ISRAEL
Glasses blur sight of ladies
It is the latest prescription for extreme Orthodox Jewish men who shun contact with the opposite sex: glasses that blur their vision, so they do not have to see women they consider to be immodestly dressed. In an effort to maintain their strictly devout lifestyle, Orthodox Jews have separated the sexes on buses, sidewalks and other public spaces in their neighborhoods. Their interpretation of Jewish law forbids contact between men and women who are not married. The Orthodox community’s unofficial “modesty patrols” are selling glasses with special blur-inducing stickers on their lenses. The glasses provide clear vision for up to a few meters so as not to impede movement, but anything beyond that gets blurry — including women. It is not known how many have been sold. For men forced to venture outside their insular communities, hoods and shields that block peripheral vision are also being offered.
UNITED STATES
Blackwater fined US$7.5m
The security firm formerly known as Blackwater has agreed to pay a fine of US$7.5 million to avoid US prosecution for smuggling arms, the Department of Justice said in a statement on Tuesday. The company, now known as Academi, will pay the fine in addition to a previously agreed US$42 million settlement with the Department of State over violations of the Arms Export Control Act, the Department of Justice said.
UNITED STATES
‘Disabled’ man executed
Authorities in Texas executed an African American man on Tuesday despite protests from human rights groups that said he was mentally disabled. Marvin Wilson, 54, who was condemned to death for a murder committed in 1992, was declared dead by lethal injection at 6:27pm, according to a release from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Amnesty International called the execution “highly disturbing” and several other rights groups criticized the sentence. In 2004, Wilson was diagnosed with mild mental retardation, with an IQ of 61, according to Amnesty. Prior to his execution, Wilson told family members he loved them. “Take me home, Jesus. Take me home, Lord. I love you all. I’m ready,” Wilson reportedly said in his final statement.
UNITED STATES
Tucson shooter pleads guilty
The accused gunman in the Tucson shooting spree that left then-representative Gabrielle Giffords gravely wounded said on Tuesday he has agreed to plead guilty to 19 criminal counts stemming from the killing of six people and wounding of 13 others. The statement in federal court by college dropout Jared Loughner, 23, came after a US district judge ruled that his mental fitness for trial had been restored, more than a year after the defendant was found incompetent to face criminal charges in the case. As outlined by the judge, the plea deal would spare Loughner from facing the death penalty.
UNITED STATES
Jennifer Lopez files suit
Singer-actress Jennifer Lopez has filed a US$20 million lawsuit against a former driver whom she claims threatened to spill her secrets if she did not pay him US$2.8 million, court records showed on Tuesday. Lopez, 42, maintains that Hakob Manoukian, who was in charge of her security and transportation, engaged in extortion, attempted extortion and conspiracy.
SOUTH KOREA
New HQ for military chiefs
The nation’s military chiefs yesterday moved to a new high-security building that features resistance against electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attacks and against powerful quakes, officials said. The 10-story building for the joint chiefs of staff, with four underground floors, was built next to the defense ministry’s headquarters in central Seoul at a cost of 187.5 billion won (US$166.5 million). Military officials said key facilities are equipped with a system to guard against EMP attacks, which could shut down electronic equipment including weapons systems within tens or even hundreds of kilometers. The new building is also capable of withstanding a magnitude 8.38 earthquake.
SOUTH KOREA
Heatwave kills 830,000 fowl
An extended heatwave has taken its toll on both humans and animals, with more than 830,000 chickens or other poultry reported dead as of yesterday. The agriculture ministry said 786,512 chickens, 40,780 ducks, 3,000 quail, 336 pigs and five cows have died since July 20, when the peak temperature began hovering above 33°C in most areas. The stifling heat also killed seven people in June and last month, the health ministry said, mostly elderly people working in fields or greenhouses. Temperatures have stayed above 35°C for 12 days in much of the country, causing massive blooms of algae in rivers.
