Corruption Currents

BSG Resources Ltd. sued Guinea after the country revoked licenses to mine iron ore following an investigation that found the company bribed its way to obtaining the licenses. (Australian Mining) Corporate gifts have gotten a little less lavish in the wake of the U.K. Bribery Act. (ComplianceWeek) A former New York state lawmaker convicted of bribery had his sentence reduced after cooperating with the government on an array of cases. (NY Times) Mike Volkov starts a series explaining how to start an internal probe. Tom Fox airs a podcast. The FCPAProfessor focuses on another old case. The FCPA Blog notes Saudis saying nepotism is on the rise.

Supreme court ruling on prayer in governemt meetings-religious

WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court on Monday narrowly upheld the centuries-old tradition of offering prayers to open government meetings, even if the prayers are overwhelmingly Christian and citizens are encouraged to participate. The 5-4 ruling, supported by the court's conservative justices and opposed by its liberals, was based in large part on the history of legislative prayer dating back to the Framers of the Constitution.

Political Unrest in Ukraine

Hundreds of pro-Russian separatists stormed the regional government headquarters in Ukraine's eastern city of Luhansk Tuesday. They met no resistance from police and the Ukrainian government said the separatists also planned to seize the local television center. The government in Kyiv has all but lost control of its police forces in parts of eastern Ukraine, where pro-Russian activists have seized buildings in the region's second biggest city of Donetsk

Namesake

Question I: A.Gogol needed more in his life, but in his early days he had a struggle of identity as to what name he would preferred, Gogol or Nikhil. Additional, Gogol wanted to be his own decision maker which prompted him to attended college in New York instead of Massachusetts where his when to school. B.On the part of Gogol's parents they wish their son would have grown up in the Bengali's environment, but it didn't work for them. Lastly, his father desire him becoming an engineer, but he refused to become one, instead he became an architect. C.The expectation in my family has changed greatly for one fact; my family dreamed for me was for me to travel abroad, improved my life by acquiring my education and finding a better job so I can helped my brother and sister back home. Question II. A.There are several surprised about the Ganguli family's. First, finding themselves in a strange country and conflict in naming their own child as they wish. Secondly, their children had strong influence over their parents by making their own choice of what they want. B.It raise the question, why should children have too much right of making their own decision and not their parents?

political

VATICAN CITY – Ukraine's acting prime minister has met with Pope Francis at the Vatican, but escalating Ukrainian-Russian tensions prompted him to return home instead of staying for the sainthood ceremony on Sunday. Members of Arseniy Yatsenyuk's delegation told journalists he was returning to Ukraine later Saturday. The pope was meeting with foreign leaders arriving for the ceremony Sunday that will raise Popes John Paul II and John XXIII to sainthood. Francis gave Yatsenyuk a fountain pen, telling him, "I hope that you write 'peace' with this pen." Yatsenyuk replied: "I hope so, too

South Sudan government and rebels signs ceasefire deal

South Sudan's government delegation leader Nhial Deng Nhial and the rebel delegation leader Taban Deng Gai pose for photographs as they shake hands after signing a ceasefire agreement in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Jan. 23, 2014. By Aaron Maasho, Reuters South Sudan's government and rebels signed a ceasefire Thursday to end more than five weeks of fighting that divided Africa's newest nation and brought it to the brink of civil war. U.S. President Barack Obama, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the U.N. Security Council welcomed the news, but several diplomatic sources in New York said they were worried the killing could continue. Fighting between troops loyal to President Salva Kiir and those backing the vice president he sacked in July, Riek Machar, erupted in mid-December. Thousands of people have been killed and more than half a million people have fled their homes, prompting the regional grouping of nations, IGAD, to initiate peace talks. More than 70,000 people have sought refuge at U.N. bases around the country after peacekeepers, in an unusual move, opened their gates to them. The pact is expected to be implemented within 24 hours of the signing, mediators said. But making the ceasefire hold could test Machar, whose forces include loyalists as well as more autonomous groups battling the centrally controlled government forces.

Mississippi governor signs controversial religious practices bill

JACKSON, Miss. -- Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant signed a bill Thursday that supporters say will assure unfettered practice of religion without government interference but that opponents worry could lead to state-sanctioned discrimination against gays and lesbians. The bill, called the Mississippi Religious Freedom Restoration Act, will become law July 1. It also will add "In God We Trust" to the state seal. An early version of the bill, considered weeks ago, was similar to one Arizona's Republican governor, Jan Brewer, vetoed after business groups said it could hurt that state's economy. Supporters say the final Mississippi bill bears little resemblance to the failed Arizona measure. Outside the state Capitol on Thursday, more than 75 gay-rights supporters protested against the bill. Jeff White of Waveland, a founder of the Mississippi Gulf Coast Lesbian and Gay Community Center, said as someone who is gay and Jewish, he worries such a new law could make him more vulnerable to unfair treatment. "It's the first time in my life that I've actually considered moving out of Mississippi," said White, 32. "It made me physically ill the past few days, realizing what they're trying to do." Bryant signed the measure within hours of receiving it Thursday, during a private ceremony. The bill says government cannot put a substantial burden on the practice of religion. Though the bill is vaguely worded, supporters said an example of would be a zoning law to limit the location of a church, mosque or synagogue but not limiting the location of a secular business. The small signing ceremony was attended by a few elected officials, lobbyists for the state's influential Southern Baptist Convention and Tony Perkins, president of Family Research Council. The council, a conservative Washington-based group, has pushed states to enact laws that mirror the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act that President Bill Clinton signed in 1993. Perkins said Mississippi becomes the 19th state to enact its own religious-practices law since 1996. "Those who understand the importance and cherish the historic understanding of religious freedom are grateful for leaders who respond to fact and not fictitious claims of those who are trying to quarantine faith within the walls of our churches or homes," Perkins said in a statemen