■AFGHANISTAN
NATO soldier killed in blast
A bomb blast killed another NATO soldier in Afghanistan, making it the deadliest month for foreign forces fighting in the country since the 2001 US-led invasion, the military said yesterday. “An International Security Assistance Force service member was killed yesterday as a result of an Improvised Explosive Device strike in southern Afghanistan,” a statement that gave no details said. Another NATO soldier, a Canadian, was killed in fighting on the same day in southern Afghanistan, the military said from Ottawa. Thousands of US soldiers have pushed into the south, notably Helmand and Kandahar provinces, in one of the biggest operations in Afghanistan to quell Taliban strongholds in a bid to smooth key presidential elections next month.
■ISRAEL
Police set for more violence
Jerusalem police say they are standing by for more violence after a third straight night of street battles with ultra-Orthodox Jews enraged by the arrest of a mentally ill Hasidic woman who authorities said was starving her child. The woman was due to appear in court yesterday and the outcome could either defuse or further inflame tensions in the city. Police said that if her family and lawyers agree to a psychiatric evaluation she could be released quickly. They have so far refused and demand her unconditional release. Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said 18 police officers were injured and 50 protesters were arrested during street battles overnight.
■RUSSIA
Missile self-destructs
The latest test of advanced submarine-launched ballistic missile Bulava has failed, with the missile self-destructing, the Defense Ministry said — another setback for the Russia’s efforts to upgrade its aging arsenal. The failure was the seventh in 11 test launches for the Bulava and could have consequences for top missile designers and missile force commanders. The Defense Ministry said in a statement on Thursday that the missile was fired the day before from the submarine Dmitry Donskoi, but its first-stage malfunctioned and the weapon self-destructed.
■PHILIPPINES
Molave brings floods
Overnight storms brought havoc to Manila yesterday, causing widespread flooding and forcing schools, offices and the country’s stock exchange to close, officials said. Heavy overnight rains forced all government offices to close and the suspension of elementary and high school classes in the capital and surrounding districts. The Philippine Stock Exchange suspended operations mid-morning “because of a lack of clearing facilities,” as the central bank had curtailed its activities because of the weather. Tropical Storm Molave off the north of Luzon island was reported to be packing maximum winds of 85kph at its center, with gusts of 100kph.
■FRANCE
Thieves steal baby gibbons
Thieves broke into a French zoo and snatched year-old twin baby gibbons after throwing their mother into the moat around their island home, the site’s manager said on Thursday. Keepers at the Frejus Zoological Park discovered what had happened on Tuesday morning after finding the female ape, 15-year-old Micha, soaking wet and in distress. “She was distraught,” zoo director Guy Mascheffa said after making a formal police complaint. “The babies are in danger of dying because any change in their diet can be fatal and provoke serious diarrhea.”
■MEXICO
Troops move into state
Authorities on Thursday ordered 5,500 federal police, soldiers and navy personnel to move into a gang-plagued western state following a cartel’s slaying of 20 officers and troops. Amid the violence, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton indicated on Thursday that the US is committed to the Merida Initiative, a US$1.4 billion funding package aimed at helping Mexico train and equip its anti-drug forces. Late on Thursday Mexican Interior Secretary Fernando Gomez Mont said the government was pouring 1,500 federal police officers, 2,500 soldiers and 1,500 navy personnel into Michoacan state, the home base for the La Familia cartel. Last weekend’s attacks by the cartel were a challenge to President Felipe Calderon, who has deployed thousands of soldiers and police across the country in an attempt to halt the escalating drug trade.
■UNITED STATES
Philanthropist digs deep
A Massachusetts philanthropist who lost most of his personal fortune in the Bernard Madoff scandal has paid US$5 million out of his own pocket to restore the retirement savings of employees who lost money in the multibillion dollar scam. Ronald Lappin on Wednesday made up for the lost savings of the 60 employees of his company, Shetland Properties Inc, and of his charity, the Robert I. Lappin Charitable Foundation, whose retirement plans were managed by Madoff. Lappin said his net worth is a 10th of what it was before the scandal.
■BRAZIL
UK garbage kicks up stink
Some 1,200 tonnes of British garbage, including toilet seats, dirty diapers and used syringes, is rotting at two southern ports after arriving in container ships. The trash, which arrived in Brazil earlier this year, was destined for Brazilian companies that said they were expecting shipments of recyclable plastic, officials say. Instead, port officials found the containers that originated at the British port of Felixstowe were packed with trash. Brazil’s federal prosecution office asked the foreign ministry on Thursday to request that Britain take back the shipments. “We will ask for the repatriation of this garbage,” said Roberto Messias, the president of Brazilian environment agency IBAMA. “Clearly, Brazil is not a big rubbish dump of the world.” The British Embassy said in a statement it was investigating the case and would “not hesitate to act” if it was found that a company had violated the Basel Convention on the movement of hazardous waste.
■UNITED STATES
Gene causes stubby legs
The stubby legs of dachshunds, corgis and 17 other breeds stem from the mutation of a single gene early in the evolution of domestic dogs, a study published on Thursday has found. The genetic mutation which produces disproportionately short limbs is distinct from the trait that makes toy breeds like the Chihuahua so small and is believed to have occurred some time after the ancestor of modern dogs diverged from wolves.
■UNITED STATES
Jacko portrait for sale again
An Andy Warhol portrait of Michael Jackson is back on the auction block at a New York art gallery. The Vered Gallery in East Hampton, removed the painting from a sale that closed on Sunday. Gallery co-owner Janet Lehr said on Thursday it is now available again. The painting shows Jackson in the 1980s. Because of renewed interest in all things Jackson since his death, Lehr said it was anyone’s guess how much the painting might fetch.
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
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
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