ISRAEL
Brazil to move embassy
Brazilian president-elect Jair Bolsonaro has said he would follow the lead of the US and move the nation’s embassy in Israel to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday. The Israeli leader, in Rio de Janeiro for Bolsonaro’s inauguration tomorrow, said that Bolsonaro assured him the embassy move is “not a question of if, it’s just a question of when.” Bolsonaro accepted his invitation to visit Israel in the next few months, Netanyahu said, adding that the Brazil-Israeli relationship would be “fantastic.” Several Israeli delegations are to travel to Brazil in the coming months to map out the full extent of bilateral cooperation in areas such as security, defense and agriculture, he said. “This is a partnership that is meant to happen, and we’re going to make it happen very fast.”
PHILIPPINES
Two dead in mall bombing
At least two people were killed and 21 wounded yesterday when a bomb believed to be detonated remotely by suspected Muslim militants exploded near the entrance of a mall in Cotabato City, Major General Cirilito Sobejana said. The bomb went off near the entrance of the South Seas mall, as people made last-minute preparations ahead of New Year’s Eve celebrations. Authorities recovered another unexploded bomb nearby. Sobejana said by phone that an initial investigation showed the design of the bomb was similar to those used in the past by local Muslim militants who have pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group.
UNITED KINGDOM
Plan on migrant crossings
London and Paris have agreed to boost bilateral cooperation over a spike in migrants trying to cross the English Channel, the Home Office said on Sunday. In the coming weeks, the two nations are to increase surveillance patrols and focus on measures to dismantle trafficking gangs and improve awareness about the dangers of sea crossings in one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes. “The UK and France will build on our joint efforts to deter illegal migration — protecting our borders and human life,” Home Secretary Sajid Javid said after speaking on the phone with his French counterpart, Christophe Castaner. Attempts to cross the English Channel have been increasing since October. “More than 200 migrants have arrived on the Kent coast in small craft in the past two months. The scale of the problem is unprecedented,” MP Charlie Elphicke told the Daily Mail.
UNITED STATES
Escaped lion kills worker
A lion killed a young worker at a wildlife conservatory on Sunday after it got loose from a locked space, the Conservators Center said. Alexandra Black, 22, of New Palestine, Indiana, was killed after being attacked by the lion in an enclosure that was being cleaned at the center, news outlets reported, citing a statement from the Caswell County Sheriff’s Office. The lion was shot and killed after attempts to tranquilize the animal failed, deputies said. A “husbandry team” led by a professionally trained animal keeper was carrying out the routine cleaning when the lion somehow got loose, the center said in a statement. It was not clear how the lion escaped the area that was supposed to be locked, said the center, which is closed until further notice. Black had graduated from Indiana University in May with a degree in animal behavior, according to her LinkedIn page. She had been working at the conservatory for about two weeks, her family said.
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