Tag: All Regions
Casualties reported in active shooter incident at US Army base in state of Georgia
ATLANTA – An active shooter incident at the Fort Stewart US Army base in Georgia has resulted in casualties, authorities said, and the base has been put on lockdown. “The installation was locked down at 11.04am and law enforcement is on the scene,” Fort Stewart said in a Facebook post, adding the incident happened in the 2nd Armoured Brigade Combat Team area and that casualties had been reported. No further information was immediately available, including the number of casualties and…
Sudan says UAE bars Sudanese planes from landing at its airports
CAIRO – The United Arab Emirates has banned Sudanese planes from landing at its airports, Sudan’s state news agency quoted its Civil Aviation Authority as saying on Wednesday, in the latest sign of tension between the two countries. The UAE also barred a Sudanese airliner from taking off from Abu Dhabi airport, the Sudanese authority said. Sudan’s authority voiced surprise at the reported decision and said it was following up with airlines to reprogramme reservations for passengers arriving in and…
US jury deadlocks on Tornado Cash founder’s money laundering charge
NEW YORK, August 6 – A U.S. jury deadlocked on Wednesday on money laundering and sanctions evasion charges against the founder of Tornado Cash, a firm that makes cryptocurrency transactions harder to track. The jury in Manhattan federal court could not reach a verdict on charges Roman Storm conspired to launder the proceeds of hacks, including by a sanctioned North Korean government-backed group. But the jury found him guilty of the less serious charge of conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money…
Trump says banks discriminate against his supporters while White House prepares order
WASHINGTON – US President Donald Trump on Aug 5 said he believes that banks discriminate against him and his supporters, adding that Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase had previously refused to accept his deposits. They totally discriminate against, I think, me maybe even more, but they discriminate against many conservatives,” he told CNBC in an interview. “I think the word might be Trump supporters more than conservatives.” Mr Trump made the comments when asked about a report by the…
Brazil’s Supreme Court orders house arrest for ex-president Jair Bolsonaro
Brazil’s Supreme Court on Monday ordered the house arrest of former President Jair Bolsonaro, on trial for allegedly leading a coup attempt after losing the 2022 election. The court’s Justice Alexandre de Moraes issued the order, saying in his decision that Bolsonaro had violated the precautionary measures imposed on him by posting content on his son’s social media channels. In formally charging Bolsonaro earlier this year, Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet accused the former president of heading a criminal organization that allegedly plotted to overturn…
US DOJ to open grand jury probe into Obama officials, source
WASHINGTON – US Attorney General Pam Bondi has directed federal prosecutors to launch a grand jury probe into allegations that members of Democratic former President Barack Obama’s administration manufactured intelligence on Russia’s interference in the 2016 elections, a source familiar with the matter said on Aug 4. The Justice Department (DOJ) said late in July that it was forming a strike force to assess claims made by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard about “alleged weaponisation of the US intelligence…
Boeing defence workers go on strike in new blow to aviation giant
It comes after union members at operations in Missouri and Illinois, who build F-15 fighter jets and other military aircraft, voted against the firm’s latest offer over pay, work schedules and pensions. “We’re disappointed our employees rejected an offer that featured 40% average wage growth”, Dan Gillian, who is the vice president of Boeing’s Air Dominance unit, said in a statement. Boeing is struggling to turn itself around after a series of problems, including safety issues and a damaging almost eight-week…
Italy arrests 13 people in nationwide raids against Chinese mafia groups
ROME – Italian police arrested 13 people following a nationwide sweep against Chinese mafia groups, on charges including involvement in crimes such as drug dealing, sex trafficking and aggravated robbery, they said on Aug 4. Raids were conducted in 25 provinces, including Milan, Rome, Florence, Prato and Catania, anti-organised crime police official Andrea Olivadese said. Police reported a further 31 people to judicial authorities without arresting them, and seized 550 grams or around 5,500 doses of “shabu” crystal methamphetamines, and…
EU court rules against Italy on Albania migrant camps scheme
ROME/BRUSSELS – Europe’s top court on Friday questioned the legitimacy of the “safe countries” list Italy uses to send migrants to Albania and fast-track their asylum claims, in a fresh blow to a key plank of the government’s migration policy. Conservative Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s office, in a statement, called the court ruling “surprising” and said it “weakens policies to combat mass illegal immigration and defend national borders”. Dario Belluccio, a lawyer who represented one of the Bangladeshi asylum-seekers in…
Europe is breaking its reliance on American science
BRUSSELS – European governments are taking steps to break their dependence on critical scientific data the United States historically made freely available to the world, and are ramping up their own data collection systems to monitor climate change and weather extremes, according to Reuters interviews. The effort – which has not been previously reported – marks the most concrete response from the European Union and other European governments so far to the US government’s retreat from scientific research under President Donald…
Flight attendants sue Boeing over Max 9 panel blowout incident, paper says
Four flight attendants on the Alaska Airlines 737 Max 9 plane hit by a mid-air cabin panel blowout in January 2024 are suing Boeing for physical and psychological injuries, the Seattle Times said on July 31. In separate lawsuits seeking compensation for past and future economic damages, they cited physical and mental injuries, emotional distress and other financial costs related to the incident, the newspaper added. “Each of the four flight attendants acted courageously, following their training and putting their…
Taiwan Democracy in Trouble
On July 26, Taiwanese citizens went to the polls and voted on whether to recall 24 of their 113 representatives—or 21 percent of the legislature. It was an unprecedented moment in the island’s democratic history. Citizens have recalled individual Taiwanese legislators in the past, but never before have they attempted to recall politicians en masse. The recalls were ultimately defeated. But their very occurrence, and the months of campaigning that preceded them, highlight a fundamental challenge in Taiwan’s politics: deep…
Brazilian banks scramble to understand scope of US sanctions on Supreme Court justice
BRASILIA – Brazilian banks are scrambling to assess the domestic fallout from sweeping U.S. sanctions against a Supreme Court justice who oversees a criminal trial against an ally of President Donald Trump, as legal teams weigh how the move to isolate the judge financially could ripple through Brazil’s financial system. Justice Alexandre de Moraes is presiding over the trial of former President Jair Bolsonaro, a far-right leader who is accused of plotting a coup to overturn his 2022 electoral loss….
Trump escalates trade war with Canada following Palestine stance
US President Donald Trump intensified his trade war with Canada a day ahead of his Aug 1 deadline for a tariff agreement, saying it would be “very hard” to make a deal with Canada after it gave its support to Palestinian statehood. Mr Trump is set to impose a 35 per cent tariff on all Canadian goods not covered by the US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement if the two countries do not reach an agreement by the deadline. “Wow! Canada has just announced…
Zelenskiy, moving to defuse crisis, restores power of anti-graft agencies
KYIV – President Volodymyr Zelenskiy restored the independence of Ukraine’s two main anti-corruption agencies on Thursday, moving to defuse a political crisis that has shaken faith in his wartime leadership and worried Western partners. Thousands of protesters rallied in Kyiv and other cities in recent days in a rare show of discontent after lawmakers led by Zelenskiy’s ruling party rushed through amendments last week defanging the respected agencies. Zelenskiy reversed course after the outcry, under pressure from top European officials,…
Brown University makes a deal with the White House to restore funding
RHODE ISLAND – Brown University, besieged by the Trump administration’s pressure campaign against the country’s most elite schools, struck a deal with the government on July 30, becoming the third Ivy League university in a month to reach an agreement with the White House. The agreement, a copy of which Brown made public, calls for the university to make US$50 million (S$64 million) in payments to state workforce development programmes over a decade and requires Brown to comply with the…