AUSTRALIA
Rescued koala released
For a stowaway who made a 16km journey squeezed in a wheel well of a vehicle, a koala was lucky to escape with just scratches. The driver of the four-wheel vehicle was unaware of the extra passenger until they arrived at their destination in the outskirts of Adelaide and he heard some unusual cries. After seeing the koala, he immediately called animal rescuers, who removed the wheel and eventually extricated the frightened, but very lucky animal. “You think you’ve seen it all. No, I’ve never seen anything like that and it’s absolutely incredible,” Fauna Rescue worker Jane Brister said. The koala suffered superficial injuries and was covered in grease from under the car. “She was crying a little bit, she was a little bit shaken, she was certainly in shock but I rushed her straight to the vet,” Brister said. After being cleaned up and monitored for a week, it was released back into the bush on Saturday.
PHILIPPINES
Troops take crucial hub
The military yesterday said it had captured the command center of Islamic State group supporters who have besieged Marawi for nearly four months. It said it had captured the center after a deadly battle that began on Saturday in a mosque and another building. “This enormous gain further weakened the terrorist group by denying them their erstwhile command and control hub,” military chief General Eduardo Ano said in a statement.
JAPAN
Abe mulling snap election
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is considering calling a snap election as early as next month to take advantage of an uptick in approval ratings and disarray in the main opposition Democratic Party, media reported yesterday. Abe’s ratings have recovered to the 50 percent level in some polls, helped by public jitters over North Korea’s missile and nuclear tests and recent Democrat defections. Abe told the head of his Liberal Democratic Party’s junior coalition partner, the Komeito party, that he could not rule out dissolving parliament’s lower house for a snap poll after the legislature convenes for an extra session from Sept. 28, public broadcaster NHK reported, citing unidentified sources.
MALAYSIA
Seven arrested over fire
Police have arrested seven suspects accused of intentionally starting a fire that killed 23 young boys and teachers at a Muslim school in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday, an official said on Saturday. The male suspects, aged 11 to 18, were detained overnight on Friday to early Saturday, police chief Amar Singh said. It is believed the suspects and the boys in the school had a disagreement, and those detained started the fire at the top-floor dormitory using gas canisters, Singh said.
CHINA
Nine charged over dumping
Authorities have charged nine people from a waste treatment facility with the dumping tens of thousands of tonnes of toxic waste into a section of the Yangtze River near Shanghai. The charges were filed on Friday in Changshu, Xinhua news agency reported. The dumping occurred between August and December last year. UNITED NATIONS
UN to help gather IS evidence
The Security Council is putting the final touches on a resolution that would authorize its investigators to help Iraq collect evidence to prosecute extremists from the Islamic State (IS) group for possible war crimes. A council diplomat on Saturday said the council hopes to vote on Thursday. The draft resolution would ask Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to establish an investigative team to assist Iraq in preserving evidence “that may amount to war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide” committed by IS. Iraqi Minister of Foreign Affairs Ibrahim al-Jaafari wrote to Guterres last month saying it was working on a draft resolution with Britain.
GREECE
Rapper fans teargassed
Police on Saturday fired tear gas at protesters who hurled Molotov cocktails in Athens during a rally marking four years since the killing of an anti-fascism rapper by an ultra-nationalist Golden Dawn supporter. The killing of Pavlos Fyssas, who performed under the stage name Killah P, led to an investigation into Golden Dawn for evidence linking it to violent attacks. A trial of party members is continuing. Clashes broke out on Saturday after dozens of hooded demonstrators broke off from a march of about 2,000 people toward the Golden Dawn offices. A second rally to mark Fyssas’ death anniversary on Sept. 18 has been called for today in the working-class neighborhood of Keratsini where he was stabbed to death.
SYRIA
Eastern suburb reclaimed
Government troops yesterday seized a suburb of the eastern city of Deir al-Zor, tightening the noose around IS militants, a military source said. The army and allied forces captured the al-Jafra district at the edge of Deir al-Zor City on the western bank of the Euphrates, a military source said. “They have no outlet except crossing the Euphrates toward the eastern bank and fleeing towards the desert, or [the towns of] al-Bukamal and al-Mayadin,” the source said.
CUBA
WFP to offer food rations
The UN World Food Programme (WFP) on Saturday said it was launching a US$5.7 million operation in the island nation to help feed nearly 700,000 people in areas most affected by Hurricane Irma. The WFP already had more than 1,600 tonnes of food pre-positioned around Cuba available to distribute and had funds to buy more. It is to start by distributing rations of rice and beans free of charge in the most vulnerable areas.
FRANCE
Reporter returns from Turkey
A young reporter, who had been held on terror charges in Turkey in a case that sparked tensions with Paris, yesterday arrived in Paris after being freed. Loup Bureau, 27, arrived on board an Air France jet at Charles de Gaulle Airport on a flight from Istanbul, Reporters without Borders said on Twitter. After his arrival, he was taken to a VIP suite where he was effusively greeted by his family and friends. Minister of Culture Francoise Nyssen was also there to welcome him. “I am very relieved to be back,” Bureau said. Bureau was detained on July 26 at the Habur border post in southeastern Sirnak Province on the border with Iraq. He was charged with membership of the Kurdish People’s Protection Units, a group that Ankara says is a terrorist organization. His release was announced on Friday after Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean-Yves Le Drian visited Ankara and lobbied on his behalf.
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