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The disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 conviction for sexual crimes was overturned by a New York appeals court on Thursday. Prosecutors intend to retry the case.
In a 4-3 decision, New York’s court of appeals ruled the judge prejudiced the former movie mogul with “egregious” improper rulings, and was mistaken in allowing other women whose accusations were not a part of the case to testify.
It reopens a painful chapter in the US’s reckoning with sexual violence, which began in 2017 with a flood of allegations against Weinstein. His accusers could again be forced to relive their traumas on the witness stand.
The ruling was met with disappointment and defiance from whistleblowers. Rosanna Arquette said: “Harvey was rightfully convicted. It’s unfortunate that the court has overturned his conviction. As a survivor, I am beyond disappointed.”
What did the ruling say? “We conclude that the trial court erroneously admitted testimony of uncharged, alleged prior sexual acts against persons other than the complainants of the underlying crimes.”
What was Weinstein’s prison term? He got 23 years in 2020 for two sex crimes: forcing oral sex on a production assistant in 2006 as well as rape in the third degree of an actor in 2013. In total, more than 80 women accused Weinstein of various acts of sexual assault and harassment.
Does this mean he will walk free? No. Weinstein, 72, will remain imprisoned because he was convicted in Los Angeles in 2022 of another rape, and sentenced to 16 years in prison. But we can expect a rerun of the New York case.
Reparations to be paid to survivors of wartime sexual violence in Ukraine
The first reparation payments are to be made to Ukrainian survivors of wartime rape by Russian soldiers, in a move that Ukraine’s first lady, Olena Zelenska, called “an important step towards restoring justice”.
Up to 500 Ukrainian survivors of conflict-related sexual violence are being identified and awarded interim reparations this year, including financial, medical and psychological support.
Meanwhile, Ukraine took battle tanks away from the frontline, partly because of Russian drone tactics to destroy them. Elsewhere, Russian rocket and drone attacks killed at least six people in Ukraine’s Donetsk region.
Here’s what makes the scheme so significant: It will be the first time survivors have been awarded reparations during an active conflict, according to the Global Survivors Fund (GSF), which is administering the project with Ukraine using funds from donor governments.
This is what we know about who was affected: GSF estimates thousands of Ukrainians were affected, but the total number suffering sexual violence by occupying troops is unknown, as most survivors do not report the crimes.
Go deeper: Check out this gripping story about the Ukrainian investigators closing in on Russian war criminals.
Police accused of using rubber bullets and teargas as campus protests continue
Police have carried out multiple violent arrests at Emory University in Georgia, with alleged police use of rubber bullets and teargas after students set up an encampment – calling for divestment in solidarity with Palestine and against Cop City.
Videos showed officers forcefully arresting people, with one appearing to show multiple officers holding down a restrained protester as they fired a stun gun at them. As campus protests have spread across the US in recent days – after Columbia University last week called in the NYPD on students – universities have struggled to address the widening demonstrations, drawing criticism across the political spectrum.
Meanwhile, in Gaza, US troops had finally begun construction of a pier that aimed to speed the flow of humanitarian aid to Palestinians, the Pentagon said. And preparation for Israel’s incursion into Rafah – where 1.5 million people are sheltering, alarming the international community – is said to be “complete”, Haaretz reports.
What is divestment? Broadly speaking, it is a demand to sell investments in companies doing undesired things. In this case, students say firms are complicit in the Israel war, such as Lockheed Martin, a weapons manufacturer, or Microsoft, which provides services to Israel’s ministry of defense.
What’s going on elsewhere? As campus protests continue to spread, the University of Southern California has canceled its main stage graduation ceremony, citing new safety measures.
In other news …
Burkina Faso’s military executed 223 civilians in one day in February, according to a Human Rights Watch investigation, including at least 56 children.
The former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker takes the stand again in Donald Trump’s hush-money criminal trial on Friday, after telling the court on Thursday the former president “was my mentor”.
Ukraine’s agriculture minister was detained in a multimillion-dollar corruption inquiry, with Mykola Solskyi accused of illegally seizing land worth more than $7m.
Doctors have begun patient trails for the world’s first personalised mRNA cancer vaccine for melanoma, as experts hailed its “gamechanging” potential.
Stat of the day: number of pro-plastic lobbyists at UN pollution talks jumps by 37%
The number of fossil fuel industry lobbyists increased 37% at UN talks to agree the first global treaty to cut plastic pollution in Ottawa, Canada. Analysis showed 196 lobbyists registered, up from the 143 at the last talks in Nairobi, Kenya. A coordinator at the Center for International Environmental Law criticised lobbyists’ “privileged access”.
Don’t miss this: remembering New York City’s lost landmarks
A new exhibition at the New-York Historical Society highlights landmarks and phenomena that once defined life in New York City but have been lost to the city’s ceaseless reinvention. For instance, the giant Beaux-Arts Penn Station, the Manhattan Hippodrome and the Latting Observatory, as well as things such as high-wheel bicycles and the 20,000 wild pigs that roamed New York in the 1820s.
… Or this: the scramble to get around New York’s Airbnb crackdown
In September 2023, New York City began banning people from renting their homes for fewer than 30 days (unless the host stayed in the property with guests). With hotels charging unaffordable rates for many, this has spawned a wild west of rentals, with visitors choosing between huge hotel bills or word-of-mouth deals. The shared apartments, though, have come with some quirky features. Instagram seems to be full of posts like: “Subletting my room in a 5 bed apartment for four days over Easter! Must be good with dogs and rude roommates!”
Last Thing: skaters, saunas and spontaneous stripping – in pictures
The Polish photographer Magdalena Wosinska began taking pictures aged 14. She spent the 1990s hanging out with bands, skateboarders and whoever else crossed her path. Her show Fulfill the Dream – at Fahey/Klein gallery in LA through 1 June – serves as a time capsule of the skateboarding scene, capturing intimate moments of free spirits from a unique perspective, as one of the few female photographers deeply embedded in skater culture.
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