UNITED KINGDOM
Jonathan Sacks honored
Jonathan Sacks, Britain’s chief rabbi from 1991 to 2013, was awarded the Templeton Prize on Wednesday for his efforts to counter religious extremism and violence while “affirming life’s spiritual dimension,” the organizers of the award said. The US-based John Templeton Foundation awarded Sacks, 67, one of the world’s richest prizes, worth about US$1.5 million.
SPAIN
Socialist Party blocked
The Socialist Party on Wednesday lost its first attempt to form a government, falling far short of the parliamentary votes needed ahead of a second ballot set for today. The Socialists, led by Pedro Sanchez got just 130 votes, with 219 against and one abstention after the conservative Popular Party led by Acting Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and the far-left newcomer Podemos party joined with several small regional parties to block Sanchez from becoming prime minister.
UNITED STATES
Trump death threat probed
A student from Egypt is facing deportation after being investigated by federal agents for posting on his Facebook page that he was willing to kill Donald Trump and the world would thank him. Emadeldin Elsayed, 23, was arrested by immigration authorities in California last month at the Los Angeles-area flight school he attended. He faces a deportation hearing today. Elsayed has called the post “stupid” and said he wrote it because he was angered by Trump’s comments about Muslims. He said he immediately regretted it and he never intended to harm anyone. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said Elsayed was arrested because he violated the terms of his visa.
EGYPT
Parliament expels lawmaker
Parliament on Wednesday expelled well-known television personality-turned-lawmaker Tawfik Okasha over a dinner he had with Israeli Ambassador Haim Koren. Okasha said that he had wanted to lobby Koren over the Grand Renaissance Dam being built by Ethiopia. Parliament Speaker Ali Abdel-Al said Okasha was punished for meeting a foreign diplomat without permission.
UNITED STATES
Man admits killings
A hospital orderly on Wednesday pleaded guilty to abducting and killing two Virginia college students, wrapping up a mystery that began in 2009 when one of the women disappeared from a Metallica concert. The other young woman, an 18-year-old, vanished in 2014. Along the way, investigators solved a 2005 rape case and used DNA evidence to tie all three cases to Jesse LeRoy Matthew Jr, 34. Prosecutors dropped a capital murder charge that could have resulted in the death penalty and Matthew agreed to a sentence of four consecutive life terms. He is already serving three life terms for the rape case.
JORDAN
Slain men linked to IS
Seven men killed in armed clashes with special forces had ties to the Islamic State (IS) group and had planned attacks on military and civilian targets in the kingdom, the intelligence service said on Wednesday. The confrontations, sparked by an arrest raid, took place late on Tuesday in the city of Irbid. The men killed in the raid wore explosives belts, and weapons and explosives were found at the scene, according to the intelligence agency. A military officer was also killed in the clashes.
TURKEY
Women attack police bus
Two women yesterday opened fire and threw grenades at a riot police bus as it arrived at a station in an Istanbul suburb. The police returned fire, injuring one of the women, before tracking them to a nearby building, and “neutralizing them,” the official Anatolia news agency said, quoting police sources said. No casualties were reported at the bus station.
HONG KONG
Bail for Mighty Current trio
Three of five missing men linked to Mighty Current (巨流) publishing house will be freed on bail soon while Chinese authorities continue their investigation, police said in a brief notice late on Wednesday. They that said they were informed by the public security department in Guangdong Province that Lui Por (呂波), Cheung Chi Ping (張志平) and Lam Wing Kee (林榮基) are to be “released on bail pending investigation in the coming few days.” The statement did not say whether they would be allowed to return home or would have to remain in China.
SOUTH KOREA
Cho’s film tops box office
Spirits’ Homecoming, a film based on the horrors experienced by “comfort women” in Japanese military brothels during World War II that took 14 years and the contributions of 75,000 donors to complete, is at the top of the nation’s box office list. In the first week of its Feb. 24 release, Spirits’ Homecoming, directed by Cho Jung-rae, topped sales at the CJ CGV and Megabox chains, and drew a total of 1,735,174 viewers, the Korean Film Council said.
THAILAND
Politician charged over post
A politician has been charged with breaking computer crimes law after he accused a senior general of making sexist remarks about former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra, police said yesterday. Former commerce minister Watana Muangsook, a member of Yingluck’s Puea Thai Party, criticized the ruling junta’s deputy leader, General Prawit Wongsuwan, in a Facebook post over his remarks that soldiers photograph Yingluck because she is pretty. “We have warned many times,” Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha told reporters in response to questions about Watana being charged. “Don’t say anything that causes divisions.”
HONG KONG
Wong defends protests
Joshua Wong (黃之鋒) and Nathan Law (羅冠聰) yesterday took the stand over charges relating to mass pro-democracy rallies in 2014, defending the movement as “peaceful.” Wong, 19, Law and Alex Chow (周永康) have been charged with taking part in an unlawful assembly and inciting others to join it. All three have pleaded not guilty. “I have always followed the principles of peacefulness, rationality and non-violence,” Wong told the magistrates court. “Every person in Hong Kong should have the right to organize protests, marches or public assembly.”
THAILAND
Fake sunglasses seized
Police seized nearly 1 million pairs of fake designer sunglasses in a series of raids against a counterfeiting gang in which two Chinese nationals were arrested, investigators said yesterday. A man and a woman were detained at a warehouse where much of the contraband was uncovered in Bangkok’s Chinatown district, the Department of Special Investigation said. Ray-Ban, Oakley, Louis Vuitton and Dior were among the labels that the gang had faked. Parts for the fake designer goods were manufactured in China, but assembled locally, an investigator 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