UNITED STATES
Families ‘victims’ of Boeing
A federal judge on Friday ruled that relatives of people killed in the crashes of two Boeing 737 Max planes are crime victims under federal law, and should have been told about private negotiations over a settlement that spared Boeing from criminal prosecution. The judge said the next step is to decide what remedies the families should receive. Some relatives are pushing to scrap the government’s settlement with Boeing, and they have expressed anger that no one in the company has been held criminally responsible. Boeing, which misled safety regulators who approved the Max, agreed to pay US$2.5 billion along with a US$243.6 million fine. The US Department of Justice agreed not to prosecute the company for conspiracy to defraud the government.
PAKISTAN
Terrorism reforms hailed
An international watchdog said on Friday that it is removing Pakistan from its so-called “gray list” of countries that do not take full measures to combat money laundering and terrorism financing, a move that was welcomed by the country’s government. “Pakistan’s significant progress in improving” its money laundering curbs and counter-terrorism policies was announced by Financial Action Task Force president Raja Kumar. Being on the Paris-based watchdog’s gray list can deter investors and creditors, hurting exports, output and consumption. It also can make global banks wary of doing business with a country.
JAPAN
Princess’ husband passes bar
The man who married a former Japanese princess has passed the New York bar exam, defying detractors back home who had criticized their romance. Kei Komuro’s name is on the list of those who passed the New York state bar exam in July, which was released on Friday. Komuro’s engagement to former Japanese princess Mako in 2017 prompted public outcry in Japan, mostly on social media and in the tabloids. Komuro, 31, has a job at a New York law firm and has been living in the city with Mako, a museum curator. She relinquished her royal status last year when she married Komuro.
INDIA
Troops die near China border
Five Indian army soldiers were killed when their helicopter crashed near the country’s disputed border with China, the Indian Ministry of Defense said yesterday — the second such fatal accident in the region this month. The helicopter went down on Friday south of Tuting, a remote town near the area that divides a northeastern state from Chinese territory. A mayday call was received before the crash that suggested technical or mechanical failure, the ministry said. Four bodies had been recovered and rescuers were working to retrieve a fifth. The accident comes weeks after an Indian army pilot was killed while on a routine flight aboard a Cheetah helicopter farther east of Tuting.
ARGENTINA
Calls to ease currency curbs
The next government needs to unwind currency controls and let the exchange rate trade freely, Buenos Aires Mayor Horacio Rodriguez Larreta said. Larreta is seen as a likely presidential contender next year. “You’d have to see how much foreign reserves the central bank has when you take over. Today it’s practically zero.” Argentina has been conrolling currency and exchange rates, increasing bureaucracy for companies and consumers and reducing the incentive for foreign investors to bring dollars into the country.
Yemen’s separatist leader has vowed to keep working for an independent state in the country’s south, in his first social media post since he disappeared earlier this month after his group briefly seized swathes of territory. Aidarous al-Zubaidi’s United Arab Emirates (UAE)-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) forces last month captured two Yemeni provinces in an offensive that was rolled back by Saudi strikes and Riyadh’s allied forces on the ground. Al-Zubaidi then disappeared after he failed to board a flight to Riyadh for talks earlier this month, with Saudi Arabia accusing him of fleeing to Abu Dhabi, while supporters insisted he was
‘SHOCK TACTIC’: The dismissal of Yang mirrors past cases such as Jang Song-thaek, Kim’s uncle, who was executed after being accused of plotting to overthrow his nephew North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has fired his vice premier, compared him to a goat and railed against “incompetent” officials, state media reported yesterday, in a rare and very public broadside against apparatchiks at the opening of a critical factory. Vice Premier Yang Sung-ho was sacked “on the spot,” the state-run Korean Central News Agency said, in a speech in which Kim attacked “irresponsible, rude and incompetent leading officials.” “Please, comrade vice premier, resign by yourself when you can do it on your own before it is too late,” Kim reportedly said. “He is ineligible for an important duty. Put simply, it was
The Chinese Embassy in Manila yesterday said it has filed a diplomatic protest against a Philippine Coast Guard spokesman over a social media post that included cartoonish images of Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). Philippine Coast Guard spokesman Jay Tarriela and an embassy official had been trading barbs since last week over issues concerning the disputed South China Sea. The crucial waterway, which Beijing claims historic rights to despite an international ruling that its assertion has no legal basis, has been the site of repeated clashes between Chinese and Philippine vessels. Tarriela’s Facebook post on Wednesday included a photo of him giving a
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Sunday announced a deal with the chief of Kurdish-led forces that includes a ceasefire, after government troops advanced across Kurdish-held areas of the country’s north and east. Syrian Kurdish leader Mazloum Abdi said he had agreed to the deal to avoid a broader war. He made the decision after deadly clashes in the Syrian city of Raqa on Sunday between Kurdish-led forces and local fighters loyal to Damascus, and fighting this month between the Kurds and government forces. The agreement would also see the Kurdish administration and forces integrate into the state after months of stalled negotiations on
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