■PHILIPPINES
Missing trio found dead
Three men have been found shot dead in the south nine days after they were abducted by Islamist militants demanding a ransom payment, local authorities said yesterday. Soldiers tracking the Abu Sayyaf kidnappers recovered the bodies at a remote village on Basilan island, officials said, adding the three local men appeared to have been killed on Friday. “The bodies were discovered at around 9:45 in the morning today and there is an ongoing operation against the kidnappers,” Basilan military commander Brigadier-General Eugenio Clement told reporters. He said the three were taken at gunpoint by Abu Sayyaf gunmen on May 27.
■BOLIVIA
Lynched police returned
Members of a remote Quechua village have turned over the bodies of four police offers who were lynched by townspeople. A doctor who examined the corpses says they apparently died from blows to the head. Antonio Torres says they also had cuts and burns. Police said the officers went to the area about two weeks ago to investigate the theft of two vehicles and were attacked by hundreds of angry villagers. The Indians maintain that the dead men were thieves who were extorting them. They had demanded immunity before handing over the dead, but it is not immediately clear if such a deal was struck. Police Major Limberg Oporto told Erbol radio the bodies were taken on Friday to Oruro, where the officers were based.
■UNITED STATES
Pot no factor in bear attack
A Montana judge said it was not a worker’s fault if he was mauled by a grizzly bear at a tourist attraction, even if he smoked marijuana before trying to feed the animal. Brock Hopkins admitted smoking pot before arriving to work at Great Bear Adventures on Nov. 2, 2007. When he entered the bear’s pen, he was attacked and had to be hospitalized. The owner of the attraction near Glacier National Park says Hopkins was a volunteer and that his use of marijuana caused the accident. However, the judge on the state Workers’ Compensation Court ruled last month that Hopkins was eligible for benefits. Shea found that Hopkins was paid and therefore was an employee.
■MEXICO
Vigil held for fire victims
Relatives of 49 children killed in a daycare fire a year ago held an overnight vigil on Friday in their memories and to demand punishment for officials who they say failed to ensure the center’s safety. Parents lit candles and placed photos of their children on the steps of the landmark Independence Monument in Mexico City. A group of children held a sign that read: “The people of Mexico demand justice. Jail for those responsible for the fire at the ABC day care center.”
■UNITED KINGDOM
Brits worst-dressed travelers
British people are the worst-dressed holidaymakers in Europe followed by Germans, while the Italians and French are the smartest, a survey said on Friday. The findings came despite 36 percent of Britons who are famed for fashion blunders like wearing socks with sandals — admitting that they dress more adventurously than usual while on a break. The survey also looked at how good people from different countries are at switching off from the pressures of work while taking a break. A massive 87 percent of travelers from France said they checked their work e-mails while on holiday compared with more than a quarter of Britons.
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
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
A prominent Christian leader has allegedly been stabbed at the altar during a Mass yesterday in southwest Sydney. Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was saying Mass at Christ The Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley just after 7pm when a man approached him at the altar and allegedly stabbed toward his head multiple times. A live stream of the Mass shows the congregation swarm forward toward Emmanuel before it was cut off. The church leader gained prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic, amassing a large online following, Officers attached to Fairfield City police area command attended a location on Welcome Street, Wakeley following reports a number