UNITED STATES
Janet Reno dies at 78
Janet Reno, the nation’s first female attorney-general, who served eight tumultuous years with then-president Bill Clinton, has died aged 78, according to media reports. ABC News, citing Reno’s goddaughter, said she died from complications of Parkinson’s disease early yesterday in Florida. The Harvard Law graduate, who served as the top law enforcement official from 1993 to 2001, was the longest-tenured attorney general of the 20th century.
GAZA STRIP
Court rules in Abbas’ favor
The Constitutional Court, a body set up months ago by President Mahmoud Abbas, on Sunday ruled that he can revoke the parliamentary immunity of lawmakers, a move that effectively allows him to sideline rivals. A verdict issued on Sunday which was swiftly condemned by critics within Abbas’ Fatah faction and militant Muslim rivals, upheld his decree from 2012 when he lifted the immunity of a major rival, Mohammad Dahlan, and expelled him from Fatah. Gaza-born Dahlan is seen as a potential successor to Western-backed Abbas, 81. He now lives in self-imposed exile in Abu Dhabi, as he would face corruption charges if he returned to the territories.
UNITED KINGDOM
Prison riot ends
Authorities on Sunday put an end to a prison riot involving up to 200 inmates. Police, ambulance and fire services were called to the prison in Bedford, England, shortly before 5pm after the disturbance broke out. More than six hours later a Prison Service spokesperson said the incident had been “successfully resolved” by prison officers and the emergency services. “An investigation into this incident will take place. We are absolutely clear that prisoners who behave in this way will be punished and could spend significantly longer behind bars,” the spokesperson said.
FRANCE
Asian tourists reassured
The government plans to bring in more police units and surveillance cameras to reassure Asian tourists put off by robberies and militant attacks and avoid a sharp drop in visitor numbers, Le Figaro daily reported on Sunday. Tourism companies estimate that visitor numbers will fall by 4 to 5 percent this year due to deadly militant attacks, coupled with a spate of robberies targeting Asian tourists. Prime Minister Manuel Valls is to grant about 43 million euros (US$47.55 million) to fund security as well as an advertising campaign and measures to help restaurants and hotels, the report said, citing unnamed sources.
UNITED STATES
Pumpkin launcher explodes
A 39-year-old woman suffered critical injuries on Sunday after a cannon used to launch pumpkins into the air exploded at a large outdoor competition, Delaware State Police said. A 56-year-old man was also hurt with non-life-threatening injuries. Both had been struck by debris from the explosion. The incident occurred at the Punkin Chunkin Contest in Bridgeville. The competition involves dozens of contestants launching pumpkins from homemade contraptions, many of which are air-powered with long cannons and hauled on the back of trucks. Police said a trap door where pumpkins are loaded into the cannon “separated upon the launch of the pumpkin.” The door and other parts were blown into the air before striking the woman in the head and face.
AUSTRALIA
Diver found at sea
Rescuers yesterday hailed finding “a needle in a haystack” after plucking to safety a diver who had drifted more than 48km from his boat and survived a night near the Great Barrier Reef. The 68-year-old failed to return on Sunday from a solo dive at the SS Yongala wreck. A friend raised the alarm and a sea and air search found his boat on Sunday evening. He was spotted by a helicopter about 17 hours later after drifting more than 30 nautical miles (55.56km) in strong currents. Alan Griffiths was on the RAC Queensland Rescue helicopter that found the diver and was winched down to get him. “I said to him, ‘G’day mate, do you want a lift?’” Griffiths told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. “He said to me, ‘You should buy a lottery ticket,’ I was like, ‘No mate, you need to buy a lottery ticket.’”
HONG KONG
Judge instructs Jutting jury
Deputy High Court Judge Michael Stuart-Moore ordered the jury in British banker Rurik Jutting’s double murder trial not to allow its verdict to be influenced by emotions over the “dreadful acts” he has confessed to, but to “intellectually” weigh the evidence. Jutting has pleaded not guilty to murdering two Indonesian women in his apartment in 2014 on grounds of “diminished responsibility” due to alcohol and drug abuse and sexual disorders. He has pleaded guilty to manslaughter. The jury of four women and five men is due to decide its verdict today. Stuart-Moore told the jury that the fact that Jutting “has an appalling private life is neither here nor there.”
MYANMAR
British man sought in killing
A British teacher wanted by police after his colleague was found dead in his Yangon apartment has fled the country, the government said yesterday. Police said the 47-year-old victim, named as Briton Peter Gary Ferguson, was found dead on Sunday with wounds to his head and chest. His wife reportedly discovered the body inside an apartment belonging to his 25-year-old colleague, Harris Binotti. Police said the pair had been out drinking on Friday night. The Ministry of Information said Binotti had left the country on Sunday.
PHILIPPINES
De Lima petitions court
Senator Leila de Lima, who President Rodrigo Duterte has linked to the illegal drug trade and described as a “dirty woman” for an alleged affair with her driver, yesterday asked the Supreme Court to stop Duterte’s attacks. She says the petition she filed seeks to stop Duterte and his men from gathering information about her private life and disclosing it publicly, adding that the allegedly illegally obtained information should be destroyed. The petition is a test case because it challenges Duterte’s immunity from lawsuits. De Lima says she also asked that Duterte be compelled to identify the “foreign country” that he said helped him to “listen” to De Lima’s communications.
AUSTRALIA
Police open bag, find joey
A woman stopped by police on a Brisbane street on Sunday evening stunned the officers by telling them she had a baby koala in her bag. “Not quite believing their ears, the officers cautiously unzipped the bag and found this gorgeous boy,” Queensland police said. “The koala — believed to be about six months of age — seemed to be in good health, although a bit dehydrated.” The woman said she found the joey on Saturday night and had been caring for it since. It was handed to the RSPCA. The woman was subsequently arrested over “outstanding matters,” police said.
‘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