AUSTRALIA
Charity funding suspended
Funding for relief group World Vision’s operations in the Palestinian Territories was suspended yesterday after allegations its Gaza representative funneled millions of US dollars to Hamas. Mohammad El Halabi, World Vision’s manager of operations in Gaza, was arrested by Israeli officials on June 15 while crossing the border into the enclave, which is under the de facto rule of Hamas, a group on the Israeli and US terrorism blacklists. A senior Israeli security official said Halabi, who has run the group’s Gaza operations since 2010, had been under extended surveillance and had confessed to siphoning off about US$7.2 million a year to Hamas.
NEW ZEALAND
Kiwifruit exports on hold
Lucrative kiwifruit exports to China have been suspended after authorities said they found a type of fungus that can cause rot on some shipments. Kiwifruit exporter Zespri said in a statement yesterday it hopes to have new pre-shipping protocols in place within days so it can resume exports. The development comes at a sensitive time in trade relations. China has been accused by countries around the world of flooding markets with cheap steel.
MALAYSIA
Rape case review urged
The government has called for a review of a case in which a rape suspect married his 14-year-old victim to avoid jail, following angry calls for reform by activists. Ahmad Syukri Yusuf, aged in his 20s, allegedly raped the girl, now 15, last year and faced up to 30 years in prison and a whipping, but a court on Borneo ruled last week it would not proceed with the case after it emerged Yusuf had married his alleged victim. Minister for Women, Family and Community Development Rohani Abdul Karim said the deputy public prosecutor will ask the High Court to review the case. She added authorities will in future prevent suspects accused of rape from marrying the alleged victim.
YEMEN
Peace talks made to wait
The UN special envoy to Yemen said on Thursday he plans to suspend peace talks between the country’s warring parties at the weekend but that negotiations will resume later. Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed has been mediating talks between President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi’s government and the Iran-backed Huthi rebels and their allies in Kuwait since April 21, without a major breakthrough. “We plan to hold the final session [of the talks] on Saturday [today],” the Mauritanian diplomat said in an interview on state-run Kuwait TV. “We are working on issuing a communique that will emphasise on the main points we have achieved.” The talks would resume later, he said, without providing a specific date or the location.
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
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
A prominent Christian leader has allegedly been stabbed at the altar during a Mass yesterday in southwest Sydney. Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was saying Mass at Christ The Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley just after 7pm when a man approached him at the altar and allegedly stabbed toward his head multiple times. A live stream of the Mass shows the congregation swarm forward toward Emmanuel before it was cut off. The church leader gained prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic, amassing a large online following, Officers attached to Fairfield City police area command attended a location on Welcome Street, Wakeley following reports a number