UNITED STATES
One Daniels suit dismissed
A federal judge in Los Angeles on Monday dismissed Stormy Daniels’ defamation lawsuit against President Donald Trump, saying Trump made a “hyperbolic statement” against a political adversary when he tweeted about a composite sketch the actress’ lawyer released. Daniels in April sued Trump after he said a composite sketch of a man she said threatened her in 2011 to keep quiet about an alleged affair with Trump was a “con job.” Judge S. James Otero said Trump’s statement was protected speech under the First Amendment. Daniels’ attorney vowed to appeal the decision and said he was confident it would be reversed.
NETHERLANDS
‘Night Watch’ to be restored
The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam is going to restore its most famous painting, Rembrandt van Rijn’s Night Watch, starting in July next year in a project that is to be open to the public and viewable online. Rijksmusem general director Taco Dibbits yesterday said the huge masterpiece is to be encased in a specially built glass chamber as it first undergoes a thorough varnish-to-canvas examination using a precise microscope. The work, which last underwent a restoration 40 years ago, is starting to show blanching in parts of the canvas, he said.
UNITED STATES
Voting records on sale
An estimated 35 million voter records from 19 states have been offered for sale on a darkweb online forum, security researchers said on Monday. The offering does not mean voter databases have been breached, they said, adding that the records could have been stolen from resellers who buy voter data from states for use by campaigns and get-out-the-vote efforts. Policies vary by state on who can buy such records, which typically include telephone numbers and addresses, and sometimes voting histories. Experts said the main risk is of identity theft.
UNITED STATES
Photos trigger resignation
An Idaho state wildlife official on Monday was forced to resign after photographs of him posing with a family of baboons and other wild creatures he killed last month during a hunting trip in Africa went viral online. In a resignation letter to Idaho Governor Clement Leroy Otter, Idaho Fish and Game Commissioner Blake Fischer cited poor judgement in posting the images. Otter said he asked for and received Fischer’s resignation on Monday. Among the photographs is one of Fischer smiling while propping up the heads of bloodied baboon carcasses, including that of a baby in its mother’s embrace.
PAPUA NEW GUINEA
Bentleys bought for APEC
The government has reportedly bought three Bentley limousines to use at the APEC summit next month, in a move set to rev up further outrage after the purchase of 40 Maseratis for the event. The Bentley Flying Spur cars cost more than A$320,000 (US$227,993) each, the Australian newpaper reported. The cars were en route by sea, it said, publishing an invoice purportedly detailing the purchase from a Malaysian company, South Pacific Ventures. “We are disgusted,” Legislator Bryan Kramer said on social media on Monday after meeting with other lawmakers to discuss the issue. A strike was originally scheduled for this week, but Kramer said it had been deferred to Thursday next week to avoid clashing with school exams.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At 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
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese