SOUTH SUDAN
Legislative speaker resigns
The parliamentary speaker has resigned after lawmakers threatened to impeach him for blocking efforts to fight corruption and mismanagement, local media reported yesterday. Anthony Lino Makana was accused by fellow lawmakers of failing to present auditor-general and anti-corruption reports to parliament and blocking lawmakers from summoning ministers for questioning. He was also accused of approving a loan of US$400 million from Afrexim Bank without bringing it first to the legislature as recommended by law, in a motion tabled by lawmakers who demanded he resign.
VATICAN
Manila cardinal promoted
Pope Francis has named Manila Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle to a major Vatican post, in a move that could boost the Asian prelate’s chances of perhaps someday becoming pontiff himself. The Holy See on Sunday announced that Tagle, 62, will head the Congregation for the Evangelization of the Peoples. The appointment of Tagle as prefect of the office highlights the attention that Francis is giving to the church in the developing world. Observers have long tabbed Tagle as having the qualifications of a “papabile,”’ churchmen widely considered to have the makings to potentially be elected pope someday by their fellow cardinals.
UNITED STATES
Preschoolers escape wreck
Washington state authorities have said four-year-old twins freed themselves from their car seats and climbed an embankment seeking help following a car crash that killed their father. KING-TV reported 47-year-old Corey Simmons died when the vehicle with his daughters in the back seat crashed on Whidbey Island on Friday. Family members said the girls climbed about 61m up to the road after the accident 55km north of Seattle. Simmons was not wearing a seat belt when the car crashed into trees and went down the embankment, authorities said. Police said the girls were transported to a hospital with minor injuries after an unidentified woman passing in her car went back to help and called 911.
UNITED STATES
‘Star Trek’ actor dies at 79
Actor Rene Auberjonois, known for his TV roles on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and the sitcom Benson, died on Sunday in Los Angeles after a battle with cancer. He was 79. “We are heartbroken to confirm that Rene passed away today,” a statement on the actor’s Web site said. In his official biography, the cause given was metastatic lung cancer. Auberjonois earned legions of fans for his role as Odo, the shape-shifting head of security on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, one of the many spinoff series spawned by the legendary science-fiction show.
UNITED STATES
Rising rapper dies at 21
Chicago-born rapper Juice WRLD, one of a wave of young artists who made a name on streaming platforms before breaking out in the mainstream, died on Sunday at the age of 21, local media reported. The rising artist, whose real name was Jarad A. Higgins, suffered a medical emergency at Midway International Airport, the Chicago Sun Times reported, citing local officials. TMZ reported that Higgins had suffered a seizure. A statement from the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office in Illinois sent to several media outlets said he had experienced an unknown “medical issue,” and that an autopsy would be carried out.
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