Special counsel Robert Mueller reached no definitive conclusion about whether President Donald Trump obstructed justice in firing FBI Director James Comey or attacking his own investigation.
Reuters/Hyungwon Kang, AP Photo/Susan Walsh, Reuters/Jonathan Ernst, Twitter
Legally, a person can obstruct justice even if he committed no other crime – though it is harder to prove. It all depends on the intent behind pressuring investigators, say, or firing an FBI director.
Syrian anti-government protesters march as part of an uprising against the country’s authoritarian regime, in Banias, Syria, April 17, 2011. The Arabic banner at center reads: ‘All of us would die for our country.’
AP/Anonymous
On the eighth anniversary of the Syrian uprising, scholar Wendy Pearlman writes about the people who risked their lives and raised their voices to fight the oppressive rule of Bashar al-Assad.
The Padma Bridge Project in Bangladesh is seen in this February 2018 photograph. SNC-Lavalin was accused of bribing officials in the construction of the bridge, though charges were later dropped.
Md Shaifuzzaman Ayon
Promoting Canadian jobs is part of any government’s political mandate, but so too is the responsibility of ensuring that Canadian businesses are not supporting or condoning corruption abroad.
It could be easy to scoff at Canadian laws that might have allowed SNC-Lavalin to avoid prosecution for bribery and fraud. But they’re working exactly as they should.
(Shutterstock)
Bribery in Uganda’s health care system is on a downward trend but researchers fear that it is not sustainable.
Former SNC-Lavalin vice-president Stephane Roy leaves a Quebec courtroom after fraud and bribery charges against him were thrown out due to trial delays. Roy had been charged with bribing a foreign public official in connection with the company’s dealings with Libya.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz
Until recently, paying a bribe or kickback to secure a contract abroad was seen as the cost of doing business in a foreign land. The SNC-Lavalin case has underscored the need to rethink the approach.
Pro-Europeans protest against the rulling coalition Social Democrat Party (PSD) next to the Romanian Atheneum during the ceremony of taking over the Presidency of EU Council in Bucharest January 10, 2019.
Daniel Mihailescu/AFP
Mexico’s new president has reduced his own salary and demanded that all federal workers
– including lawmakers and judges – take a massive pay cut, too. That may be illegal.
Corrupt politicians and public servants will be under the spotlight of the new federal corruption watchdog. But if its proposed powers are any clue, it will have neither bark nor bite. Here’s why.
The president of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, meets with Russian president Vladimir Putin in 2015. In the 2018 Transparency International report, Venezuela ranks 168 and Russia ranks 138. The least-corrupt country in the world is Denmark, followed by strong democracies such as New Zealand, Finland, Sweden and Switzerland.
kremlin.ru
The rankings in Transparency International’s 2018 index shows that highly democratic countries tend to have low levels of corruption. Is there something inherent in corruption that can kill democracy?
Presidential candidates Joko Widodo (second left) and Prabowo Subianto (second right) greet each other at the debate among candidates in Jakarta, Indonesia, 17 January 2019.
Adi Weda/EPA
No concrete measures to eradicate corruption were offered by the two candidates – Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and Prabowo Subianto – in the latest presidential debate.
Angelo Agrizzi, the former chief operating officer of private security firm, at a South African commission of inquiry into corruption.
Sunday Times/Alan Skuy
Bhutan, a poor country, ranks 26th out of 180 countries surveyed on corruption. How does the kingdom fight such issue and what can we learn from such experience?
Guatemalans overwhelmingly support the United Nations-backed corruption investigation known as CICIG. President Jimmy Morales is trying to ban prosecutors from the country.
AP Photo/Moises Castillo
Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales is defying a constitutional court order to release a UN-backed prosecutor his government arrested and allow his corruption investigation to continue.
Zimbabwe erupted in violent protest after the government doubled the price of petrol.
EPA-EFE/Aaron Ufumeli