■ France
Murder trial finally starts
One of France's most sinister multiple murder mysteries was to finally come to court yesterday, with a 70 year-old former bus-driver tried for the deaths of seven mentally-disabled young women who went missing more than 25 years ago. Suspicions that Emile Louis was linked to the case known as the "Disappeared of the Yonne" were first raised in the early 1980s, but he was able to avoid investigation until just four years ago when he confessed under questioning and led police to two shallow graves. The seven, aged between 15 and 25, were all in the care of the social services in the town of Auxerre when they disappeared between 1975 and 1979.
■ Russia
Several hurt in blast
Several people were injured in an explosion in a parking lot in Makhatchkala, capital of the southern Russian republic of Dagestan, local officials told the Interfax news agency. Dagestan borders the war-torn separatist republic of Chechnya. Two people who were seriously injured were taken to hospital, the head of the emergency services at the Dagestan medical center, Kazanfar Kurbanov, told Interfax. He said there several other people injured were being treated at the scene. A spokesman for the local interior ministry said that several cars were on fire, but would not comment on the casualties.
■ France
Arafat to get more tests
Tests on Yasser Arafat showed problems with digestion, but the Palestinian president has recovered sufficiently to undergo further examinations that could not be performed when he was first rushed to France, an aide said. Arafat, 75, felt well enough to follow the US election on Tuesday, and over the past two days was able to talk with doctors, colleagues and heads of state, officials said. Israel military intelligence's latest judgment is that doctors have not completed their diagnosis, but are considering that Arafat has either a viral stomach disorder that can be treated or some form of stomach cancer, according to an Israeli official.
■ United Nations
Sudan cited for violation
The top UN envoy to Sudan accused security forces in southern Darfur of forcing several thousand people who had taken refuge in a camp to move against their will in "flagrant violation" of international law. Jan Pronk demanded that all those rounded up and forced to leave the El Geer camp at 3am Tuesday be returned immediately from the Sherif camp, where they were taken. Pronk demanded that the government keep its agreement with the UN barring the forced transfer of any internally displaced people, known as IDPs.
■ Iraq
Oil official gunned down
A senior Oil Ministry official was killed yesterday by gunmen on his way to work, the ministry's spokesman said. Hussein Ali al-Fattal, director general of the oil by-products distribution company, was shot to death by unknown assailants after leaving his house in the Yarmouk district of western Baghdad, said spokesman Assim Jihad. "He did not care about the threats that many of the ministry officials received. They are trying to undermine this vital sector in the country," Jihad said. "He is great loss to the oil sector." Iraq's oil industry, which provides desperately needed money for Iraq's reconstruction efforts, has been the target of repeated attacks by insurgents in recent months.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
A top Vietnamese property tycoon was on Thursday sentenced to death in one of the biggest corruption cases in history, with an estimated US$27 billion in damages. A panel of three hand-picked jurors and two judges rejected all defense arguments by Truong My Lan, chair of major developer Van Thinh Phat, who was found guilty of swindling cash from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) over a decade. “The defendant’s actions ... eroded people’s trust in the leadership of the [Communist] Party and state,” read the verdict at the trial in Ho Chi Minh City. After the five-week trial, 85 others were also sentenced on
‘DELUSIONAL’: Targeting the families of Hamas’ leaders would not push the group to change its position or to give up its demands for Palestinians, Ismail Haniyeh said Israeli aircraft on Wednesday killed three sons of Hamas’ top political leader in the Gaza Strip, striking high-stakes targets at a time when Israel is holding delicate ceasefire negotiations with the militant group. Hamas said four of the leader’s grandchildren were also killed. Ismail Haniyeh’s sons are among the highest-profile figures to be killed in the war so far. Israel said they were Hamas operatives, and Haniyeh accused Israel of acting in “the spirit of revenge and murder.” The deaths threatened to strain the internationally mediated ceasefire talks, which appeared to gain steam in recent days even as the sides remain far
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of