CHINA
Prosecutors investigate Sun
The country’s top prosecutors yesterday said they have opened a criminal investigation into the former Chinese Communist Party chief of Chongqing, who was expelled from the party earlier this year following corruption allegations. Sun Zhengcai (孫政才), who was once tipped to become a member of the party’s top leadership, has had a precipitous fall from grace since he was suddenly removed from office this summer. He is to be investigated for “accepting bribes,” according to a brief statement on the Web site of the Supreme People’s Procuratorate. The decision follows Sun’s expulsion from the party in September after an investigation by its disciplinary body found the politician had abused his position by taking bribes and trading power for sex.
UNITED STATES
Haley sides with accusers
Women who accused President Donald Trump of sexual misconduct “should be heard,” Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley said on Sunday, in an apparent divergence from the White House line. Trump — who was infamously caught on tape boasting about groping women — has faced more than a dozen allegations of sexual misconduct, which he and the White House have rejected. “Women who accuse anyone should be heard. They should be heard and they should be dealt with,” Haley said on CBS’ Face the Nation when asked how Trump’s accusers should be assessed.
INDIA
French journalist arrested
Police arrested a freelance French journalist in Kashmir for violating visa regulations after he was found filming for a documentary without permission, the city police chief said. Comiti Paul Edward was arrested late on Sunday in the Kothibagh area of Srinagar, the summer capital of Kashmir, Senior Superintendent of Police Imtiyaz Ismael Parray told reporters. Edward holds an Indian business visa valid until December next year, but the visa does not permit him to make a documentary on political or security related issues, the officer said. Edward was shooting a documentary on Kashmir and had met separatist leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, pellet gun victims and captured stone-pelting incidents in Srinagar, said a senior police official, who did not wish to be named.
HONDURAS
President leads vote recount
President Juan Orlando Hernandez maintained his lead in disputed election results after a partial recount, the head of the electoral tribunal said on Sunday. An official winner of the Nov. 26 election has still not been announced, and the small Central American nation of 10 million has been mired in uncertainty since the vote. “The result is consistent” with that which previously put Hernandez ahead by 1.6 percent, tribunal president David Matamoros said following the recount of 4,753 ballot boxes.
INDONESIA
Millions being vaccinated
Millions of children are being vaccinated this week as the country responds to a widespread diphtheria outbreak that has killed dozens, officials said yesterday. About 8 million children and teenagers across the Southeast Asian nation are to receive the shot to prevent further spread of the disease, which is caused by a bacterial infection. It can lead to breathing difficulties, heart failure, paralysis and even death if left untreated. Widespread incidents of the communicable disease are relatively rare in the country
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
A top Vietnamese property tycoon was on Thursday sentenced to death in one of the biggest corruption cases in history, with an estimated US$27 billion in damages. A panel of three hand-picked jurors and two judges rejected all defense arguments by Truong My Lan, chair of major developer Van Thinh Phat, who was found guilty of swindling cash from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) over a decade. “The defendant’s actions ... eroded people’s trust in the leadership of the [Communist] Party and state,” read the verdict at the trial in Ho Chi Minh City. After the five-week trial, 85 others were also sentenced on
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