The California judge in the Stanford sexual assault case has been recalled from office by local voters, an extremely rare outcome in the US court system and a major victory for activists who waged a two-year campaign against the official. Judge Aaron Persky faced international scrutiny in June of 2016 after he sentenced the ex-Stanford University student Brock Turner to six months in jail. Turner, whose name became synonymous with campus sexual assault across America, had been convicted of three felonies for assaulting an unconscious woman outside of a fraternity party on the elite campus in northern California.

The law prescribed a minimum of two years in state prison for Turner’s offenses, but Persky ordered more limited jail time and probation, which resulted in the then 20-year-old being released after three months. Persky, who recently said he had no regrets about the case, is the first judge to be recalled by US voters since 1977, and the first in California since 1932.

The Stanford case ignited international debates about sexual violence long before the #MeToo movement shone a light on assault, harassment and abuse in a wide range of industries. The case went viral after the victim read a powerful 7,000-word statement in court about rape culture and the trauma she endured in the aftermath of the attack and during the trial. The judge also received backlash for expressing sympathy to Turner during sentencing, saying: “A prison sentence would have a severe impact on him.” Turner’s father was also criticised for lamenting that his son was facing consequences for “20 minutes of action”.(theguardian)…[+]

Jeremy Corbyn has compared the government’s Brexit strategy to the chaos on Northern trains as he again used prime minister’s questions to pressure Theresa May on what the Labour leader said was ministerial deadlock on the issue.

In a tightly focused approach, the Labour leader asked May a series of specific policy questions about Brexit, which she pointedly refused to answer, bringing jeers from the opposition benches. In response, May repeatedly sought to bring the subject back to Labour’s own divisions on Brexit, prompting Corbyn to remark at one point: “The last time I looked at the order paper it said prime minister’s question time.” Corbyn began by noting that last month the Brexit secretary, David Davis, had promised a “detailed, ambitious and precise” white paper on the government’s Brexit negotiating position, asking whether it would be published before next week’s crucial votes on the EU withdrawal bill.(theguardian)…[+]

Grenada – The Hon. Gaston Browne, Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, has made a call for regional governments to embrace the reforms that are needed to create a sustainable air transport sector in the Caribbean. The Prime Minister was speaking at a seminar on Air Transport Connectivity and Competitiveness, hosted by the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) in Grenada.

“Reliable connectivity of air transport in the region is quintessential to the movement of people, to the movement of goods. So it is evident that reliable air transport is important to the integration movement. It is also fundamental to the overall economic growth and resilience, especially in the tourism sector, [of] those countries that are heavily dependent on tourism,” said Browne.

He noted that one of the most critical areas for reform involves the reduction of regional airport taxes and service charges, saying that this would stimulate additional travel within the Region, as well as increases in tourism. However, the Prime Minister added that any solutions to the challenges faced in the air transport industry would need to have buy-in from all countries in the Region.

“One of the solutions that I am proposing is a subvention by all countries within the region, certainly within the OECS and Barbados […] We have to see the subsidy as an investment in our tourism product, an investment in the integration of our people, to move goods, to move people and to ensure that the integration process works,” he said. During the seminar, CDB also presented a working paper on Aviation Competitiveness and Connectivity. Dr. Justin Ram, Director of Economics at CDB, noted that the research seeks to provide an evidence-based approach to examining the importance of air transport connectivity to the Region.(CDB)…[+]