PANAMA
Tribunal acquits Martinelli
Former president Ricardo Martinelli was on Friday acquitted of charges of spying on political foes and misappropriation of public funds. The case marked the first time a former president was tried in criminal court. The 67-year-old supermarket tycoon was accused of spying on about 150 opponents between 2012 and 2014, as well as using state resources in the undertaking, including US$13 million in equipment that subsequently disappeared. Martinelli “is found not guilty,” said Raul Vergara, one of three judges on the tribunal. “Thank you to my lawyers, thank you to the Panamanian authorities, this was a criminal conspiracy,” Martinelli told journalists and supporters. Martinelli has claimed that he was a victim of political persecution by the government of his successor, former president Juan Carlos Varela, a former political ally.
UNITED STATES
Modesto rejects ‘pride’ rally
A Northern California city has denied a request to hold a so-called “Straight Pride” rally at a park. Modesto city officials on Friday denied an application by the National Straight Pride Coalition for an Aug. 24 event at Graceada Park. Organizer Don Grundmann had estimated that 500 people would attend. The group has said that it supports heterosexuality, Christianity and white contributions to Western civilization. Opponents argued that the rally would promote hatred of LGBTQ people and minorities. City spokesman Thomas Reeves said that the permit request was denied over safety concerns, because the group lost its liability insurance and the parks department determined the event was not consistent with park use. However, Reeves said that the city would allow the rally at a downtown plaza if the group proves it has insurance by Tuesday.
UNITED STATES
Neo-Nazi site loses lawsuit
The first black woman to serve as American University’s student government president on Friday won a lawsuit against a neo-Nazi Web site operator who orchestrated an online harassment campaign against her. A federal judge granted default judgment to Taylor Dumpson and awarded her more than US$725,000 after The Daily Stormer founder Andrew Anglin and a follower failed to respond to her lawsuit. The judge also entered a restraining order against Anglin, his Moonbase Holdings limited liability company and Brian Andrew Ade. After Dumpson became student government president in 2017, someone hung nooses with bananas containing derogatory messages on the university’s campus. Anglin posted an article about the incident and directed followers to “troll storm” Dumpson on social media.
UNITED STATES
Bear falls on police cruiser
They probably do not train people for this at the sheriff’s academy. A patrol car was last weekend struck by a falling bear in northern California. Authorities said that a Humboldt County sheriff’s deputy was on Saturday last week driving on State Route 96, answering to a report of a drug overdose in the community of Orleans, when the bear fell or jumped onto the car, apparently from a steep embankment. The bear smashed the hood and windshield, they said. The patrol car hit an embankment, rolled onto its side and burst into flames, authorities said, adding that the deputy managed to escape without serious injury. The fire was contained to about half an acre, but the car was gutted, they said. However, the California Department of Transportation said: “Don’t worry, the bear also fled the scene.”
MONEY MATTERS: Xi was to highlight projects such as a new high-speed railway between Belgrade and Budapest, as Serbia is entirely open to Chinese trade and investment Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic yesterday said that “Taiwan is China” as he made a speech welcoming Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) to Belgrade, state broadcaster Radio Television of Serbia (RTS) said. “We have a clear and simple position regarding Chinese territorial integrity,” he told a crowd outside the government offices while Xi applauded him. “Yes, Taiwan is China.” Xi landed in Belgrade on Tuesday night on the second leg of his European tour, and was greeted by Vucic and most government ministers. Xi had just completed a two-day trip to France, where he held talks with French President Emmanuel Macron as the
With the midday sun blazing, an experimental orange and white F-16 fighter jet launched with a familiar roar that is a hallmark of US airpower, but the aerial combat that followed was unlike any other: This F-16 was controlled by artificial intelligence (AI), not a human pilot, and riding in the front seat was US Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall. AI marks one of the biggest advances in military aviation since the introduction of stealth in the early 1990s, and the US Air Force has aggressively leaned in. Even though the technology is not fully developed, the service is planning
INTERNATIONAL PROBE: Australian and US authorities were helping coordinate the investigation of the case, which follows the 2015 murder of Australian surfers in Mexico Three bodies were found in Mexico’s Baja California state, the FBI said on Friday, days after two Australians and an American went missing during a surfing trip in an area hit by cartel violence. Authorities used a pulley system to hoist what appeared to be lifeless bodies covered in mud from a shaft on a cliff high above the Pacific. “We confirm there were three individuals found deceased in Santo Tomas, Baja California,” a statement from the FBI’s office in San Diego, California, said without providing the identities of the victims. Australian brothers Jake and Callum Robinson and their American friend Jack Carter
CUSTOMS DUTIES: France’s cognac industry was closely watching the talks, fearing that an anti-dumping investigation opened by China is retaliation for trade tensions French President Emmanuel Macron yesterday hosted Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) at one of his beloved childhood haunts in the Pyrenees, seeking to press a message to Beijing not to support Russia’s war against Ukraine and to accept fairer trade. The first day of Xi’s state visit to France, his first to Europe since 2019, saw respectful, but sometimes robust exchanges between the two men during a succession of talks on Monday. Macron, joined initially by EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, urged Xi not to allow the export of any technology that could be used by Russia in its invasion