UNITED NATIONS
FARC mission approved
The Security Council on Tuesday approved the deployment of a UN political mission to monitor a cease-fire between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). The resolution unanimously approved authorizes a mission made up of 450 observers and a number of civilians to be deployed in 40 widely dispersed locations to oversee the laying down of arms by the FARC and other aspects of the agreement. Diplomats said the mission should be in place when the two parties sign a formal peace agreement on Sept. 26 in Cartagena and when the deal goes to a national referendum on Oct. 2.
UNITED STATES
Israel military granted funds
Washington is to provide Israel’s military with US$38 billion during the next 10 years, officials said on Tuesday, the largest batch of military assistance the government has ever pledged to another country. Following months of behind-the-scenes negotiations, the Department of State said the two countries had reached a 10-year agreement, with a signing ceremony planned for yesterday. Neither side has disclosed the exact sum, but officials familiar with the deal said it totals US$3.8 billion per year — up from the US$3.1 billion Washington gave Israel annually under the previous 10-year deal. Under the agreement, Israel’s ability to spend part of the funds on Israeli military products will be gradually phased out, eventually requiring all of the funds to be spent on US military industries.
UNITED STATES
Trump disruptor enters plea
A British tourist who caused a security scare at a campaign rally for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in Las Vegas in June by trying to grab a gun from a police officer on Tuesday pleaded guilty to charges of illegal weapon possession and disorderly conduct, court papers showed. Michael Steven Sandford, 20, admitted as part of his plea deal with prosecutors that he had approached a policeman at the event, saying he wanted an autograph from the presidential candidate, then tried to pull the officer’s gun from his holster with both hands, the papers said. Each charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a US$250,000 fine, the Attorney’s Office said in a statement. Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 13.
UNITED STATES
Fresh Trump probe initiated
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman opened a fresh probe into Donald Trump’s charitable foundation to determine whether he is flouting state law. “We have been concerned that the Trump Foundation may have engaged in some impropriety,” Schneiderman said on CNN’s The Lead. “We have been looking into the Trump Foundation to make sure it’s complying with the laws that govern charities in New York.” Schneiderman’s earlier fraud case against Trump University is continuing along with two lawsuits by former students in San Diego.
UNITED STATES
Fantasy football loser walks
The punishment for a New Jersey man who finished last in his fantasy football league included a very public walk of shame and a pair of women’s underwear. Angelo Boemio, 42, marched down a roadway in Toms River wearing only women’s pink bikini bottoms and sneakers while hoisting a sign signifying his fantasy football misfortune. The pizzeria owner strolled along Route 9 for 10 minutes on Labor Day, inducing hilarity and horror in pedestrians and motorists.
CHINA
PLA has new logistics unit
The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has set up a new logistics support force as part of efforts to reform and modernize its forces, Xinhua news agency said late on Tuesday. The new joint logistics force would better support military operations, with support centers to be established in five cities, Xinhua said, including Shenyang, near the border with North Korea.
MALAYSIA
Massive protest scheduled
The nation’s leading political protest group yesterday announced plans for a seven-week roadshow capped by a Nov. 19 rally in the capital to demand Prime Minister Najib Raza’s resignation. The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections, which held a huge two-day demonstration last year seeking Razak’s ouster over corruption allegations, said the nationwide action, scheduled to begin on Oct. 1, was in response to the “repulsive magnitude” of a stunning graft scandal. “We cannot have a prime minister who steals money from the rakyat [people]. That cannot happen in this country,” coalition chair Maria Chin Abdullah told reporters.
INDONESIA
Militant leader captured
A senior figure from the East Indonesia Mujahidin group has been captured and one of the group’s members killed in a joint operation with the military, police said. Yesterday’s capture of Muhammad Basri is another blow to the militant group, based in the jungles of Central Sulawesi Province. National Police spokesman Boy Rafli Amar said police and military forces are still searching for the remaining 13 members of the group, including Ali Kalora, who is believed to have a key role. Karnavian said Basri was to be flown to Jakarta for questioning.
CHINA
Former statistics boss held
The former head of the National Bureau of Statistics, Wang Baoan (王保安), has been detained on suspicion of corruption, the state prosecutor said yesterday. Wang, a one-time deputy finance minister who became chief of the statistics bureau in the middle of last year, was last month accused by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of serious violations of discipline, including extravagance, abuse of power and selling power for sex. The state prosecutor said on its official microblog that it had launched a case against Wang, begun a formal investigation and adopted “coercive measures” against the former official, meaning he had been detained.
MALDIVES
‘Topple president talks’ held
Exiled opposition leader Mohamed Nasheed has said he is in talks with the former president, who repeatedly threw him in jail, to “legally topple” President Abdulla Yameen. Nasheed became the island nation’s first democratically elected president in 2008, but now lives in exile in London after he was jailed on terrorism charges that he says were politically motivated. In the past he has accused Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who ruled for 30 years and is still regarded as the power behind the throne, of being behind his downfall. However, on Tuesday he indicated he wanted to bury the hatchet with Gayoom, amid reports of a rift between the former strongman and his half-brother, Yameen. “Yameen’s days are numbered. He has lost the support of the people and the international community. We can restore democracy in the Maldives,” Nasheed told reporters in Colombo via a video link from London.
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