UNITED NATIONS
IAEA report clears Iran
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Thursday reported that it has found no violations of a deal meant to crimp Tehran’s ability to make atomic arms. However, touching on one potentially sensitive area, the agency said that Iran had begun manufacturing rotor tubes for centrifuges. For the 5,060 low-tech centrifuges now producing limited amounts of fuel-grade enriched uranium in Iran, Tehran must use spare parts stripped from old or idle machines. In a report obtained by The Associated Press, the atomic energy agency said it wants to keep a close eye on how many rotor tubes are being made and for what models of centrifuges, to make sure they are being produced only in quantities and for machines allowed under last year’s nuclear agreement.
SWEDEN
Stockholm not wooing NATO
The government yesterday reiterated its stance that the country should not seek NATO membership, following an opposition push to join the military alliance in light of increased tensions with Russia in the Baltic region. As part of a defense agreement between the center-left government and three opposition parties the government had commissioned a report evaluating the country’s defense and security stance. While the report is still to be published later today, the government said the nation would not change its long tradition of neutrality by joining the organization.
HONDURAS
Sixth suspect arrested
Authorities said they have arrested the sixth, and last, suspect among those sought for allegedly carrying out the killing of environmental activist Berta Caceres last March. Caceres led the defense of the Gualcarque River, which is considered sacred by the Lenca people, and her fight succeeded in blocking the proposed Agua Zarca hydroelectric dam. The activist, who had been awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize for her work to preserve land, was shot to death on March 3 by assailants who invaded her home. Announcing the latest arrest, Ricardo Castro, head of Honduras’ criminal investigation unit, identified the suspect as 21-year-old Elvin Heriberto Rapalo Orellana, also known as “El Comanche.”
UNITED STATES
Man hid wealth, police say
Police said an Ohio man who claims he is worth US$120 million and is the son of a late Iranian prince hid his wealth in order to collect food stamp payments and Medicaid. WKYC-TV reported (http://on.wkyc.com/2cytPTL) authorities last week raided the sprawling, 743m2 suburban Cleveland home of Ali Pascal Mahvi. For two years Mahvi’s family collected about US$300 per month in food stamps. They also received Medicaid. However, officials said the family has numerous bank accounts with a combined value of more than US$4 million that were not disclosed when he applied for benefits.
UNITED STATES
Grackles fall from the sky
Health officials in Massachusetts are trying to figure out what caused a large flock of birds to fall out of the sky and onto a Boston street. NECN (http://bit.ly/2cdLHTc) reported that 46 songbirds were found on Thursday in the city’s Dorchester neighborhood. Some of the grackles were found dead, while others were sick. The Animal Rescue League of Boston said it went to the neighborhood after residents reported birds falling from the sky and a sick cat. The cat was later euthanized.
‘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
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
RIVER TRAGEDY: Local fishers and residents helped rescue people after the vessel capsized, while motorbike taxis evacuated some of the injured At least 58 people going to a funeral died after their overloaded river boat capsized in the Central African Republic’s (CAR) capital, Bangui, the head of civil protection said on Saturday. “We were able to extract 58 lifeless bodies,” Thomas Djimasse told Radio Guira. “We don’t know the total number of people who are underwater. According to witnesses and videos on social media, the wooden boat was carrying more than 300 people — some standing and others perched on wooden structures — when it sank on the Mpoko River on Friday. The vessel was heading to the funeral of a village chief in