UNITED KINGDOM
Vegan insulted by banker
NatWest has apologized after a customer who called the bank to apply for a loan was told by a member of staff that “all vegans should be punched in the face.” The Bristol woman, who does not wish to be named, was seeking a loan to pay for a £400 (US$516) nutrition diploma. She said her application was rejected, but the bank offered compensation of just under £200 after listening to a recording of the call. Speaking to BBC Radio Bristol, the woman said the staff member’s outburst came after she told him she was vegan. After he made the comment, he explained it was because vegan activists had chalked pictures of animals and messages such as “friends not food” on pavements near his home, she said. He felt, she added, that “vegans were forcing their beliefs on him.”
NICARAGUA
Farm leader jailed
A farm leader who helped lead protests last year against President Daniel Ortega was on Monday sentenced to 216 years in prison, days after business leaders asked the government to release inmates considered political prisoners. A judge sentenced Medardo Mairena after he was convicted in December last year of terrorism, murder and organized crime, charges he denied. Before he was arrested in July last year, he was among the opposition members who participated in a failed dialogue with the government. More than 320 people died in the protests last year against Ortega, after government supporters and police opened fire on crowds.
UNITED STATES
Time’s Up head quits
The president and chief executive of Time’s Up, a group dedicated to fighting sexual discrimination and harassment in the workplace, has resigned to focus on undisclosed family concerns, Time’s Up said on Monday. “It is with deep regret that I must resign from Time’s Up to address family concerns that require my singular focus,” Lisa Borders said in a statement. Chief operating officer Rebecca Goldman is to serve as interim chief executive while Time’s Up searches for a replacement, the group said. Time’s Up was formed in the fall of 2017 amid a wave of media reports about sexual assault and harassment accusations against rich and powerful men in the media, show business and politics.
UNITED STATES
Stone apologizes to judge
President Donald Trump’s longtime confidant Roger Stone has apologized to the judge presiding over his criminal case for an Instagram post featuring a photograph of her with what appears to be the crosshairs of a gun. Stone and his lawyers on Monday filed a notice saying that Stone recognized that “the photograph and comment today was improper and should not have been posted.” Stone later said that the picture had been “misinterpreted” and that any suggestion he intended to threaten Jackson was “categorically false.”
UNITED STATES
Rosenstein set to quit
A Department of Justice official said Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein is expected to leave his position in the middle of next month. The official spoke on condition of anonymity on Monday. The White House is expected to name a replacement for Rosenstein this week. Rosenstein’s departure had been expected with the confirmation of William Barr as attorney general last week. Rosenstein has been on the job for nearly two years. He oversaw Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation after then-attorney general Jeff Sessions recused himself.
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