IRAN
US dual citizen arrested
A US dual citizen has been arrested in Tehran, US media reported on Thursday, becoming the fourth known Iranian-American to be jailed in the country. Siamak Namazi, a Dubai-based businessman, was arrested earlier this month while visiting the capital, the Washington Post said, citing an unnamed family friend. “We’re aware of recent reports of the possible arrest in Iran of a US citizen. We’re looking into these reports and don’t have anything further to provide at this time,” a US senior administration official said.
UNITED STATES
Bad checks lead to warrant
The son of French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius is the subject of an arrest warrant for writing bad checks at a Las Vegas casino the night before his father assumed his position. Thomas Fabius, 33, wrote bad checks totaling more than US$3.5 million to cover gambling debts on the night of May 15, 2012, according to an arrest warrant obtained by AFP on Thursday. On May 16, 2012, his father was officially appointed France’s foreign minister. As a result of the warrant, issued in May 2013, the younger Fabius risks arrest if he sets foot in the US, a spokesman for Nevada’s Clark County said.
UNITED STATES
Bomb kit sales approved
The State Department has approved the sale of precision bomb kits valued at US$70 million to Turkey, a member of NATO and a key part of the coalition fighting Islamic State militants in Syria, the Pentagon said on Thursday. Lawmakers have 15 days to block the sale, although such action is rare. Once it has cleared that hurdle, Turkey and the federal government can negotiate the actual sale. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency, which oversees foreign arms sales, told lawmakers that the Turkish government had asked to buy 1,000 Joint Direct Attack Munition tail kits that are used to turn unguided bombs into all-weather smart munitions using GPS guidance systems.
SYRIA
US strike kills former rapper
A former German rapper who participated in propaganda videos for the Islamic State (IS) and sought to attract foreigners to the militant group has been killed in a US airstrike, two US officials said on Thursday. Born in Berlin, Denis Cuspert was once a popular rapper known by the name “Deso Dogg,” but he turned his focus toward militant Islam and joined IS in 2012. In one propaganda video in November last year, Cuspert was shown holding a severed head he claimed belonged to a man executed for opposing the IS. One of the US officials said Cuspert was believed to have been killed in a US airstrike on Oct. 16 along with two other individuals.
VATICAN CITY
Pope offers religious pardon
Pope Francis has granted a “plenary indulgence,” or religious pardon, to the Legion of Christ movement, provided its members perform acts of penance, Vatican Radio said on Thursday. The Legion of Christ has for years been beset by accusations of sexual abuse. The order’s founder, Mexican-born Marcial Maciel, stepped down in 2005 amid allegations of pedophilia and fathering several children. He died in 2008. The “jubilee” indulgence is offered to all the group’s members for a period beginning next month and concluding in June next year. However the “indulgence” comes with conditions attached. The announcement comes as Pope Francis prepares for his first visit to Mexico, the bastion of the Legion of Christ.
‘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