RUSSIA
US citizen arrested
The Federal Security Service (FSB) yesterday said that it had arrested an American-Russian woman suspected of treason and raising funds for the Ukrainian army while in the US, state media reported. The FSB in the central Urals city of Yekaterinburg said it had “suppressed the illegal activities” of a 33-year-old woman, a resident of Los Angeles with dual citizenship, and taken her into custody. It said the unnamed woman had been “proactively collecting funds ... which were subsequently used to purchase tactical medical items, equipment, means of destruction and ammunition for the Ukrainian armed forces,” local news agencies reported, citing an FSB statement. The RIA Novosti agency posted a video from the FSB showing hooded officers escorting and handcuffing a woman in a white coat with a white hat pulled down over her eyes. Treason is punishable by up to 20 years in prison in Russia.
HAITI
Moise’s widow charged
A judge in charge of the investigation into the 2021 assassination of former president Jovenel Moise has charged about 50 people, including his widow and a former prime minister, a document leaked to local media showed. The 122-page document from Judge Walther Wesser Voltaire, made public by AyiboPost, said that Moise’s widow, Martine, conspired with former prime minister Claude Joseph to kill the president with the aim of replacing him herself. Jovenel Moise was shot and killed when armed men broke into his Port-au-Prince bedroom on the night of July 7, 2021, a raid that left the former first lady injured. The judge’s order calls for the arrest and trial of those charged. Martine Moise and Joseph did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
INDIA
Farmers reject price offer
Farmer groups rejected a government offer to guarantee minimum prices for some crops traded with no such safeguard, and are expected to resume their protest today. The farmers, who are seeking price guarantees for 23 crops, last week traveled toward New Delhi, demanding that the government fulfill that promise, made at the end of the 2021 protests. After multiple rounds of talks, the federal government offered to guarantee minimum prices on a small number of crops. Growers had temporarily halted their protest to consider the proposal. The nation is keen to reduce its dependence on water-heavy crops such as rice and is encouraging farmers to diversify their crops. Speaking to reporters at the protest site, one of the group leaders said that the share of the crop basket covered by the government’s offer is too small. “The proposal is not in favor of the farmers nor for their benefit,” Jagjit Singh Dallewal said late on Monday evening.
UNITED STATES
Cougar attacks cyclist
A woman suffered injuries to her face and neck after a cougar leapt out and “latched onto” her while she was cycling with a group on a trail in Washington state, authorities said. The incident happened on Saturday on a trail northeast of Fall City, about 40km east of Seattle, KOMO-TV reported. Friends of the woman, 60, “were able to detach and fight this thing off” after it “latched onto” her, Sergeant Carlo Pace of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Police said. “They were able to pin down a good size lion with its claws and teeth and everything else under a mountain bike until we arrived,” he said. The woman was released from the hospital. The cougar was shot and killed by wildlife police.
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
RSS