BANGLADESH
Missing men sought
Police are trying to determine the whereabouts of at least 260 young men who have been missing for a year or more, a security officer said yesterday, as part of an effort to track militants after the July 1 attack on a Dhaka cafe that left 22 people dead.
Three of the attackers were from affluent Dhaka homes who had broken off contact with their families months ago. In the days after the attack, the government appealed to families to contact authorities if their sons had disappeared. Mufti Mahmud Khan, head of the Rapid Action Battalion’s legal and media wing, said a list of 260 missing young men had been compiled from reports from families and intelligence tip-offs, some of whom are sons of retired or serving army officials, bureaucrats and businessmen.
CHINA
Seaplane crash in Shanghai
An amphibious plane yesterday crashed into a highway bridge on the edge of Shanghai, killing at least five people. The plane, owned by charter airline Joy General Aviation, was taking off on a demonstration flight with 10 people on board, including the crew and journalists, when it hit the bridge in Jinshan District, “The Paper” media platform reported. The airline offers flights to nearby islands and sightseeing tours.
ZIMBABWE
Marchers back Mugabe
Supporters of the ruling party were marching in Harare in response to a series of recent protests against the government of 92-year-old President Robert Mugabe. The supporters sang and chanted slogans yesterday in support of Mugabe, who has been in power for 36 years. Discontent has been growing over the nation’s deteriorating economy, and alleged corruption and human rights abuses. A nationwide job boycott called via social media by a church pastor, Evan Mawarire, earlier this month received a huge response not seen in close to a decade. Mugabe on Tuesday criticized Mawarire for the first time publicly by name, urging him and his supporters to leave if they are unhappy with conditions.
INDONESIA
No ‘Poking’ for police
The government has ordered police not to play Pokemon Go while on duty and will soon ban military personnel as well, even though the game is not officially available in the nation. Minister of Defense Ryamizard Ryacudu yesterday said that the smartphone game was a security threat. “Spying can come in different forms,” he said. “At first, it appears cute, but the longer you see... it is just not right.” The presidential palace in Jakarta also prohibited playing the game around its premises.
INDONESIA
Alert after militant’s death
Security forces are on high alert for reprisal attacks after the nation’s most-wanted militant was killed this week, officials said yesterday. Police confirmed Santoso, among the first in the nation to pledge loyalty to the Islamic State group, was killed in a gunbattle with security forces on Sulawesi on Monday. Chief Security Minister Luhut Pandjaitan told reporters in Jakarta that operations would be intensified in regions considered hotbeds for radicalism.
UKRAINE
Car bomb kills journalist
Prominent journalist Pavel Sheremet was killed yesterday in Kiev. The nation’s top online news Web site, Ukrainska Pravda, said Sheremet died in an explosion as he got into his car to drive to work to anchor a radio talk show.
UNITED STATES
Garry Marshall dies at 81
Writer-director Garry Marshall, whose deft touch with comedy and romance led to a string of TV hits that included The Odd Couple, Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley and Mork and Mindy and the box office successes Pretty Woman and Runaway Bride, has died. Marshall, 81, died on Tuesday in a hospital in Burbank, California, of complications from pneumonia after having a stroke, his publicist, Michelle Bega, said in a statement.
ISRAEL
Knesset to allow expulsions
The Knesset passed a controversial law that allows the ouster of members accused of racial incitement, which critics have said is intended to target opposition Arab legislators. The bill, supported by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, allows parliament to vote to sack a member “who incites racism or supports armed struggle against the state of Israel.” The law, passed after a heated debate with 62 votes in favor, 47 against and several members absent, is to require 90 of the legislature’s 120 lawmakers to approve an expulsion. The legislation was put forward after three Arab-Israeli opposition lawmakers sparked controversy when they visited relatives of Palestinians killed by security forces after alleged attacks.
VENEZUELA
Progress made on recall
Opposition leaders on Tuesday said they had cleared another hurdle in their push for a referendum to recall President Nicolas Maduro this year with the election board’s validation of an initial signature drive. Several prominent members of the Democratic Unity coalition posted on Twitter documents purportedly from the National Electoral Council confirming they had validated nearly 400,000 signatures requesting the referendum. That would be twice the total needed to trigger the next stage in the painstaking process, which is to obtain nearly 4 million signatures asking for a vote to recall the unpopular socialist president.
UNITED STATES
Man charged for attacks
A man with a criminal record and history of mental illness was on Tuesday charged with a string of deadly attacks on sleeping homeless men in San Diego, California, two of whom were set on fire. Jon David Guerrero, 39, received a two-week extension on how to plea to charges of murder and attempted murder, a delay that ensured many questions would remain a mystery. Prosecutors did not provide information about a motive or weapons used in the attacks after Guerrero agreed to be held without bail for two weeks, meaning that prosecutors did not have to disclose details about the crimes to justify his incarceration.
UNITED KINGDOM
Pilots remanded to custody
Two Canadian pilots charged on suspicion of being drunk as they prepared to fly a passenger jet from Glasgow, Scotland, to Toronto on Monday were on Tuesday remanded to custody, the prosecutors’ office said. Jean-Francois Perreault, 39, and Imran Zafar Syed, 37, appeared in Paisley Sheriff Court in Paisley, Scotland. Neither man entered a plea during the private hearing and both were remanded in custody until their next appearance, which is to take place within eight days. Perreault, from Ontario, Canada, and Syed, from Toronto, were charged under Section 93 of the Railways and Transport Safety Act, which covers alcohol and drug limits in aviation. They also face charges relating to “threatening or abusive behavior,” according to details provided by the Crown Office.
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