TOGO
Pirates release Russian ship
Pirates in Togo have released a tanker with 24 Russian crew on board after siphoning off part of the gas oil cargo, a spokesman for the ship’s Greek company said on Thursday. “The ship has been released and the crew are safe,” the representative of Athens-based Golden Energy Management said. The pirates hijacked the Energy Centurion on Tuesday after exchanging fire with security forces, the International Maritime Bureau said. The company said it believed over 3,000 tonnes of fuel had been removed.
IVORY COAST
Military holds 73 for attacks
The military prosecutor says that 73 people, including 19 soldiers, have been detained in connection with a recent spate of attacks on military positions. Gunmen have carried out seven attacks against the military so far this month, killing at least 12 soldiers and one civilian. Officials blamed the attacks on loyalists of ex-president Laurent Gbagbo, whose refusal to leave office after losing the 2010 election nearly caused a civil war. Prosecutor Ange B. Kessi Kouame said on Thursday that 149 people had been detained in response to the attacks, though 76 were released after the investigation. He said the 19 soldiers faced charges including murder, violating state security and disturbing public order, and that their trial would start on Thursday next week.
SOUTH KOREA
Lee apologizes for rape
President Lee Myung-bak apologized yesterday after a seven-year-old girl was kidnapped overnight from her home and raped, sparking a public outcry. Police have detained a 25-year-old man after the girl was snatched in the southwestern city of Naju while she was sleeping. She was raped and later found naked on a riverside road. “On behalf of the government, I apologize to the people,” Lee said during an unscheduled visit to national police headquarters. It was the latest in a series of sexual assaults on women and children that have prompted calls for tougher punishment for offenders.
KENYA
Muslims asked for calm
Religious leaders on Thursday told Muslims to avoid planned protests over the killing of a hardline Islamist preacher whose death sparked deadly riots in Mombasa. President Mwai Kibaki also visited Mombasa on Thursday, as an uneasy calm set in following a grenade attack that wounded four police officers the previous night. On Monday, gunmen shot to death Sheik Aboud Rogo Mohammed, who authorities allege was a member of Somalian militant group al-Shabaab. Riots in the aftermath of the killing left at least four people dead, wounded several others and caused damage to some properties.
UNITED STATES
Pentagon may sue over book
The Pentagon warned on Thursday that it was considering legal action against a former US Navy SEAL for material breach of non-disclosure agreements with his first-hand account of the raid that killed Osama bin Laden. In a letter obtained by Reuters, and subsequently released by the Pentagon, the Pentagon’s top attorney said the Department of Defense was also considering legal action against anyone “acting in concert” with the author. It hinted that the book’s royalties might be subject to government claims. The author may have hoped to publish the book anonymously, but his identity as Matt Bissonnette was quickly revealed and confirmed independently by Reuters. US officials have said they were surprised by his book, No Easy Day, which was not vetted by government agencies before its publication to ensure that no secrets were revealed.
GERMANY
Vatican drops lawsuit
The German Bishops’ Conference says the Vatican has dropped its lawsuit against a satirical magazine over a cover that depicted Pope Benedict XVI with a yellow stain on his robe. A Hamburg court had granted an injunction barring the magazine, Titanic, from distributing the image that fronted its July edition, headlined “Hallelujah at the Vatican — the leak has been found!” That was a reference to a scandal over leaked Vatican documents. A hearing on Titanic’s appeal was due yesterday. However, on Thursday, a statement issued through the bishops said “after detailed deliberations” the Vatican had decided to withdraw its application for an injunction.
UNITED STATES
Author’s family fight studio
The family of The Godfather author Mario Puzo wants a federal judge to stop Paramount Pictures Corp from making movies based on sequels to the best-selling, Oscar-winning story of the Mafia. A lawyer for Puzo’s heirs, Bertram Fields, said in Manhattan Federal Court on Thursday that Viacom Inc’s Paramount breached a decades-old contract with Puzo by trying to stop publication in May this year of a new book, The Family Corleone. In February, Paramount sued Anthony Puzo, Mario’s son and executor, accusing the heirs of approving sequels to the 1969 best-seller without the studio’s permission and in violation of earlier agreements. Paramount said the new book infringed its copyright.
UNITED STATES
Priest says victims to blame
A New York priest apologized on Thursday after coming under criticism from church officials and advocates of sex abuse victims for saying that priests accused of child sex abuse are often seduced by their accusers and that a first-time offender should not go to jail. The Reverend Benedict Groeschel of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal made the comments in an interview with the National Catholic Register published this week. The Web site for the conservative, independent Register then removed the story and posted an apology for publishing the comments. Groeschel and the friars did as well. Asked about working with priests involved in abuse, Groeschel said: “Suppose you have a man having a nervous breakdown and a youngster comes after him. A lot of the cases, the youngster — 14, 16, 18 — is the seducer.” In expanding on his answer, Groeschel also referenced Jerry Sandusky, the former Penn State coach convicted of sexually abusing boys, referring to Sandusky as “this poor guy” and wondering why no one reported the abuse for years.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese