UNITED KINGDOM
Police arrest three suspects
Police arrested three men in south Wales over last week’s bombing of a busy commuter train in west London, meaning five people are now being questioned by detectives over the attack that injured 30 people. A 25-year-old man was arrested on Tuesday evening in Newport, while two others, aged 48 and 30, were detained at another address in the Welsh town early yesterday, London police said. “This continues to be a fast-moving investigation. A significant amount of activity has taken place since the attack on Friday,” said Dean Haydon, head of the Metropolitan Police Service’s Counter Terrorism Command.
RUSSIA
Lavrov laughs off ‘paranoia’
Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday scoffed at the suggestion that the US might have to defend Sweden against a Russian attack, even though Sweden is not a member of NATO. In an interview with The Associated Press, Lavrov was asked about a statement made by US Secretary of Defense James Mattis in May that the US would “stand with Sweden” in the event of Russian aggression in Europe. “I cannot address paranoidal statements... I heard that the Swedish government is afraid of something, that the German government is keeping its fingers crossed and is thankful to us that one week before the election we haven’t yet meddled with the election. There are so many fantasies that it’s a waste of time to pay attention to. It’s so fake,” Lavrov said.
UNITED STATES
Mueller talks to Rosenstein
Special counsel Robert Mueller’s office has interviewed Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein about President Donald Trump’s firing of former FBI director James Comey, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday. Citing unnamed people familiar with the investigation, the newspaper said the interview occurred in June or July. Mueller is looking into allegations of Russian meddling in last year’s presidential election; possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia; and whether Trump might have obstructed justice by firing Comey in May. Mueller ultimately reports to Rosenstein, because Attorney General Jeff Sessions has recused himself from the probe.
UNITED STATES
Nursing home resident dies
Police said a ninth person has died nearly a week after the evacuation of a Florida nursing home that Hurricane Irma left without air-conditioning. Hollywood Police Department spokesman Miranda Grossman said in a news release that a 93-year-old man who had been a patient at the Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills died on Tuesday. A total of 145 patients had to be moved out of the facility. Authorities have launched a criminal investigation to figure out what went wrong and who, if anyone, was to blame.
UNITED STATES
Clinton pokes fun at Putin
When former secretary of state Hillary Rodham Clinton on Tuesday night took the guest’s seat on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, she was in a mood to put Russian President Vladimir Putin on the psychiatrist’s couch. Clinton said Putin interfered in the presidential election in part because of her work as secretary of state, which brought the two into conflict on various occasions. That evolved into a grudge on his part, she said, adding that the fact she is a woman “does seem to get him agitated.” She mocked Putin for “manspreading” at one meeting, referring to an aggressive posture where a man sits with legs splayed.
OPTIMISTIC: A Philippine Air Force spokeswoman said the military believed the crew were safe and were hopeful that they and the jet would be recovered A Philippine Air Force FA-50 jet and its two-person crew are missing after flying in support of ground forces fighting communist rebels in the southern Mindanao region, a military official said yesterday. Philippine Air Force spokeswoman Colonel Consuelo Castillo said the jet was flying “over land” on the way to its target area when it went missing during a “tactical night operation in support of our ground troops.” While she declined to provide mission specifics, Philippine Army spokesman Colonel Louie Dema-ala confirmed that the missing FA-50 was part of a squadron sent “to provide air support” to troops fighting communist rebels in
PROBE: Last week, Romanian prosecutors launched a criminal investigation against presidential candidate Calin Georgescu accusing him of supporting fascist groups Tens of thousands of protesters gathered in Romania’s capital on Saturday in the latest anti-government demonstration by far-right groups after a top court canceled a presidential election in the EU country last year. Protesters converged in front of the government building in Bucharest, waving Romania’s tricolor flags and chanting slogans such as “down with the government” and “thieves.” Many expressed support for Calin Georgescu, who emerged as the frontrunner in December’s canceled election, and demanded they be resumed from the second round. George Simion, the leader of the far-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR), which organized the protest,
ECONOMIC DISTORTION? The US commerce secretary’s remarks echoed Elon Musk’s arguments that spending by the government does not create value for the economy US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on Sunday said that government spending could be separated from GDP reports, in response to questions about whether the spending cuts pushed by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency could possibly cause an economic downturn. “You know that governments historically have messed with GDP,” Lutnick said on Fox News Channel’s Sunday Morning Futures. “They count government spending as part of GDP. So I’m going to separate those two and make it transparent.” Doing so could potentially complicate or distort a fundamental measure of the US economy’s health. Government spending is traditionally included in the GDP because
Hundreds of people in rainbow colors gathered on Saturday in South Africa’s tourist magnet Cape Town to honor the world’s first openly gay imam, who was killed last month. Muhsin Hendricks, who ran a mosque for marginalized Muslims, was shot dead last month near the southern city of Gqeberha. “I was heartbroken. I think it’s sad especially how far we’ve come, considering how progressive South Africa has been,” attendee Keisha Jensen said. Led by motorcycle riders, the mostly young crowd walked through the streets of the coastal city, some waving placards emblazoned with Hendricks’s image and reading: “#JUSTICEFORMUHSIN.” No arrest
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