UNITED STATES
Mueller mulls Trump talks
Special counsel Robert Mueller has told President Donald Trump’s legal team that his office is likely to seek an interview with the president as part of its Russia probe, and one could take place within weeks, the Washington Post reported on Monday. The Post, citing a person close to Trump, said an interview on some limited portion of questions was possible within the next several weeks. Mueller brought up the issue of interviewing Trump during a meeting with the president’s lawyers late last month, the Post reported.
UNITED STATES
Spy satellite lost on launch
A spy satellite that was launched on Sunday from Cape Canaveral, Florida, aboard a SpaceX rocket failed to reach orbit and is assumed to be a total loss, two officials briefed on the mission said on Monday. The classified intelligence satellite, built by Northrop Grumman Corp, failed to separate from the second stage of the Falcon 9 rocket and is assumed to have broken up or plunged into the sea, said the two officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The satellite is assumed to be “a write-off,” one of the officials said.
ITALY
Mafia members arrested
About 200 members of one of the country’s most infamous mafia groups were arrested in an operation in Italy and Germany, police said yesterday. A statement from the paramilitary Carabinieri police said the operation had dismantled a major clan of the ’Ndrangheta organized crime group, which is based in the southern Calabria region. Police said the operation was carried out jointly with police in Germany. They said the clans of the Farao and Marincola families had infiltrated businesses in both countries, particularly those involved in wine, food, garbage collection and funeral services. A number of public officials were suspected of corruption, the statement said, without specifying if they were in Italy or both countries. About 50 million euros (US$59.79 million) in assets were seized.
UNITED STATES
Neo-Nazi faces 11-year term
Prosecutors are seeking a maximum 11-year sentence for a neo-Nazi group leader who stockpiled explosive material in the Florida apartment where a friend killed their two roommates, calling him an unrepentant ideologue who poses a serious danger once he gets out. The sentencing of 22-year-old Brandon Russell was scheduled for 9am yesterday in federal court in Tampa. Devon Arthurs, Russell’s friend, awaits trial in state court, accused of fatally shooting their two roommates, 18-year-old Andrew Oneschuk and 22-year-old Jeremy Himmelman, both of Massachusetts.
ROMANIA
PM fails to deliver reshuffle
Prime Minister Mihai Tudose on Monday failed to deliver the government reshuffle he planned as the powerful leader of his party ruled that any changes would have to wait until the end of the month. There has been mounting speculation in Bucharest that Tudose wants to replace Liviu Dragnea, the chairman of the Social Democratic Party, who is facing corruption charges, with a committee of regional leaders. In an open letter published in the country’s media, senior party member Nicolae Badalau urged colleagues to back efforts to make the party more democratic, to be run by “a collective party leadership.”
HONG KONG
Occupy leaders in court
Founders of the “Umbrella movement” in 2014 appeared in court yesterday in the latest case brought against activists. The nine defendants face public nuisance charges related to the demonstrations. Defense lawyers at a pre-trial review yesterday questioned why the three Occupy founders faced separate charges of conspiracy to commit public nuisance, incitement to commit public nuisance and incitement to incite public nuisance. Lawyer Gerard McCoy told the court it was “prosecution overload,” adding that a more appropriate charge would be unauthorized assembly.
CHINA
Emissions target mostly met
Twenty-seven of the 31 regions in 2016 met their greenhouse gas reduction targets aimed at combating global warming, the National Development and Reform Commission said in a notice on Monday. China is the world’s biggest source of greenhouse gases and in 2016 published a plan to accelerate the development of non-fossil fuel energy, tackle greenhouse gases in the agricultural sector and boost forest coverage. Among the regions rated as “excellent” were Beijing and Shanghai and the major manufacturing provinces of Zhejiang and Guangdong. However, Tibet, Qinghai, Guangxi and Liaoning all failed to implement their targets, the commission said.
