INDONESIA
Trash to go back to Australia
The Ministry of Environment and Forestry yesterday said the government would send more than 210 tonnes of garbage back to Australia, after authorities found hazardous material and household trash, including plastic bottles and packaging, used diapers, electronic waste and cans in eight containers seized in Surabaya. The Directorate General of Customs and Excise of East Java said the containers should have contained only waste paper.
Photo: AFP
NEPAL
Ex-UN official jailed
Former UN official Peter Dalglish has been jailed for sexually abusing children, officials said yesterday. The 62-year-old Canadian was on Monday sentenced to two terms of nine and six years in two cases after being convicted last month. A district court official said Dalglish was sentenced for nine years for abusing a 12-year-old boy and seven years jail for molesting a 14-year-old. He was also ordered to pay 500,000 Nepal rupees (US$4,550) compensation of to each victim.
CHINA
Dam is ‘safe’ despite shift
The Three Gorges Dam is structurally sound, officials said yesterday, denying rumors on social media it was at risk of collapse. Safety experts with the government-run China Three Gorges Corp said the dam had moved a few millimeters due to temperature and water level changes, but safety indicators remained well within their normal range. Satellite imagery from Google Maps reportedly showed the dam has bent and is at risk of breaking, but the government said the problem was with the satellite imaging, not the dam, the Caixin financial news service reported yesterday.
PHILIPPINES
Manga site manager nabbed
A man who ran an illegal online manga comic library read by around 100 million people each month has been arrested in Manila, authorities said yesterday. Romi Hoshino, 28, managed “Manga Mura” (Manga village), which shut down on its own in April last year as Japan launched a hunt for the Web site’s founder for massive violation of copyright. The Web site made around 60,000 manga available to the public for free immediately after publication. Manga publishers lost about US$2.94 billion in potential revenues over a six-month period to February last year alone, Japan’s Content Overseas Distribution Association said. Hoshino, who holds a Japanese passport, was arrested on Sunday at Ninoy Aquino International Airport after the Japanese embassy in Manila sought help in finding him, Bureau of Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente said.
AUSTRALIA
Rush for tax rebates
Nearly 1 million people have lodged their tax statements in little more than a week as they rush to receive rebates that the Reserve Bank of Australia hopes will kick-start the economy. Lawmakers last week approved A$158 billion (US$109.95 billion) worth of tax cuts over the next decade, including a A$1,080 rebate to low and middle-income earners. Despite having four months to submit their tax statements, the Australian Tax Office said it has already received about 800,000 since June 30. The office said it will return rebates by the end of the week.
SWEDEN
Chinese not to be extradited
The Supreme Court has decided not to extradite a former Chinese official wanted by Beijing on suspicion of having embezzled millions of dollars due to the risk that he would face persecution, it said yesterday. China had asked Sweden to extradite Qiao Jianjun (喬建軍), who also goes under the name of Feng Li (李峰), on suspicion of breach of trust and fraud relating to the embezzlement of the equivalent of about 100 million kronor (US$11 million). Qiao was arrested in June last year. Last month, he was released from custody without a ruling on the Chinese request, then rearrested days later on a separate request from the US, where he has been indicted for money laundering and immigration fraud.
TURKEY
Troops facing arrest
Police yesterday began nationwide raids aimed at detaining more than 200 military personnel suspected of ties to the group blamed for a 2016 coup attempt, officials and state media reported. The Istanbul public prosecutor said it issued arrest warrants for 176 active duty military personnel, including a colonel, five majors and 100 lieutenants from the different armed forces over alleged links to US-based Muslim preacher Fethullah Gulen’s movement. The Izmir public prosecutor in the Aegean region issued arrest warrants for 35 suspects, including 20 soldiers on active duty and 10 civilians, state news agency Anadolu said. The agency said eight suspects had been detained already.
UNITED STATES
Trump ruling challenged
The Department of Justice on Monday challenged a federal judge’s decision to allow a case accusing President Donald Trump of profiting off the presidency to move forward, asking an appeals court to take up the case instead. Lawyers asked the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to overrule a federal judge and instead allow for a mid-case appeal or to dismiss the case outright, calling the case dealing with a Revolutionary War-era clause “extraordinary.” The lawyers also want the court to suspend legal discovery approved by District Judge Emmet Sullivan, which would force Trump-related entities to turn over tax returns, receipts and other documents.
UNITED STATES
Storm floods White House
A slow-moving rainstorm on Monday washed out roads, stranded drivers and soaked basements, including the White House, during a chaotic morning commute in the capital. Water gushed into the press workspace in the basement near the White House’s West Wing. Flooding led to electrical outages that closed the National Archives Building and Museum. National Weather Service meteorologist Cody Ledbetter said the storm dumped about 8.6cm at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in a two-hour period.
UNITED STATES
Warren raises US$19.1m
Senator Elizabeth Warren raised US$19.1 million in the second quarter, her campaign said on Monday, cementing her status in the top tier of Democratic presidential contenders and surpassing Senator Bernie Sanders, her main liberal rival. The strong showing leaves Warren behind only South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, who reported nearly US$25 million, and former vice president Joe Biden, who has tallied US$21.5 million since his candidacy began in late April. The strong showing signals the grip Warren is gaining over the party’s progressive base.
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
‘DELUSIONAL’: Targeting the families of Hamas’ leaders would not push the group to change its position or to give up its demands for Palestinians, Ismail Haniyeh said Israeli aircraft on Wednesday killed three sons of Hamas’ top political leader in the Gaza Strip, striking high-stakes targets at a time when Israel is holding delicate ceasefire negotiations with the militant group. Hamas said four of the leader’s grandchildren were also killed. Ismail Haniyeh’s sons are among the highest-profile figures to be killed in the war so far. Israel said they were Hamas operatives, and Haniyeh accused Israel of acting in “the spirit of revenge and murder.” The deaths threatened to strain the internationally mediated ceasefire talks, which appeared to gain steam in recent days even as the sides remain far
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