UNITED STATES
Meth kingpin executed
The government on Friday put to death an Iowa chemistry student-turned-meth kingpin convicted of killing five people, the third execution by the federal government in a week. Dustin Honken, who prosecutors said killed key witnesses to stop them from testifying in his drugs case, received a lethal injection at the Federal Correctional Complex in Terre Haute, Indiana. Two others were also put to death during the week after a hiatus of nearly 20 years.
MEXICO
Cartel defies president
A video depicting a sprawling military-style convoy of one of the country’s most powerful drug cartels circulated on social networks on Friday just as President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador visited the criminal group’s heartland. In the two-minute clip, members of the fearsome Jalisco New Generation Cartel stand in fatigues alongside a seemingly endless procession of armored vehicles. “Only Mencho’s people,” members of the cartel shout, pumping their fists and flashing their long guns. The cry was a salute to their leader, Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera, one of the country’s most-wanted drug lords. The video’s release coincided with Lopez Obrador’s visit to the states of Guanajuato, Jalisco and Colima, some of the cartel’s strongholds.
PHILIPPINES
Ministry defends new law
The Department of Foreign Affairs has told the US Congress that political freedoms and human rights would be respected as concerns linger over an anti-terrorism law that took effect yesterday. President Rodrigo Duterte early this month signed a stricter anti-terrorism bill, condemned by critics and rights groups as a weapon to target opponents and stifle free speech. “The Philippines remains committed to the protection of civil and political liberties as well as human rights,” its embassy in Washington said in a letter to 50 US representatives dated Thursday and made available to the media yesterday. “The Anti-Terrorism Act itself strongly mandates that human rights be absolute and protected at all times,” it added.
ISRAEL
New lockdowns announced
The government on Friday announced sweeping new restrictions in response to a new surge in COVID-19 cases, including weekend closures of many businesses and limiting restaurants to takeout and delivery. The government announced the restrictions after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said “interim steps” were needed to avoid another general lockdown. Netanyahu has faced widespread criticism and protests in the past few days over his government’s handling of the pandemic and the economic fallout from an earlier lockdown. Gyms and exercise studios would be closed except for use by competitive athletes and beaches would be closed on weekends, beginning later this month. The Israeli weekend is Friday and Saturday.
UNITED STATES
Suspect held in CEO killing
A person was on Friday taken into police custody in the killing of a 33-year-old tech entrepreneur found dismembered inside his luxury Manhattan condo, two law enforcement officials said. The person in custody had worked as Fahim Saleh’s personal assistant, the officials told reporters. The officials were not authorized to discuss the case and spoke on the condition of anonymity. One of them identified the suspect as 21-year-old Tyrese Haspil.
DEBT BREAK: Friedrich Merz has vowed to do ‘whatever it takes’ to free up more money for defense and infrastructure at a time of growing geopolitical uncertainty Germany’s likely next leader Friedrich Merz was set yesterday to defend his unprecedented plans to massively ramp up defense and infrastructure spending in the Bundestag as lawmakers begin debating the proposals. Merz unveiled the plans last week, vowing his center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU)/Christian Social Union (CSU) bloc and the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) — in talks to form a coalition after last month’s elections — would quickly push them through before the end of the current legislature. Fraying Europe-US ties under US President Donald Trump have fueled calls for Germany, long dependent on the US security umbrella, to quickly
RARE EVENT: While some cultures have a negative view of eclipses, others see them as a chance to show how people can work together, a scientist said Stargazers across a swathe of the world marveled at a dramatic red “Blood Moon” during a rare total lunar eclipse in the early hours of yesterday morning. The celestial spectacle was visible in the Americas and Pacific and Atlantic oceans, as well as in the westernmost parts of Europe and Africa. The phenomenon happens when the sun, Earth and moon line up, causing our planet to cast a giant shadow across its satellite. But as the Earth’s shadow crept across the moon, it did not entirely blot out its white glow — instead the moon glowed a reddish color. This is because the
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
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