IRAN
US dual citizen arrested
A US dual citizen has been arrested in Tehran, US media reported on Thursday, becoming the fourth known Iranian-American to be jailed in the country. Siamak Namazi, a Dubai-based businessman, was arrested earlier this month while visiting the capital, the Washington Post said, citing an unnamed family friend. “We’re aware of recent reports of the possible arrest in Iran of a US citizen. We’re looking into these reports and don’t have anything further to provide at this time,” a US senior administration official said.
UNITED STATES
Bad checks lead to warrant
The son of French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius is the subject of an arrest warrant for writing bad checks at a Las Vegas casino the night before his father assumed his position. Thomas Fabius, 33, wrote bad checks totaling more than US$3.5 million to cover gambling debts on the night of May 15, 2012, according to an arrest warrant obtained by AFP on Thursday. On May 16, 2012, his father was officially appointed France’s foreign minister. As a result of the warrant, issued in May 2013, the younger Fabius risks arrest if he sets foot in the US, a spokesman for Nevada’s Clark County said.
UNITED STATES
Bomb kit sales approved
The State Department has approved the sale of precision bomb kits valued at US$70 million to Turkey, a member of NATO and a key part of the coalition fighting Islamic State militants in Syria, the Pentagon said on Thursday. Lawmakers have 15 days to block the sale, although such action is rare. Once it has cleared that hurdle, Turkey and the federal government can negotiate the actual sale. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency, which oversees foreign arms sales, told lawmakers that the Turkish government had asked to buy 1,000 Joint Direct Attack Munition tail kits that are used to turn unguided bombs into all-weather smart munitions using GPS guidance systems.
SYRIA
US strike kills former rapper
A former German rapper who participated in propaganda videos for the Islamic State (IS) and sought to attract foreigners to the militant group has been killed in a US airstrike, two US officials said on Thursday. Born in Berlin, Denis Cuspert was once a popular rapper known by the name “Deso Dogg,” but he turned his focus toward militant Islam and joined IS in 2012. In one propaganda video in November last year, Cuspert was shown holding a severed head he claimed belonged to a man executed for opposing the IS. One of the US officials said Cuspert was believed to have been killed in a US airstrike on Oct. 16 along with two other individuals.
VATICAN CITY
Pope offers religious pardon
Pope Francis has granted a “plenary indulgence,” or religious pardon, to the Legion of Christ movement, provided its members perform acts of penance, Vatican Radio said on Thursday. The Legion of Christ has for years been beset by accusations of sexual abuse. The order’s founder, Mexican-born Marcial Maciel, stepped down in 2005 amid allegations of pedophilia and fathering several children. He died in 2008. The “jubilee” indulgence is offered to all the group’s members for a period beginning next month and concluding in June next year. However the “indulgence” comes with conditions attached. The announcement comes as Pope Francis prepares for his first visit to Mexico, the bastion of the Legion of Christ.
Thousands gathered across New Zealand yesterday to celebrate the signing of the country’s founding document and some called for an end to government policies that critics say erode the rights promised to the indigenous Maori population. As the sun rose on the dawn service at Waitangi where the Treaty of Waitangi was first signed between the British Crown and Maori chiefs in 1840, some community leaders called on the government to honor promises made 185 years ago. The call was repeated at peaceful rallies that drew several hundred people later in the day. “This government is attacking tangata whenua [indigenous people] on all
A colossal explosion in the sky, unleashing energy hundreds of times greater than the Hiroshima bomb. A blinding flash nearly as bright as the sun. Shockwaves powerful enough to flatten everything for miles. It might sound apocalyptic, but a newly detected asteroid nearly the size of a football field now has a greater than 1 percent chance of colliding with Earth in about eight years. Such an impact has the potential for city-level devastation, depending on where it strikes. Scientists are not panicking yet, but they are watching closely. “At this point, it’s: ‘Let’s pay a lot of attention, let’s
UNDAUNTED: Panama would not renew an agreement to participate in Beijing’s Belt and Road project, its president said, proposing technical-level talks with the US US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday threatened action against Panama without immediate changes to reduce Chinese influence on the canal, but the country’s leader insisted he was not afraid of a US invasion and offered talks. On his first trip overseas as the top US diplomat, Rubio took a guided tour of the canal, accompanied by its Panamanian administrator as a South Korean-affiliated oil tanker and Marshall Islands-flagged cargo ship passed through the vital link between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. However, Rubio was said to have had a firmer message in private, telling Panama that US President Donald Trump
The administration of US President Donald Trump has appointed to serve as the top public diplomacy official a former speech writer for Trump with a history of doubts over US foreign policy toward Taiwan and inflammatory comments on women and minorities, at one point saying that "competent white men must be in charge." Darren Beattie has been named the acting undersecretary for public diplomacy and public affairs, a senior US Department of State official said, a role that determines the tone of the US' public messaging in the world. Beattie requires US Senate confirmation to serve on a permanent basis. "Thanks to