FRANCE
Ships in demand: minister
Minister of Defense Jean-Yves le Drian yesterday said that “several” countries had expressed an interest in buying its Mistral-class warships, after Paris refused to deliver them to Russia because of the Ukraine crisis. “A certain number of countries — there are several — have made their interest known for these boats,” Le Drian told RTL radio. Late on Wednesday, President Francois Hollande announced that he had clinched a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin to withhold the warships in exchange for compensation. The deal was worth about 1.2 billion euros (US$1.3 billion), but it hit the rocks over Russia’s perceived aggression in eastern Ukraine. Le Drian declined to say exactly how much the nation had repaid Russia, but said Paris could now press on with talking to other interested parties.
UNITED STATES
Obama names IAEA envoy
With tricky implementation of the Iran nuclear deal now beginning, President Barack Obama on Wednesday nominated a senior White House adviser as envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Obama named Laura Holgate — a special assistant responsible for weapons of mass destruction, terrorism and threat reduction — to go to Vienna. The IAEA is to play a key role in monitoring Iran’s nuclear activities under a deal that relieves Iran of sanctions in return for curbs on the country’s nuclear material enrichment activity. Iran must report on the possible military dimensions of its past nuclear program to the IAEA by mid-October. The Vienna-based organization is to decide whether a full accounting has been made in order for an initial batch of sanctions to be lifted.
ZIMBABWE
Court postpones Cecil trial
A court on Wednesday postponed until Sept. 28 the trial of a local hunter accused of failing to stop US dentist Walter Palmer from illegally killing the country’s most prized lion last month. Theo Bronkhorst was arrested last week and charged with breaching hunting rules when he helped Palmer lure Cecil out of Hwange National Park and shoot him with a bow and arrow. Bronkhorst has yet to plead in court, but has publicly denied any wrongdoing. He appeared for the short hearing in Hwange, where his lawyer requested the adjournment. Givemore Muvhiringi said another attorney who was meant to argue the case was unavailable and that the defense needed more time to prepare for the trial. If convicted, Bronkhorst faces a fine of US$20,000 and up to 10 years in jail. Local game park owner Headman Sibanda also appeared before a different magistrate in the same court, charged with “permitting an illegal hunt” of another lion in April. Sibanda was not asked to plead and was released on US$300 bail.
UNITED STATES
Legionnaires’ toll hits eight
The death toll in a New York City outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease has risen to eight, out of a total of 97 cases of infection, city authorities said on Wednesday. The eight people were all “older adults” who had other medical problems as well as Legionnaires, the authorities said. The total number of infections was up by 11 from the previous day’s tally. However, the most severe Legionnaires’ outbreak recorded in the city has passed its peak, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said. Of the 92 people hospitalized in the outbreak, 48 have been treated and returned home.
POLAND
Duda sworn in as president
Conservative lawyer Andrzej Duda, backed by the main opposition Law and Justice party, yesterday was sworn in as the nation’s sixth president since its transition to communism in 1989. In May, Duda won a surprise victory in the presidential ballot, defeating Bronislaw Komorowski, who was seeking reelection as the candidate of the ruling Civic Platform party. Duda’s election pledges included cutting the retirement age, raising the tax-free income threshold and paying child benefits. While the prime minister has the most powers in the nation, the president wields clout as head of the armed forces, has a say in foreign policy and the power to propose and veto legislation.
CHINA
Gao Yu in poor health
Imprisoned journalist Gao Yu (高瑜) is in poor health and was recently taken to a hospital for examination, her lawyer Mo Shaoping (莫少平) said yesterday. Gao is serving a seven-year sentence on charges of leaking a document detailing the Chinese Communist Party leadership’s resolve to aggressively target civil society and press freedoms seen as threats to the party’s monopoly on power. Mo said Gao was taken to Beijing’s Anzhe Hospital last week, and diagnosed with cardiovascular disease and high blood pressure. He said Gao was given medication to control her condition. Mo said he applied last week for medical parole on Gao’s behalf that would allow her to serve the rest of her sentence at home. He said it was unclear whether that would be granted.
INDONESIA
Bali airport closes again
Authorities yesterday ordered a shutdown of the airport in Denpasar, Bali, sparking flight cancelations and travel misery during peak holiday season. Ministry of Transportation spokesman J. Barata said Ngurah Rai International Airport would be closed for several hours from midday due to ash drifting from Mount Raung on Java Island. Australian carriers Jetstar and Virgin Australia announced they were canceling flights in and out of Bali yesterday. The closure was the fourth shutdown of the airport in recent weeks due to the volcano, which has been spewing ash and lava since late June. The disruption has come during peak holiday season, leaving thousands of tourists stranded. The most serious disruption was from July 9 to 12, when two closures forced almost 900 flights to be canceled or delayed and created a backlog that took days to clear.
AUSTRALIA
Twenty boats turned back
Twenty asylum-seeker boats carrying 633 people have been turned back since 2013, officials said yesterday, as the nation marked a year since a successful arrival under its hardline immigration policies. The conservative government has taken a tough line to stop the flow of “boatpeople” since coming to power in September 2013, turning back vessels when possible in military-led operations. Those that do arrive on land are denied permanent settlement. Immigration Minister Peter Dutton said that last month marked one year since a boat carrying asylum seekers had successfully arrived, with 20 turned back. “We have had 633 people that would have arrived otherwise on those ventures,” he said. A Vietnamese boat was the latest known attempt, with 46 Vietnamese asylum seekers intercepted and sent home last month. Dutton did not reveal what happened to them after they were returned home, only saying that they “arrived back safely.”
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
IN PURSUIT: Israel’s defense minister said the revenge attacks by Israeli settlers would make it difficult for security forces to find those responsible for the 14-year-old’s death Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday condemned the “heinous murder” of an Israeli teenager in the occupied West Bank as attacks on Palestinian villages intensified following news of his death. After Benjamin Achimeir, 14, was reported missing near Ramallah on Friday, hundreds of Jewish settlers backed by Israeli forces raided nearby Palestinian villages, torching vehicles and homes, leaving at least one villager dead and dozens wounded. The attacks escalated in several villages on Saturday after Achimeir’s body was found near the Malachi Hashalom outpost. Agence France-Presse correspondents saw smoke rising from burned houses and fields. Mayor Amin Abu Alyah, of the