After Death, Former Senate President, Joseph Wayas’s Body Arrives Nigeria
Headline
Gunmen On Motorbikes Kill 22 At Baptism Ceremony In Niger
Published
5 hours agoon
September 17, 2025By
Editor
Gunmen on motorbikes shot dead 22 villagers in western Niger, most attending a baptism ceremony, local media and other sources said Tuesday.
The shootings happened on Monday in the Tillaberi region, near Burkina Faso and Mali, where jihadist groups linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group (IS) are active.
A resident of the area told AFP that 15 people were killed first at a baptism ceremony in Takoubatt village.
“The attackers then went to the outskirts of Takoubatt where they killed seven other people,” said the resident, who requested anonymity for security reasons.
READ ALSO:Two Nigerians Face Jail Terms In Liberia’s Piracy Trial
Local media outlet Elmaestro TV reported a “gruesome death toll of 22 innocent people cowardly killed without reason or justification”.
“Once again, the Tillaberi region has been struck by barbarism, plunging innocent families into mourning and despair,” Nigerien human rights campaigner Maikoul Zodi said on social media.
Niger’s military leaders, who came to power two years ago in a coup, have struggled to contain jihadist groups in Tillaberi, despite maintaining a large army presence there.
Around 20 soldiers were killed in the region last week.
READ ALSO:Nigerian Jailed In US Over $6m Inheritance Fraud
Human Rights Watch has urged Niger authorities to “do more to protect” civilians against deadly attacks.
The rights monitoring group estimates that the Islamic State group has “summarily executed” more than 127 villagers and Muslim worshippers in Tillaberi in five attacks since March.
Meanwhile, the NGO ACLED, which tracks conflict victims worldwide, says around 1,800 people have been killed in attacks in Niger since October 2024 — three-quarters of them in Tillaberi.
Niger and its neighbours, Burkina Faso and Mali, also ruled by military coup leaders who claim to pursue a sovereignist policy, have expelled the French and American armies that were fighting alongside them against jihadism.
AFP
Headline
Serbia Indicts Ex-minister, 12 Others Over Train Station Tragedy
Published
1 day agoon
September 16, 2025By
Editor
Serbian prosecutors filed an updated indictment on Tuesday against 13 people, including a former minister, over a fatal railway station roof collapse that has triggered a wave of anti-government protests.
The prosecution said all those indicted, among them former construction minister Goran Vesic, face charges of “serious crimes against public safety” over the tragedy that killed 16 people last November.
“The indictment proposes that the Higher Court in Novi Sad order custody for all the defendants,” the prosecutor’s office said in a statement.
The roof collapse at the newly renovated station in Serbia’s second-largest city, Novi Sad, became a symbol of entrenched corruption and sparked almost daily protests.
READ ALSO:FG Panel Indicts AFN In Ofili’s Paris Olympics Omission
Protesters first demanded a transparent investigation, but their calls soon escalated into demands for early elections.
The Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office in Novi Sad initially filed an indictment at the end of December, but judges returned it in April, requesting more information.
The accused were released or placed under house arrest following the decision.
The prosecutor’s office said it had complied with the judge’s request and had now completed the supplementary investigation.
READ ALSO:NDLEA Arrests Indian Businessman, 3 Others Over Alleged Trafficking Of N3.9bn Tramadol
The prosecutor specialising in organised crime and corruption in Belgrade is leading a separate, independent investigation into the tragedy.
That investigation is focused on 13 people, including Vesic and another former minister, Tomislav Momirovic, who headed the Construction Ministry before him.
In March, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) launched a third, separate investigation into the possible misuse of EU funds for the station’s reconstruction.
AFP
Headline
Kazakhstan Bans Forced Marriage, Bride Kidnapping
Published
1 day agoon
September 16, 2025By
Editor
Kazakhstan has banned forced marriages and bride kidnappings through a law that came into effect Tuesday in the Central Asian country, where the practice persists despite new attention being paid to women’s rights.
Forcing someone to marry is now punishable by up to 10 years in prison, Kazakh police said in a statement.
“These changes are aimed at preventing forced marriages and protecting vulnerable categories of citizens, especially women and adolescents,” it added.
Bride kidnappings have also been outlawed.
REAS ALSO:What To Know About Albania’s AI Minister, Diella
“Previously, a person who voluntarily released a kidnapped person could expect to be released from criminal liability. Now this possibility has been eliminated,” the police said.
There are no reliable statistics of forced marriage cases across the country, with no separate article in the criminal code prohibiting it until now.
A Kazakh lawmaker said earlier this year that the police had received 214 such complaints over the past three years.
The custom is also present in neighbouring Kyrgyzstan, where it mostly goes unpunished due to indifferent law enforcement and stigma surrounding whistleblowers.
READ ALSO:California Lawmakers Approve Ban On Face Masks For Authorities
The issue of women’s rights in Kazakhstan gained media attention in 2023 following the murder of a woman by her husband, a former minister, a case that shocked Kazakh society and prompted President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to react.
“Some people hide behind so-called traditions and try to impose the practice of wife stealing. This blatant obscurantism cannot be justified,” Tokayev said last year.
AFP
- FG Makes History Compulsory Subject In Primary, Secondary Schools
- Police Announce Burial Arrangements For Ex-IG Arase
- Lagos Begins Monitoring As Schools Resume
- Teacher Bags 14 Years Imprisonment For Sexually Abusing Seven-yr-old
- Kano, Lagos, Oyo Lead As Over 60% Pass 2025 NECO SSCE
- Back To School: What Parents Must Know As 2025/2026 Session Begins
- Edo Sports Commission Liaises With Education Ministry To Support President Unity Cup, Other
- Edo Cricket Association Presents Indoor Facility Designs To Sports Commission Boss
- NAFDAC Warns Of Fake Artemetrin DS, Antibiotic Ciprofit 500 In Circulation
- Anambra Govt Insists Ekwunife Retracts Defamatory Statements Against Soludo, Wife
Trending
- Entertainment5 days ago
Why I Cooked 200 Bags Of Rice Instead If 250 — Hilda Baci
- Politics4 days ago
2027: Details Of Jonathan, Peter Obi Meeting Emerge
- Entertainment3 days ago
200-level Student Wins Car As MTN Thrills UNIBEN With Campus Invasion
- Entertainment4 days ago
Drama As Hilda Baci’s Jollof Pot Falls After GWR Attempt
- Politics5 days ago
Tinubu’s Mandate Accomplished In Rivers — Ibas
- Business3 days ago
Falana Reveals Those Behind Subsidy Removal
- Metro5 days ago
My Husband Impregnated My sister —Wife
- News1 day ago
10 Things Candidates Should Know About Customs Recruitment CBT Exams
- Politics3 days ago
Alleged Infidelity: Soludo’s Wife Issues Senator Ekwunife Ultimatum To Apologize
- Business4 days ago
‘We Like Greek Gifts,’ Nigerians Blast NUPENG Over Dangote’s Fuel Price Reduction