YEMEN
President seeks ceasefire
President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi told the UN on Monday that he has asked the Saudi-led coalition to begin a seven-day ceasefire on Tuesday next week to coincide with UN-sponsored peace talks aimed at ending months of fighting that has killed nearly 6,000 people. “I have notified the leadership of the coalition of our intention to cease fire for a period of seven days, starting December 15 until December 21,” Hadi said in a letter to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. “This will coincide with the starting of consultations and will automatically be renewed upon commitment by the [Iran-backed] Houthis.”
SOMALIA
American leaves militants
An unidentified American citizen defected from militant group al-Shabaab and surrendered to authorities following clashes between pro-Islamic State fighters and al-Shabaab. “He told us that he had feared for his life, as he was being chased by a hit squad from the al-Qaeda-linked group of al-Shabaab,” Hussein Mohamed Barre, mayor of the port town of Barawe, said by telephone late on Monday. “He is white and emaciated because of the ordeal he [has] undergone.” Barre said friction within al-Shabaab’s ranks increased after some fighters pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group, leading to bloody confrontations.
AUSTRIA
Danube cash baffles police
Mystified police are trying to find out how more than 100,000 euros (US$108,230) in 100 and 500 euro notes came to be floating down an arm of the River Danube. Investigations have so far found no criminal act in the area in which such a sum of money had been lost, a Vienna police spokesman said. A young man who spotted the wet treasure on Saturday jumped into the river to retrieve it, the Oesterreich newspaper said. Bystanders thinking he was attempting to commit suicide alerted police, who arrived just as he was fishing out the money. He is now trying to claim a share.
HUNGARY
Tax collectors snare Santa
A Santa received a nasty surprise after tax inspectors posing as parents booked him for failing to invoice his seasonal gift-giving services. The Santa, who told his sad story to the TV2 channel on Sunday, said he was invited to a Budapest apartment by parents, who, as per local tradition, told him beforehand how the children behaved during the year. After singing, handing over presents and smiling for photographs, Santa, who traditionally visits children in Hungary on Dec. 6, was in for a shock after being paid. Called back into the apartment, the “parents” showed him their tax inspector identity cards and said he would be fined for not producing an invoice.
GERMANY
Boar adopted by cattle
A wild pig has decided to give up its “boaring” life — leaving the forest to live with a small herd of cattle. Farmer Dirk Reese told the DPA news agency on Monday that the boar, which he nicknamed “Banana,” has been living with the eight cattle for more than two months on his property north of Hamburg, not far from the Danish border. Reese said Banana has been effectively adopted by the cattle. “He’s fully integrated into the herd, which is fascinating,” he said. Banana has achieved something of a celebrity status in the area, so he is not worried that the boar’s life in an open pasture might make it easy prey for a hunter. “This pig has a special status,” he said.
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
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