SAUDI ARABIA
University catches fire
A university near the country’s border with Yemen yesterday caught fire after the kingdom’s air defenses intercepted a barrage of ballistic missiles and bomb-laden drones. The interception scattered debris on Jazan University’s campus, which caused a fire that has been contained, the Saudi Arabian-led coalition at war in Yemen said in a statement. It said that no one was killed, and there were no immediate reports of injuries.
AUSTRALIA
Troops to leave Afghanistan
The military is to complete its troop withdrawal from Afghanistan in September in line with the US and other allies, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said yesterday. Australia’s contribution to the NATO-led mission had once exceeded 15,000 personnel, but only 80 remain. “In line with the United States and other allies and partners, the last remaining Australian troops will depart Afghanistan in September,” Morrison said, without nominating a day.
POLAND
Croissant reported as threat
Animal welfare inspectors on Wednesday reported their bafflement at being called out about a potentially dangerous animal lurking in a tree — only to find out it was a croissant. The Krakow Animal Welfare Society said in a post on Facebook that the organization had received a desperate call from a local resident in the southern Polish city about the sighting. The caller said it looked like an iguana, although she could not find the word and initially called it a “lagoon.” Inspectors visited the area and saw the object in a lilac tree, adding that it had “no legs or head.” “We already knew that we could not help this creature... The mysterious ‘lagoon’... turned out to be a croissant.”
PERU
Fujimori to battle ‘Marxism’
Presidential candidate Keiko Fujimori, who is to compete against Pedro Castillo in a second-round ballot in June, on Wednesday said that the election would be a battle between “markets and Marxism.” The daughter of imprisoned former president Alberto Fujimori urged people to leave behind the politics of “hatred and revenge” that have hobbled the economy and trust in the government. Fujimori qualified for the run-off with 13.4 percent of Sunday’s vote, while Castillo garnered 19.1 percent, according to an electoral service tabulation.
UNITED KINGDOM
Matchbox to go electric
Matchbox is launching a new series of toy vehicles based on real-life electric and hybrid vehicles. The first model off the production line is a scaled-down version of the Tesla Roadster, which is to be joined by toys based on Nissan, Toyota and BMW models. “We are unveiling a concept car, just like the real car industry does,” Matchbox head of marketing Nuria Alonso said. It would be the first die-cast model made of 99 percent recycled materials, Alonso said.
CANADA
MP caught stark naked
Member of parliament William Amos on Wednesday was caught stark naked in a virtual meeting of the House of Commons. Amos, who has represented the Quebec district of Pontiac since 2015, appeared on the screens of his fellow lawmakers completely naked. A screenshot obtained by The Canadian Press showed Amos standing behind a desk between the Quebec and Canadian flags, his private parts hidden by what appears to be a mobile phone in one hand. “This was an unfortunate error,” Amos said in a statement sent by e-mail. “My video was accidentally turned on as I was changing into my work clothes after going for a jog. I sincerely apologize to my colleagues in the House of Commons for this unintentional distraction. Obviously, it was an honest mistake and it won’t happen again.”
UNITED STATES
Bernard Madoff dies
Bernard Madoff, the architect of a securities swindle that burned thousands of investors, outfoxed regulators and earned him a 150-year prison term, died behind bars early on Wednesday. He was 82. Madoff’s death at the Federal Medical Center in Butner, North Carolina, was confirmed by his lawyer and the Bureau of Prisons. Court-appointed trustees laboring to unwind the scheme have recovered more than US$14 billion of an estimated US$17.5 billion that investors put into Madoff’s business. Last year, Madoff’s lawyers unsuccessfully asked a court to release him from prison during the COVID-19 pandemic, saying that he had end-stage renal disease and other chronic conditions.
UNITED STATES
‘Hangtown’ to change logo
The California Gold Rush town of Placerville is to change its logo to remove a noose that stems from its mid-19th century reputation as “Hangtown” following lynchings of criminal suspects by mobs of miners. The Placerville City Council on Tuesday voted to remove the noose after listening to emotional comment from residents, CBS 13 Sacramento reported. Some argued that it is part of the history of the town, but others said it gives the city a bad reputation, the station reported. The council’s vote was unanimous. The signs and symbols of Hangtown are commonplace in Placerville, the El Dorado County seat in the western foothills of the Sierra Nevada about two hours northeast of San Francisco.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
A top Vietnamese property tycoon was on Thursday sentenced to death in one of the biggest corruption cases in history, with an estimated US$27 billion in damages. A panel of three hand-picked jurors and two judges rejected all defense arguments by Truong My Lan, chair of major developer Van Thinh Phat, who was found guilty of swindling cash from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) over a decade. “The defendant’s actions ... eroded people’s trust in the leadership of the [Communist] Party and state,” read the verdict at the trial in Ho Chi Minh City. After the five-week trial, 85 others were also sentenced on
‘DELUSIONAL’: Targeting the families of Hamas’ leaders would not push the group to change its position or to give up its demands for Palestinians, Ismail Haniyeh said Israeli aircraft on Wednesday killed three sons of Hamas’ top political leader in the Gaza Strip, striking high-stakes targets at a time when Israel is holding delicate ceasefire negotiations with the militant group. Hamas said four of the leader’s grandchildren were also killed. Ismail Haniyeh’s sons are among the highest-profile figures to be killed in the war so far. Israel said they were Hamas operatives, and Haniyeh accused Israel of acting in “the spirit of revenge and murder.” The deaths threatened to strain the internationally mediated ceasefire talks, which appeared to gain steam in recent days even as the sides remain far
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of