AUSTRALIA
Motel can’t ban prostitute
The hotel industry has been rocked by a court’s ruling that a prostitute was illegally discriminated against by a motel owner who refused to rent her a room to work from. The prostitute took her discrimination case against the motel in the town of Moranbah to the Queensland State Civil and Administrative Tribunal after management refused to rent her a room. The motel’s lawyer, David Edwards, yesterday said that the court notified him this week that it had upheld the prostitute’s claim of discrimination. Edwards said she is seeking damages, reported in The Australian newspaper yesterday to be A$30,000 (US$32,000).
SINGAPORE
Two facing extradition freed
Two of four Singaporeans facing extradition to the US for supplying electronic parts found in Iraqi roadside bombs have been freed after being found innocent of violating the nation’s law. In a ruling issued late on Tuesday, Judge Choo Han Teck said electronics traders Wong Yuh Lan and Lim Yong Nam had done nothing wrong when they facilitated the transfer of US-made radio components to Iran via Singapore between 2007 and 2008 because Singapore did not have “absolute prohibitions against trade with Iran” at the time the acts were committed. However, the judge dismissed the appeals of the two other accused, Lim Kow Seng and Hia Soo Gan Benson, who faced charges that were “justiciable in Singapore” at the time the acts were committed.
FRANCE
Arrest Watson: Interpol
Interpol yesterday said it had issued an international Red Notice for the arrest of Paul Watson, the founder of marine conservation group Sea Shepherd, after he failed to meet bail conditions in Germany. Watson was arrested in May in Frankfurt, Germany, on a warrant from Costa Rica, where he is wanted on charges stemming from a high-seas confrontation over shark finning in 2002. Lyon, France-based Interpol does not have the power to issue international arrest warrants, but can request that member countries make arrests based on foreign warrants.
Romania’s electoral commission on Saturday excluded a second far-right hopeful, Diana Sosoaca, from May’s presidential election, amid rising tension in the run-up to the May rerun of the poll. Earlier this month, Romania’s Central Electoral Bureau barred Calin Georgescu, an independent who was polling at about 40 percent ahead of the rerun election. Georgescu, a fierce EU and NATO critic, shot to prominence in November last year when he unexpectedly topped a first round of presidential voting. However, Romania’s constitutional court annulled the election after claims of Russian interference and a “massive” social media promotion in his favor. On Saturday, an electoral commission statement
Chinese authorities increased pressure on CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd over its plan to sell its Panama ports stake by sharing a second newspaper commentary attacking the deal. The Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office on Saturday reposted a commentary originally published in Ta Kung Pao, saying the planned sale of the ports by the Hong Kong company had triggered deep concerns among Chinese people and questioned whether the deal was harming China and aiding evil. “Why were so many important ports transferred to ill-intentioned US forces so easily? What kind of political calculations are hidden in the so-called commercial behavior on the
‘DOWNSIZE’: The Trump administration has initiated sweeping cuts to US government-funded media outlets in a move critics said could undermine the US’ global influence US President Donald Trump’s administration on Saturday began making deep cuts to Voice of America (VOA) and other government-run, pro-democracy programming, with the organization’s director saying all VOA employees have been put on leave. On Friday night, shortly after the US Congress passed its latest funding bill, Trump directed his administration to reduce the functions of several agencies to the minimum required by law. That included the US Agency for Global Media, which houses Voice of America, Radio Free Europe and Asia and Radio Marti, which beams Spanish-language news into Cuba. On Saturday morning, Kari Lake, a former Arizona gubernatorial and US
Indonesia’s parliament yesterday amended a law to allow members of the military to hold more government roles, despite criticisms that it would expand the armed forces’ role in civilian affairs. The revision to the armed forces law, pushed mainly by Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto’s coalition, was aimed at expanding the military’s role beyond defense in a country long influenced by its armed forces. The amendment has sparked fears of a return to the era of former Indonesian president Suharto, who ex-general Prabowo once served and who used military figures to crack down on dissent. “Now it’s the time for us to ask the
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