ZIMBABWE
Grace Mugabe back home
Grace Mugabe and her husband, President Robert Mugabe, yesterday returned home from South Africa, despite calls that she be prosecuted for allegedly assaulting a young model at a luxury hotel in Johannesburg. A report by state broadcaster ZBC showed Grace Mugabe greeting government and military officials at the Harare airport after returning on an Air Zimbabwe flight with her husband, who had attended a summit of southern African leaders in Pretoria. South African police had issued a “red alert” at borders to ensure she did not leave undetected, but yesterday the South African government restricted all official comment on the matter to the police ministry.
AUSTRALIA
‘Anti-terror vehicle’ plan set
The government yesterday released a strategy to prevent vehicle terror attacks carried out in crowded public places. The report — commissioned after 86 people were killed in a truck attack in Nice, France, last year — gives venue operators a “toolkit” to work from when addressing terrorism concerns. The strategy offers businesses and local governments a guide to assessing how vulnerable their sites are to attacks, including from vehicles, and how to make them safer. Suggested steps include deterrent options like fencing and closed circuit cameras, delaying approaches such as trees and statues to slow down vehicles, and quick response staff.
RUSSIA
Stabber shot by police
From seven to eight people were wounded in a knife attack in the Siberian city of Surgut, criminal investigators said on Saturday, adding that the attacker had been shot dead by police. The Islamic State group said one of its fighters had carried out the attack, although a local law enforcement spokeswoman would not comment on whether police regarded the incident as terrorism-related.
PAKISTAN
Nun given state funeral
Ruth Pfau, a German nun who devoted her life to combatting leprosy, was buried on Saturday with full state honors, in an unprecedented service for a foreign Christian in the Muslim-majority country. Pfau, who died at the age of 87 on Aug. 10, arrived in Karachi in 1960. She was the founder of Marie Adelaide Leprosy Centre in Karachi. Working with the government, Pfau expanded leprosy treatment centers in more than 150 cities and towns nationwide, training doctors, treating thousands of victims and helping establish a national program to bring the disease under control. President Mamnoon Hussain attended the funeral service at St Patrick’s Cathedral in Karachi.
FRANCE
Scam artist arrested
A huckster sentenced for tricking dozens of local banks and businesses into handing over millions of euros has been arrested in Ukraine after a hunt lasting more than two years. Judicial sources and a lawyer for Gilbert Chikli, a 51-year-old Frenchman, said an extradition hearing was to be held yesterday after he was detained on Friday. He targeted 33 banks and businesses in 2005 and 2006, swindling a total of 60.5 million euros (US$71.15 million).
ROMANIA
Bishop resigns over tape
An Orthodox Church bishop has resigned after a video was released of him having sex with a 17-year-old student from his seminary, local media reports said. Corneliu Barladeanu, bishop of the city of Husi, maintains he is innocent.
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