GREECE
Country seeks Nazi war debt
Greece has set up a “working group” to scour historical archives and tally how much Germany might owe in outstanding reparations for Nazi war crimes during World War II, the finance ministry announced on Monday. Greece has said in recent years that it reserves the right to claim reparations worth an estimated US$7.5 million, saying it was forced to accept unfavorable terms during negotiations in the 1950s. “The matter remains pending,” Deputy Finance Minister Christos Staikouras said. “Greece has never resigned its rights.”
THAILAND
Starving rooftop tigers found
Thai police said they had discovered six underfed tigers in specially built cages on the roof of an apartment building on Monday, arresting a man who claimed he had been planning to open a zoo. Four adult cats and two cubs were found at the property on an industrial estate in Pathumthani province, north of Bangkok, in the raid by police from the Natural Resources and Environmental Crime Suppression Division. A 28-year-old man, who lives in the building, was arrested at the scene and claimed to own the animals. “The man said that he was preparing to open a zoo in the province,” said police Captain Montri Neepasee, who said the animals had not been given enough food and did not look “completely healthy.” He added he believed the tigers would have been sent to Vietnam, where there is demand for “their meat and skins.”
UNITED STATES
Casino tycoon wins case
US casino tycoon Steve Wynn won US$20 million in defamation damages on Monday after he was accused of planning to have a businessman killed and buried in the desert over a bad gambling debt. Wynn was awarded the damages after taking legal action against Joe Francis, founder of the entertainment group Girls Gone Wild. The week-long trial heard evidence from both men, as well as legendary music producer Quincy Jones. Francis first made the comments in court in April 2010 — where they were immune from legal action. That trial was about a US$2 million gambling debt, which Francis allegedly ran up at one of Wynn’s Las Vegas casinos, but he was accused of repeating them once outside court when he was overheard by an online gossip reporter and again on a recent morning TV show.
UNITED STATES
Hackers hit Web site firm
A member of a hacker collective claimed credit on Monday for downing the Web hosting firm GoDaddy, which manages millions of Web sites around the world. Credit was claimed on Twitter by AnonymousOwn3r, identified as the “security leader” of the loosely organized hacker group known as Anonymous. When some news sites blamed the attack on Anonymous, the same individual responded on Twitter by saying: “it is not Anonymous coletive it’s only me don’t use Anonymous coletive name on it, just my name.”
SINGAPORE
UK royals start Asia tour
Britain’s Prince William and his wife, Catherine, arrived in the city state on Tuesday to start a Southeast Asian and Pacific tour marking Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee. The nine-day trip through Singapore, Malaysia, the Solomon Islands and Tuvalu is to feature sentimental stops as well as the former Kate Middleton’s first overseas speech as she settles into her duties with the British monarchy. The glamorous couple’s first visit will be to Singapore’s Botanic Gardens.
‘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