135 Civilians Killed in Saudi Airstrike on Yemen Wedding

Saudi airstrikes continue to target civilians

The UN has condemned airstrikes that reportedly targeted a wedding party in Wahijah village, outside of the Red Sea port city of Mokha in Yemen, killing as many as 135 people, most of whom were women and children. Number of the wounded is not yet known.

Riyadh has denied responsibility for the deadly attacks.

The airstrike followed attacks by Saudi-led coalition helicopters that reportedly killed more than 30 people—primarily civilians—in a northern Yemeni village a day earlier.

The death toll from Saudi airstrikes and fighting on the ground has reached more than 5,000 people, including about 2,360 civilians,  since March 26, when Houthi fighters and allied army units forced Yemen’s “corrupt” president to flee the country.

About 21 million people, or 80% of the population, require some form of humanitarian assistance and at least 1.5 million people are internally displaced, according to the UN Refugee Agency.

9 in 10 deaths and injuries from explosive weapons in Yemen are civilian: UNOCHA

About 86 percent of the people killed or injured by explosive weapons are civilians, according to a report: “State of crisis: explosive weapons in Yemen,” issued this week by OCHA and NGO Action on Armed Violence (AOAV).

This number rises to 95 per cent when explosive weapons are used in populated areas.

Majority of Americans Believe Congress is Corrupt

The American majority apathetic, or altered?

75% of Americans see widespread government corruption, and majority believes that most members of Congress are corrupt, according to Gallup.

Most Americans believe that most members of Congress are corrupt, says a report.

” Majorities believe that most members of Congress are ‘out of touch with average Americans’ (79%), ‘focused on the needs of special interests’ rather than the needs of their constituents (69%) and corrupt (52%).”

75% in U.S. See Widespread Government Corruption—Gallup

Three in four Americans (75%) say corruption is widespread in the U.S. government. This figure is up from two in three in 2007 (67%) and 2009 (66%), said Gallup.

The numbers have fluctuated marginally since 2007; however,  the trend has remained unchanged since 2010. However, the percentage of U.S. adults who see corruption as pervasive has always been more than a majority in the past decade, fueled by various controversies including the U.S. Justice Department’s firings of U.S. attorneys and the IRS scandal, says Gallup.

U.S. government corruption is ranked at number 13 on a list of most corrupt countries that allegedly have “free press,”according to the report.

The top 12 countries with most corrupt governments that precede U.S.  are Lithuania (90%), Portugal, Ghana, Spain, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Jamaica, Costa Rica, Poland, Taiwan, Cypress and Mauritius (75%).

Sweden has he least corrupt governmnet (14%), according to Gallup analysis.

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