A round-up of today's world news in brief
Class-action lawsuit against Wal-Mart
SAN FRANCISCO – In a major blow to Wal-Mart, a sex- discrimination lawsuit against the retailer can proceed as a class-action case covering more than a million female employees, a US court has ruled.
Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer, had asked the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco to undo class-action certification in what could be the largest sexual discrimination lawsuit in US history.
The lawsuit argues that female workers were paid less and received fewer promotions at Wal-Mart than male counterparts and that the retailer’s corporate structure fostered this gender discrimination. – (Reuters)
Bush memoir due out in November
NEW YORK – Former US president George W Bush will release a memoir in November, his publisher said yesterday.
Decision Points will centre on 14 decisions Mr Bush made in his eight years as president, including “his flaws and mistakes, as well as his historic achievements”, the Crown Publishing Group said.
Mr Bush will do a national US tour to promote the book, which will sell for $35 (€26), said Crown, a Random House imprint.
The former Texas governor left the White House in January 2009 with one of the lowest presidential approval ratings in history, with unpopular wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the financial crisis weighing on his legacy. – (Reuters)
Rape acquittal for Goody widower
LONDON – The widower of late reality TV star Jade Goody, Jack Tweed, was cleared of raping a teenager by a jury in a London court yesterday.
Mr Tweed (22), a club promoter, and his friend Anthony Davis were accused of raping the student at Mr Tweed’s east London home in the early hours of September 4th last. Mr Davis was also acquitted of rape, according to the Press Association.
Mr Tweed was jailed for 12 weeks in April last year, shortly after his wife’s death, for assaulting a taxi driver.
Goody, who shot to fame in the Big Brother TV show, died of cancer in March last year. She and Mr Tweed married after she was told the cancer was terminal. – (Reuters)