CHINA
Up to 128,000 sites closed
The nation last year shut as many as 128,000 Web sites that contained obscene and other “harmful” information, Xinhua reported late on Monday, citing government data. Xinhua said 30.9 million illegal publications were confiscated, while 1,900 people were subject to criminal penalties, the data showed. Last year, major portals run by Tencent, Baidu and Weibo were reprimanded and fined by the Internet regulator for failing to properly censor content ahead of the Chinese Communist Party’s 19th National Congress.
THAILAND
PM replaces self with cutout
Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha on Monday evaded journalists’ questions by bringing out a life-sized cardboard cutout of himself and telling the reporters to quiz it instead of him. He then turned and walked off to bemused looks and awkward laughter from reporters. Prayuth had briefly spoken to the media after attending an event to promote Children’s Day, but applied the dodging tactic before anyone could ask him about a number of political issues. “If you want to ask any questions on politics or conflict, ask this guy,” he said. It is not the first time Prayuth has dumbfounded the media. In the past he has fondled the ear of a sound technician during an impromptu news conference, flung a banana peel at camera operators and threatened to execute any journalist who criticized his government.
HONG KONG
Ivory trader fined HK$8,000
The Eastern Magistrates’ Court yesterday found ivory trader Lau Sai Yuan guilty of illegal ivory possession and imposed a relatively light penalty of a HK$8,000 (US$1,023) fine less than two weeks after China implemented a total ban on ivory sales. Another trader, Huen Kwok Leung, pleaded not guilty and his trial was postponed to April. The maximum penalty is two years in jail. Lawmakers are considering a significant increase in penalties, with a fine of up to HK$10 million and imprisonment of up to 10 years. The territory has the largest retail market for ivory, which it has traded for more than 150 years.
CONFRONTATION: The water cannon attack was the second this month on the Philippine supply boat ‘Unaizah May 4,’ after an incident on March 5 The China Coast Guard yesterday morning blocked a Philippine supply vessel and damaged it with water cannons near a reef off the Southeast Asian country, the Philippines said. The Philippine military released video of what it said was a nearly hour-long attack off the Second Thomas Shoal (Renai Shoal, 仁愛暗沙) in the contested South China Sea, where Chinese ships have unleashed water cannons and collided with Philippine vessels in similar standoffs in the past few months. The China Coast Guard and other vessels “once again harassed, blocked, deployed water cannons, and executed dangerous maneuvers” against a routine rotation and resupply mission to
GLOBAL COMBAT AIR PROGRAM: The potential purchasers would be limited to the 15 nations with which Tokyo has signed defense partnership and equipment transfer deals Japan’s Cabinet yesterday approved a plan to sell future next-generation fighter jets that it is developing with the UK and Italy to other nations, in the latest move away from the country’s post-World War II pacifist principles. The contentious decision to allow international arms sales is expected to help secure Japan’s role in the joint fighter jet project, and is part of a move to build up the Japanese arms industry and bolster its role in global security. The Cabinet also endorsed a revision to Japan’s arms equipment and technology transfer guidelines to allow coproduced lethal weapons to be sold to nations
Thousands of devotees, some in a state of trance, gathered at a Buddhist temple on the outskirts of Bangkok renowned for sacred tattoos known as Sak Yant, paying their respects to a revered monk who mastered the practice and seeking purification. The gathering at Wat Bang Phra Buddhist temple is part of a Thai Wai Khru ritual in which devotees pay homage to Luang Phor Pern, the temple’s formal abbot, who died in 2002. He had a reputation for refining and popularizing the temple’s Sak Yant tattoo style. The idea that tattoos confer magical powers has existed in many parts of Asia
ON ALERT: A Russian cruise missile crossed into Polish airspace for about 40 seconds, the Polish military said, adding that it is constantly monitoring the war to protect its airspace Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, and the western region of Lviv early yesterday came under a “massive” Russian air attack, officials said, while a Russian cruise missile breached Polish airspace, the Polish military said. Russia and Ukraine have been engaged in a series of deadly aerial attacks, with yesterday’s strikes coming a day after the Russian military said it had seized the Ukrainian village of Ivanivske, west of Bakhmut. A militant attack on a Moscow concert hall on Friday that killed at least 133 people also became a new flash point between the two archrivals. “Explosions in the capital. Air defense is working. Do not