UNITED KINGDOM
Police arrest three suspects
Police arrested three men in south Wales over last week’s bombing of a busy commuter train in west London, meaning five people are now being questioned by detectives over the attack that injured 30 people. A 25-year-old man was arrested on Tuesday evening in Newport, while two others, aged 48 and 30, were detained at another address in the Welsh town early yesterday, London police said. “This continues to be a fast-moving investigation. A significant amount of activity has taken place since the attack on Friday,” said Dean Haydon, head of the Metropolitan Police Service’s Counter Terrorism Command.
RUSSIA
Lavrov laughs off ‘paranoia’
Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday scoffed at the suggestion that the US might have to defend Sweden against a Russian attack, even though Sweden is not a member of NATO. In an interview with The Associated Press, Lavrov was asked about a statement made by US Secretary of Defense James Mattis in May that the US would “stand with Sweden” in the event of Russian aggression in Europe. “I cannot address paranoidal statements... I heard that the Swedish government is afraid of something, that the German government is keeping its fingers crossed and is thankful to us that one week before the election we haven’t yet meddled with the election. There are so many fantasies that it’s a waste of time to pay attention to. It’s so fake,” Lavrov said.
UNITED STATES
Mueller talks to Rosenstein
Special counsel Robert Mueller’s office has interviewed Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein about President Donald Trump’s firing of former FBI director James Comey, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday. Citing unnamed people familiar with the investigation, the newspaper said the interview occurred in June or July. Mueller is looking into allegations of Russian meddling in last year’s presidential election; possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia; and whether Trump might have obstructed justice by firing Comey in May. Mueller ultimately reports to Rosenstein, because Attorney General Jeff Sessions has recused himself from the probe.
UNITED STATES
Nursing home resident dies
Police said a ninth person has died nearly a week after the evacuation of a Florida nursing home that Hurricane Irma left without air-conditioning. Hollywood Police Department spokesman Miranda Grossman said in a news release that a 93-year-old man who had been a patient at the Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills died on Tuesday. A total of 145 patients had to be moved out of the facility. Authorities have launched a criminal investigation to figure out what went wrong and who, if anyone, was to blame.
UNITED STATES
Clinton pokes fun at Putin
When former secretary of state Hillary Rodham Clinton on Tuesday night took the guest’s seat on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, she was in a mood to put Russian President Vladimir Putin on the psychiatrist’s couch. Clinton said Putin interfered in the presidential election in part because of her work as secretary of state, which brought the two into conflict on various occasions. That evolved into a grudge on his part, she said, adding that the fact she is a woman “does seem to get him agitated.” She mocked Putin for “manspreading” at one meeting, referring to an aggressive posture where a man sits with legs splayed.
SEEKING CHANGE: A hospital worker said she did not vote in previous elections, but ‘now I can see that maybe my vote can change the system and the country’ Voting closed yesterday across the Solomon Islands in the south Pacific nation’s first general election since the government switched diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing and struck a secret security pact that has raised fears of the Chinese navy gaining a foothold in the region. The Solomon Islands’ closer relationship with China and a troubled domestic economy weighed on voters’ minds as they cast their ballots. As many as 420,000 registered voters had their say across 50 national seats. For the first time, the national vote also coincided with elections for eight of the 10 local governments. Esther Maeluma cast her vote in the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
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
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was