INDIA
Politician killed in Kashmir
Police said suspected rebels had shot dead a member of a pro-India political party in Kashmir. Police said Bashir Ahmed was shot in the head at close range in Srinagar yesterday. He was a shopkeeper and member of the ruling National Conference. Police said the gunmen escaped. The shooting was the second strike by suspected rebels in the past two weeks. On Dec. 11, Kashmiri Law Minister Ali Mohammed Sagar survived a militant attack, but his security guard was killed.
AUSTRALIA
Abandoned dollar wins big
A woman has won the right to pocket the A$100,000 (US$101,000) she won on a slot machine, after a casino agreed to pay her the money she won with another gambler’s abandoned dollar.
Cecilia Cubillo used a A$1 credit someone else had left in a poker machine to hit the jackpot 18 months ago. However, joy turned to disappointment when Adelaide Casino said it was unable to honor the prize because it was against regulations set by the gambling watchdog to pay wins on abandoned money. The regulation is aimed at encouraging gamblers to take breaks without losing their seat at their machine of choice. However, the approach by the Office of the Liquor and Gambling Commissioner appears to have softened since then.
AUSTRALIA
Bali tattoo likely gave HIV
Health authorities have said a patient diagnosed with HIV likely caught the virus while having a tattoo done in Bali, Indonesia. They recommended that people who had recently been tattooed on the island, known for its white, sandy beaches, partying and nightlife, should consider being tested for HIV and other blood-borne viruses. Authorities did not reveal any details of the patient concerned. The Department of Health highlighted the risk not only of tattoos, but also of body piercing. Indonesian officials said last year that the number of known HIV/AIDS cases in Bali was soaring, with one in four prostitutes reported to be HIV-positive and the number of infections jumping almost 19 percent from the year before.
TURKEY
Twenty-seven rebels killed
Authorities say troops have killed 27 Kurdish rebels in a helicopter and warplane-backed offensive in the southeast. The office of the governor for Sirnak Province — which borders Iraq — said in a statement issued late on Friday that the rebels were killed in a five-day long offensive in a mountainous region. It said five other rebels were captured alive. Pro-Kurdish news agency Firat confirmed clashes in the area, but made no mention of any rebel deaths. It was the second major offensive against the rebels this week. On Wednesday, officials said 21 were killed in nearby Diyarbakir Province.
TURKEY
AFP photographer released
The state-run news agency says authorities have released an Agence France-Presse (AFP) photographer, along with 12 other people who were detained as part of an investigation into a group prosecutors accused of having links to Kurdish rebels. However, Anadolu Agency said that a court early yesterday ordered 35 other suspects formally arrested pending trial over their alleged involvement in the Union of Kurdistan Communities — which authorities say is an offshoot of the PKK rebel group. AFP photographer Mustafa Ozer was among 48 suspects, including a number of other journalists, detained in police raids.
UNITED STATES
Obamas thank troops
US President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama yesterday thanked US troops and their families for their sacrifice and service to the country as they wished all Americans happy Christmas holidays. “Our troops are coming home. And across America, military families are being reunited,” the president said in his weekly radio and Internet address. He asked US citizens to give thanks to these men and women in uniform for their service. “Let’s say a prayer for all our troops standing post all over the world, especially our brave men and women in Afghanistan who are serving to protect the freedoms and security we hold dear,” Obama added. The first lady reminded listeners that Christmas was a time to give thanks for the gifts that bless the US every single day.
MEXICO
Agency probes governor
The government’s human rights commission said it would call the governor of Guerrero State in for questioning in the deaths of two students at a violent Dec. 12 protest. The commission says Guerrero Governor Angel Aguirre would be formally called to appear before the body tomorrow. The commission said in a statement on Friday that it had the authority to investigate serious rights violations. Prosecutors have placed 12 Guerrero police officers under house arrest while they investigate the shootings. Protesters from a rural teachers’ college blocked a highway demanding more funding and battled police trying to clear the highway. It remains unclear who fired the shots.
MEXICO
US citizens killed in bus
Three US citizens are among the seven bus passengers who died in shooting attacks on three buses in Veracruz State. An official of neighboring Hidalgo State said the US victims were a mother and her two daughters returning home to spend the holidays with relatives. Hidalgo State regional assistant secretary Jorge Rocha said on Friday the women were originally from the Huasteca region, where the shooting occurred on Thursday.
UNITED STATES
Man imprisoned over trick
A Delaware man who faked his way into Harvard has been sentenced to a year in prison for violating his probation by putting the university on his resume. A probation department spokeswoman says Adam Wheeler was sentenced on Friday at Middlesex Superior Court. Prosecutors say the 25-year-old Wheeler got into Harvard and obtained about US$45,000 in financial aid by falsely claiming he attended elite schools, including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Last year, he was convicted of identity fraud and sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison and 10 years’ probation.
UNITED STATES
Cupcake confiscated
A woman said an airport security officer in Las Vegas confiscated her frosted cupcake because he thought the icing on it could be explosive. Rebecca Hains told WCVB-TV the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agent took her cupcake, telling her its frosting was “gel-like” enough to constitute a security risk. The TSA has restrictions on taking liquids and gels onto flights to prevent them from being used as explosives. Hains says she had passed through security at Boston’s Logan International Airport with two cupcakes packaged in jars. She says she was stopped on Wednesday on her return from Las Vegas with one of them.
REBUILDING: A researcher said that it might seem counterintuitive to start talking about reconstruction amid the war with Russia, but it is ‘actually an urgent priority’ Italy is hosting the fourth annual conference on rebuilding Ukraine even as Russia escalates its war, inviting political and business leaders to Rome to promote public-private partnerships on defense, mining, energy and other projects as uncertainty grows about the US’ commitment to Kyiv’s defense. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy were opening the meeting yesterday, which gets under way as Russia accelerated its aerial and ground attacks against Ukraine with another night of pounding missile and drone attacks on Kyiv. Italian organizers said that 100 official delegations were attending, as were 40 international organizations and development banks. There are
TARIFF ACTION: The US embassy said that the ‘political persecution’ against former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro disrespects the democratic traditions of the nation The US and Brazil on Wednesday escalated their row over US President Donald Trump’s support for former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, with Washington slapping a 50 percent tariff on one of its main steel suppliers. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva threatened to reciprocate. Trump has criticized the prosecution of Bolsonaro, who is on trial for allegedly plotting to cling on to power after losing 2022 elections to Lula. Brasilia on Wednesday summoned Washington’s top envoy to the country to explain an embassy statement describing Bolsonaro as a victim of “political persecution” — echoing Trump’s description of the treatment of Bolsonaro as
The military is to begin conscripting civilians next year, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said yesterday, citing rising tensions with Thailand as the reason for activating a long-dormant mandatory enlistment law. The Cambodian parliament in 2006 approved a law that would require all Cambodians aged 18 to 30 to serve in the military for 18 months, although it has never been enforced. Relations with Thailand have been tense since May, when a long-standing territorial dispute boiled over into cross-border clashes, killing one Cambodian soldier. “This episode of confrontation is a lesson for us and is an opportunity for us to review, assess and
Pakistani police yesterday said a father shot dead his daughter after she refused to delete her TikTok account. In the Muslim-majority country, women can be subjected to violence by family members for not following strict rules on how to behave in public, including in online spaces. “The girl’s father had asked her to delete her TikTok account. On refusal, he killed her,” a police spokesperson said. Investigators said the father killed his 16-year-old daughter on Tuesday “for honor,” the police report said. The man was subsequently arrested. The girl’s family initially tried to “portray the murder as a suicide” said police in
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