UNITED STATES
IS gas use called ‘plausible’
A senior official on Thursday deemed it “plausible” that the Islamic State (IS) group used mustard gas against Iraqi Kurd fighters this week. “Based on previous information, we found these reports plausible,” the official said, referring to a Wall Street Journal story citing US and German sources that said the extremist group had used the banned chemical weapon. The Pentagon on Thursday said it is “seeking additional information” about the alleged attack.
MEXICO
Gang boss, reporter killed
Five gunmen burst into a bar early on Thursday and killed a reputed drug gang boss, a reporter and four other people in the Gulf coast state of Veracruz, authorities said. The Veracruz State Prosecutors’ Office said the gunmen entered the bar and went directly for the victims, who included the local boss of the Zetas drug gang, identified as Jose Marquez Balderas. It said reporter Juan Santos Carrera was among those sitting with him. Two other reporters in the bar were not shot, but were fired by their newspaper for being at the scene with the local cartel boss.
ECUADOR
Strike paralyzes capital
A general strike against President Rafael Correa virtually paralyzed the capital, Quito, provincial cities and major highways on Thursday and violent clashes broke out between protesters and police in several cities. A diverse coalition mobilized thousands of indigenous activists, unionists and environmentalists who blocked roads with tree trunks, rocks and burning tires, and public transport was scarce in Quito. Indigenous groups are upset by Correa’s refusal to consult them on mining and oil exploration on traditional lands, while unionists are angry at a new labor code.
UNITED STATES
Stolen Picasso returned
The government on Thursday returned to French authorities an oil painting by Pablo Picasso that was reported stolen from Centre Georges Pompidou museum 14 years ago. The Hairdresser, which Picasso created in Paris in 1911 during his Cubist period, was seized by US customs agents in New Jersey in December last year. Valued at US$15 million, it was authenticated in January by experts from the Pompidou museum.
UNITED KINGDOM
Labour begins voting
The Labour Party started voting for a new leader yesterday, with Jeremy Corbyn, a veteran socialist who would move the party significantly to the left, favored to win. The 66-year-old only entered the race as a wildcard, but has attracted surging grassroots support. Many top Labour figures warn the party under him could not take power in a country where elections are typically won or lost on the center ground.
UNITED STATES
City deploys urine repellant
Public urination has become so bad in San Francisco that the city has painted nine walls with a repellant paint that makes pee spray back on the offender. Walls are coated with a clear, liquid-repellant material that goes on much like paint. Hit with urine, it splashes back on a person’s shoes and pants. San Francisco Public Works Department Director Mohammed Nuru said offenders will need to make the mistake only once to get the idea. “If you have to go,” he said, “go in the right place.” A San Francisco light pole corroded by urine recently fell on a car. Public urination is illegal, but a fine of up to US$500 passed in 2002 has seen little success.
INDONESIA
Widodo appeals for unity
President Joko Widodo yesterday called on bureaucrats and politicians to set aside their egos and work together to kickstart economic reforms that have foundered amid slumping growth since he took office October last year. In his first state-of-the-nation address to parliament, he took a swipe at the bickering within government agencies and political parties that has hamstrung his administration. “The erosion of a culture of mutual respect and tolerance in official institutions such as law enforcement agencies, communities, media and political parties, is causing this country to be caught in a web of egos,” he said.
PAKISTAN
Six convicted over massacre
A secret military court on Thursday sentenced six men to death after convicting them of involvement in the Taliban massacre of 134 children at an army-run school in Peshawar, the military said. The sentences are the first known convictions for the massacre in December last year after parliament in January gave approval for military courts to try accused militants. The six — all civilians convicted of aiding six gunmen who attacked the school — confessed before the court, according to a statement from the military’s press wing.
AUSTRALIA
Shark cull ruled out
New South Wales yesterday said that it will boost the monitoring and tagging of sharks off its beaches, but ruled out culling great whites after a spate of attacks left one surfer dead and two seriously hurt. Locals from the tourist hub of Ballina, about 750km north of Sydney, have pleaded with the state government for help, saying visitor numbers have plunged after three attacks this year. New South Wales Primary Industries Minister Niall Blair said A$250,000 (US$185,000) would be invested in observing, tagging and tracking sharks in the area, with world-renowned experts temporarily based in the region to lead the project ahead of the busy summer season. “Let’s not forget the ocean is the domain of the shark,” Blair said in a statement. “However, this government is taking action to gain a better understanding of the local risks.”
SOUTH KOREA
Corporate leader freed
The head of the nation’s third-largest conglomerate yesterday apologized after being released from jail on a controversial presidential pardon, vowing to turn over a new leaf and help develop the national economy. SK Group chairman Chey Tae-won, who was serving his second jail term for multimillion-dollar fraud, was pardoned on Thursday — along with thousands of others — by President Park Geun-hye to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of Japanese colonial rule over Korea.
A string of rape and assault allegations against the son of Norway’s future queen have plunged the royal family into its “biggest scandal” ever, wrapping up an annus horribilis for the monarchy. The legal troubles surrounding Marius Borg Hoiby, the 27-year-old son born of a relationship before Norwegian Crown Princess Mette-Marit’s marriage to Norwegian Crown Prince Haakon, have dominated the Scandinavian country’s headlines since August. The tall strapping blond with a “bad boy” look — often photographed in tuxedos, slicked back hair, earrings and tattoos — was arrested in Oslo on Aug. 4 suspected of assaulting his girlfriend the previous night. A photograph
The US deployed a reconnaissance aircraft while Japan and the Philippines sent navy ships in a joint patrol in the disputed South China Sea yesterday, two days after the allied forces condemned actions by China Coast Guard vessels against Philippine patrol ships. The US Indo-Pacific Command said the joint patrol was conducted in the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone by allies and partners to “uphold the right to freedom of navigation and overflight “ and “other lawful uses of the sea and international airspace.” Those phrases are used by the US, Japan and the Philippines to oppose China’s increasingly aggressive actions in the
‘GOOD POLITICS’: He is a ‘pragmatic radical’ and has moderated his rhetoric since the height of his radicalism in 2014, a lecturer in contemporary Islam said Abu Mohammed al-Jolani is the leader of the Islamist alliance that spearheaded an offensive that rebels say brought down Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and ended five decades of Baath Party rule in Syria. Al-Jolani heads Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which is rooted in Syria’s branch of al-Qaeda. He is a former extremist who adopted a more moderate posture in order to achieve his goals. Yesterday, as the rebels entered Damascus, he ordered all military forces in the capital not to approach public institutions. Last week, he said the objective of his offensive, which saw city after city fall from government control, was to
‘KAMPAI’: It is said that people in Japan began brewing rice about 2,000 years ago, with a third-century Chinese chronicle describing the Japanese as fond of alcohol Traditional Japanese knowledge and skills used in the production of sake and shochu distilled spirits were approved on Wednesday for addition to UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list, a committee of the UN cultural body said It is believed people in the archipelago began brewing rice in a simple way about two millennia ago, with a third-century Chinese chronicle describing the Japanese as fond of alcohol. By about 1000 AD, the imperial palace had a department to supervise the manufacturing of sake and its use in rituals, the Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association said. The multi-staged brewing techniques still used today are
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