GREECE
Dog foils escape attempt
It is one thing to be a good watchdog, but one canine on the Greek island of Corfu has taken crime-busting to a new level. The dog, out for a morning walk with its owner, detected the presence of inmates digging a tunnel under his very paws, the ANA news agency reported on Saturday. The dog froze, clearly cocking an ear to suspicious sounds below and refused to budge, until finally its anxious owner decided to call the police. The doggy detective led police to discover a tunnel already several meters long — and the prisoners who were digging it.
MEXICO
Kidnap ends in car chase
Police said a foiled kidnapping led to a highway chase in which three police officers and five suspects were killed in southeastern Mexico. The Tabasco State Public Security Department said an officer was shot after spotting the attempted kidnapping in the state capital of Villahermosa. The attackers fled and exchanged fire with pursuing officers, killing two more. Finally their bullet-riddled vehicle crashed into a highway median ditch on Thursday. The department’s statement said three suspects were dead at the scene and two others were badly injured. They died as they were being taken to hospital. Local news media outlets reported the target of the would-be kidnapping apparently escaped with little harm. Police said they have arrested a woman who was with the gang of attackers.
BRAZIL
China immigrant ring busted
Immigration officers at Rio de Janeiro–Galeao International Airport are under investigation for allegedly accepting bribes to allow Chinese immigrants into the nation illegally, Brazilian newspaper O Globo reported on Saturday. The Public Prosecutors’ Office initiated the probe after a man who worked with the Chinese for the past 15 years tipped off the Ministry of Labor and Employment last month. “Chinese fast food restaurant owners in Rio — who recruit Chinese workers and maintain forced-labor-like conditions — would spend up to 42,000 reais [US$12,957] for an illegal immigrant’s entry,” the tipster’s report said, according to O Globo. The witness recounted one incident in which a fast-food restaurant owner who was part of the corruption ring arrived at the airport 20 minutes after the time arranged with immigration officials. Lacking payment, the officials had already sent the would-be immigrants back to China. According to information provided by the witness, the Chinese immigrants’ passports are stamped by the immigration workers then “lost” to erase the evidence. The Chinese immigrants then receive new passports.
UNITED STATES
Parachutists collide mid-air
Two parachutists were injured on Saturday after apparently colliding in mid-air while performing a stunt at an air show in Chicago, the US military said. One of the parachutists made a “hard landing” as he hit a building at the Chicago Air & Water Show, Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said. “Two parachutists, one may have been knocked unconscious or something in mid-air so he had a hard landing and hit a building,” Cook said. Donna Dixon, a spokeswoman for the US Army’s Golden Knights, told NBC affiliate WMAQ-TV that her team’s parachutist was in critical condition and underwent surgery. The other parachutist, from the US Navy’s Leap Frogs, broke his leg, the television station said.
THAILAND
Prince leads cycling event
Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn, 63, yesterday led tens of thousands of blue-clad cyclists through Bangkok in a rare high-profile public appearance at the “Bike for Mom” event — a celebration of the role of his mother, Queen Sirikit. Bangkok has been awash with blue T-shirts bearing the slogan “Bike for Mom” since her 83rd birthday on Wednesday — blue is the official color of the queen. The prince, in cycling lycra, helmet and sunglasses, was followed by a who’s who of key political players, including Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha and several other junta members. The 43km event, which is taking place across the kingdom, was aimed at breaking the world record of 72,919 people for a mass cycling event, which is currently held by Taiwan.
JAPAN
Poll shows Abe bounce
Support for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has bounced in the first poll conducted after he expressed “utmost grief” on Friday for the suffering Japan caused during World War II in a speech marking the 70th anniversary of the end of the war. In the survey by Kyodo news agency published on Saturday, support for Abe’s government rose to 43.2 percent from 37.7 percent in the previous poll last month. The disapproval rating fell 5.2 percentage points to 46.4 percent, although it still surpassed the support rate. The survey showed 44.2 percent of those polled viewed Abe’s 70th anniversary statement favorably, exceeding 37 percent who did not.
NEPAL
Demonstrators arrested
Police yesterday arrested dozens of demonstrators for trying to enforce a nationwide strike, the latest in a string of protests against the new constitution. “We have arrested 51 cadres in Kathmandu for trying to block roads, vandalize vehicles and close shops,” police spokesman Bishwo Raj Pokharel said. The nation’s bickering parties struck a breakthrough deal earlier this month to redraw internal borders in the draft new constitution, but several lawmakers and their supporters called a nationwide strike, saying the proposed borders discriminated against historically marginalized communities. “State reconstruction in the draft is far from the aspirations of the people,” said Pampha Bhusal, spokeswoman of CPN-Maoist.
Cambodia
Opposition senator indicted
Opposition Senator Hong Sok Hour could be jailed for 17 years after a court charged him yesterday over the posting of a disputed document on social media about the border with Vietnam. He was arrested on Saturday, days after Prime Minister Hun Sen accused him of committing treason by posting a “doctored” version of an old treaty about the border on Facebook. The legal move follows an uptick in the campaign by the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) to combat alleged encroachment by Vietnam. Hong Sok Hour belongs to a CNRP-affliated party. In a rare Sunday sitting a Phnom Penh court charged the senator with “falsifying public documents, using fake public documents, incitement causing unrest.”
PAKISTAN
Former spy boss praised
Tributes from Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and others poured in yesterday for former military spy chief Lieutenant General Hamid Gul, who spent a career promoting Islamic militancy in Afghanistan and India. Legislator Arif Alvi tweeted that Gul had died on Saturday night of a brain hemorrhage at age 79 and called him “a great man.”
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
A top Vietnamese property tycoon was on Thursday sentenced to death in one of the biggest corruption cases in history, with an estimated US$27 billion in damages. A panel of three hand-picked jurors and two judges rejected all defense arguments by Truong My Lan, chair of major developer Van Thinh Phat, who was found guilty of swindling cash from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) over a decade. “The defendant’s actions ... eroded people’s trust in the leadership of the [Communist] Party and state,” read the verdict at the trial in Ho Chi Minh City. After the five-week trial, 85 others were also sentenced on
‘DELUSIONAL’: Targeting the families of Hamas’ leaders would not push the group to change its position or to give up its demands for Palestinians, Ismail Haniyeh said Israeli aircraft on Wednesday killed three sons of Hamas’ top political leader in the Gaza Strip, striking high-stakes targets at a time when Israel is holding delicate ceasefire negotiations with the militant group. Hamas said four of the leader’s grandchildren were also killed. Ismail Haniyeh’s sons are among the highest-profile figures to be killed in the war so far. Israel said they were Hamas operatives, and Haniyeh accused Israel of acting in “the spirit of revenge and murder.” The deaths threatened to strain the internationally mediated ceasefire talks, which appeared to gain steam in recent days even as the sides remain far
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