AUSTRALIA
Boat feared sinking: official
Navy vessels were scrambling yesterday to locate an asylum seeker boat feared sinking off the Indian Ocean territory of Christmas Island, an official said. “Border Protection Command assets are currently conducting a search approximately 65 nautical miles northwest of Christmas Island for a possible foundered vessel,” a spokesman for Home Affairs Minister Jason Clare said. Vessels carrying asylum-seekers are regularly overcrowded with scores of people. The country is facing a steady influx of asylum-seekers arriving by boat, many paying people-smugglers for passage on leaky wooden vessels after fleeing their home countries. Hundreds have died making the treacherous journey over the past few years.
PHILIPPINES
Five gang suspects killed
Five men believed to be members of a crime gang were killed yesterday, and two of them beheaded in a suspected revenge attack, police said. Hooded gunmen broke into the shack where the gang was staying in the northern town of Bugallon and shot two of the men in the hands and feet, Senior Inspector Ryan Manongdo said. The gunmen then beheaded the two wounded men before shooting dead the three others, Manongdo added. A 14-year-old boy who was related to all five men witnessed the grisly attack, but was unharmed, police said. “The victims were allegedly engaged in illegal activities,” the police spokesman said. Manongdo said police were looking into the possibility that the killings were carried out by a family previously targeted by the gang.
PHILIPPINES
Hero dog returns from US
The dog that lost half her face saving the lives of two girls has returned home after treatment in the US. Filipino veterinarian Anton Lim who accompanied the dog — named Kabang — yesterday said the mixed-breed whose snout and upper jaw had been sheared off was treated at the University of California, Davis, veterinary hospital for seven months with US$27,000 in donations. Kabang suffered the massive injuries in December 2011 when she jumped into the path of a motorcycle, stopping it from running over her owner’s daughter and niece. Kabang won widespread sympathy because of her injuries from what has been described as a heroic act.
PAKISTAN
Drone strike kills 7: officials
A suspected US drone strike killed seven militants near the Afghan border on Friday, intelligence officials said. The missiles struck a compound in Mangrothi village in the Shawal area, along the border dividing the North and South Waziristan tribal regions, the two officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information. Many Pakistanis oppose US drone strikes because they say the strikes kill large numbers of innocent civilians — something the US denies — and end up breeding more extremism by those seeking retribution. The country’s new prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, who was sworn in on Wednesday, has lashed out against the US drone program. During his campaign, he sometimes criticized the US and its policy of using drones to kill militants in the country’s tribal areas. Speaking to parliament earlier this week, he once again called for an end to the drone policy. “This daily routine of drone attacks, this chapter shall now be closed,” Sharif said to widespread applause. “We do respect others’ sovereignty. It is mandatory on others that they respect our sovereignty.”
UNITED STATES
Man indicted on 329 counts
A grand jury on Friday handed up hundreds of charges against a man accused of holding three women captive for a decade, including one count for the death of the unborn child of one of the victims, local media reported. Ariel Castro, 52, accused of kidnapping and sexually abusing his hostages for a decade at his home in Cleveland, Ohio, was indicted on 329 counts related to the crimes, local news reports said. A 142-page indictment included one act of aggravated murder for allegedly causing the unlawful termination of the pregnancy of one of his captives. Prosecutors have alleged that the woman miscarried as a result of beatings by Castro, and have said that they may seek the death penalty against him. Last month, the three women — Gina DeJesus, Michelle Knight and Amanda Berry — were freed from Castro’s house, as was the young daughter that one of the women gave birth to during her captivity.
UNITED STATES
Army general suspended
The commanding general of US Army forces in Japan was suspended on Friday due to allegations he failed to properly investigate a sexual assault complaint, the Pentagon said. The suspension came as the military seeks to crack down on the problem of sexual assault following a jump in reports of unwanted sexual contact in the services and a spate of embarrassing assault cases that have raised questions about the military’s ability to deal with the problem. Major General Michael Harrison “was suspended ... due to allegations that Harrison failed in his duties as a commander to report or properly investigate an allegation of sexual assault,” the Pentagon said in a statement. The Pentagon did not immediately release further details on the sexual assault case in question. Army spokesman George Wright said there were no allegations of sexual misconduct against Harrison. While a number of officers have been suspended in recent months in sexual assault-related cases, Harrison’s was the first in which an officer was suspended for failing to properly investigate a case.
PERU
Fujimori denied pardon
President Ollanta Humala on Friday denied a request to pardon former president Alberto Fujimori, who is serving a 25-year sentence for human rights abuses committed during a 1990s war against leftist guerrillas. Humala — who as a young army major led an abortive coup against Fujimori in 2000 — accepted a special committee’s recommendation against granting the aging former leader a pardon on humanitarian grounds. “Having examined the concept of what is repentance, especially for corruption and human rights crimes, I have come to the conclusion that I will not grant a pardon,” Humala said at a press conference.
CANADA
Radiohead promoter charged
Authorities have charged the promoter of a Radiohead concert with safety violations in connection with a stage collapse that killed the band’s drum technician and injured three other crew members. The Ontario Ministry of Labor on Friday charged that Live Nation Canada Inc and Live Nation Ontario Concerts GP Inc, as well as Optex Staging and Services failed to ensure the stage structure was being built in a safe manner. Part of the massive outdoor structure came crashing down on June 16 last year at Toronto’s Downsview Park during setup for the concert, killing British drum technician Scott Johnson.
‘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
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
RIVER TRAGEDY: Local fishers and residents helped rescue people after the vessel capsized, while motorbike taxis evacuated some of the injured At least 58 people going to a funeral died after their overloaded river boat capsized in the Central African Republic’s (CAR) capital, Bangui, the head of civil protection said on Saturday. “We were able to extract 58 lifeless bodies,” Thomas Djimasse told Radio Guira. “We don’t know the total number of people who are underwater. According to witnesses and videos on social media, the wooden boat was carrying more than 300 people — some standing and others perched on wooden structures — when it sank on the Mpoko River on Friday. The vessel was heading to the funeral of a village chief in