A 37-year-old Indian man who was arrested from Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport on January 16 after he spent three months undetected at a secure area at the airport, and drew comparisons to the 2004 Tom Hanks movie ‘The Terminal’, has been acquitted on a felony trespassing charge. A Cook county judge found him not guilty of felony criminal trespass to a restricted area of an airport. Aditya Singh came to the US nearly six years ago to complete a master’s degree programme. He boarded a Chicago-bound flight from Los Angeles on October 19, 2020, to begin his journey home to India. He never made it. Prosecutors said Singh told authorities that the pandemic left him too afraid to fly and so he instead remained at the airport, often relying on the kindness of strangers for food.
Man dressed as ‘Joker’ stabs many on Tokyo train
A 24-year-old man dressed in Batman’s Joker costume attacked passengers on a Tokyo train line on Sunday evening, injuring about 17 people as many party-goers headed into the city centre for Halloween gatherings, media reported. Police arrested the suspected attacker on the spot, media reported. A man in his 60s was unconscious and in critical condition after being stabbed, while witnesses also said the attacker had spread fluid around the train and started a fire, according to media. The Tokyo fire department said 17 passengers were injured, including three seriously. One video showed a steady stream of people running away from a train car where, seconds later, a small explosion caused a fire. NHK said the suspect, after stabbing passengers, poured a liquid resembling oil and set fire.
Reverse coup, UN chief tells Sudan army
The UN secretary general urged Sudan’s generals to reverse their takeover of the country, a day after tens of thousands of people took to the streets in the largest pro-democracy protest since last week’s coup. Antonio Guterres said the generals should “take heed” of the protests. “Time to go back to the legitimate constitutional arrangements,” he said in a tweet. He was referring to a power-sharing deal that established joint military-civilian rule. The UN envoy for Sudan, Volker Perthes, meanwhile, said he met with Abdalla Hamdok, the deposed PM who remained under house arrest in the capital Khartoum. “We discussed options for mediation... I will continue these efforts with other Sudanese stakeholders,” he said.
Brazil prez face charges over Covid
A congressional panel in Brazil voted to recommend nine criminal charges against President Jair Bolsonaro, including “crimes against humanity,” accusing Bolsonaro of intentionally allowing the coronavirus to spread unchecked through Brazil in a bid to reach herd immunity. The Senate panel also recommended charges against 77 other people, including government officials, private citizens and three of Bolsonaro’s sons, for a variety of crimes related to their response to the pandemic. The panel also recommended charges against two companies. In a six-month investigation, the panel found that Bolsonaro and members of his administration discouraged people from wearing masks, ignored offers of vaccines and promoted unproven drugs long after they were found to be ineffective. The report found that the actions, taken together, led to hundreds of thousands of deaths. Brazil has had more than 6,00,000 deaths from Covid, second only to the US, where over 7,37,000 have died.
Gunmen kill 18 at mosque in Nigeria
As many as 18 worshippers were killed in central Nigeria during early morning prayers at a mosque, a government official said. The attack took place in Maza-Kuka village in Mashegu district of Niger state, said Ahmed Ibrahim Matane, the secretary to the government. Hundreds of motorcycle-borne gunmen stormed the village and opened fire, he said. Three worshippers were injured in the attack, one of them critically, he said. Matane said, “We are still investigating the motive of the attack.” He added the government had already dispatched military and police personnel for securing the area. Ransom gangs of thieves and kidnappers, locally known as bandits, have been terrorising communities in northwest and central Nigeria where they raid villages, killing and burning homes after looting them.
6mn under lockdown in China
China placed a third city under lockdown last week to tackle Covid-19 numbers, with around six million people now under orders to stay home as Beijing chases zero cases before the Winter Olympics. The country has taken a zero tolerance approach to the virus since it first emerged in Wuhan in 2019. The resurgence prompted officials this week to lock down Lanzhou city - with a population of over four million - and Ejin in Inner Mongolia region. After one new case, authorities in Heihe followed suit. China reported 23 new cases there. The latest outbreak has been linked to the highly contagious Delta variant, with the tally hitting 198 cases since October 17.
7 killed in China knife attack
Police in central China were hunting for a man who killed seven people, including a village Communist Party chief, before jumping off a bridge, officers said. The suspect, surnamed Gao, stabbed to death a family of five, including two children in Wuhan, the city’s police force said in a statement. He fatally wounded a passerby and a cab driver while trying to steal a car to escape, it added, saying he then jumped off a bridge over the Yangtze River. The force did not say whether the man was thought to have survived the jump.
Japan princess marries fiancé, gives up royalty
Japan’s Princess Mako, the niece of the emperor, married college sweetheart Kei Komuro last week, giving up her royal title and saying she was determined to build a happy life with her “irreplaceable” husband after a tumultuous engagement. The two, 30, were married after an official from the Imperial Household Agency (IHA), which runs the family’s lives, submitted paperwork to a local office registering their marriage. She was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) earlier this year after a four year engagement plagued by money scandals and intense media scrutiny. She will now be known as Mako Komuro.
Trump’s Twitter suit transferred
Former US president Donald Trump’s lawsuit to get his Twitter account restored must be heard in a California court, not a Florida one, under a user agreement covering everyone on the social media platform, a federal judge ruled. US district Judge Robert Scola in Miami rejected Trump’s contention that because his Twitter account was suspended during his last days as president the California court requirement did not apply to him. The requirement, known as a forum selection clause, was in force when Trump originally joined Twitter as a private citizen in 2009, Scola wrote in his order. “First, Trump’s former status as the president of the United States does not preclude the application of the forum selection clause. Second, the forum selection clause is valid and mandatory,” Scola wrote in a 13-page order.
Wildlife under threat in Tanzania, Kenya
Wildlife in Tanzania and Kenya is under threat due to climate change, according to a local conservationist group that observes the migration of wild animals. The Mara Predator Conservation Project noticed that just a small fraction of animals came to the Mara, in the south of Kenya. Because of climate change, rainfalls have been less than usual, causing the ground to be drier and less likely to grow fresh grass. The water levels of the river are also unusually low, according to researcher Saitoti Silantoi. The sights of thousands of wild beasts migrating are severely toned down this year. "It is usually an endless mass of black you know, but over the last few years it has been very irregular," Silantoi said. "The annual wild beast migration serves a very vital role in the Masai Mara because, you know, they bring that bulk food that predators need. So if you cut out this main source of food, then basically, the predators would not make it you know especially the lions and the hyenas," Silantoi said.
Washington bans China phone carrier
US regulators are expelling a unit of China Telecom Ltd., one of the country’s three major state-owned carriers, from the American market as a national security threat amid rising tension with Beijing. China Telecom (Americas) Corp is required to stop providing domestic interstate and international service in the US within 60 days, under an order approved by the Federal Communications Commission. The FCC cited the danger that Beijing might use the company to eavesdrop or disrupt US communications and engage in espionage and other harmful activities against the US. The Biden administration has extended efforts begun under former President Donald Trump to limit access to US technology and markets for state-owned Chinese companies due to concern they were security risks or helping with military development.
Nuclear talks to resume by Nov-end: Iran
Iran’s talks with six world powers aimed at reviving a 2015 nuclear deal will resume by the end of November, its top nuclear negotiator said, as Western concerns over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear advances grow. “Had a constructive dialogue with @enriquemora on the elements for successful negotiations. We agree to start negotiations before the end of November,” Ali Bagheri Kani tweeted after meeting EU officials in Brussels. “Exact date would be announced in the course of the next week,” he added. In April, Tehran and six powers started to discuss ways to salvage the nuclear pact, which three years ago then-US President Trump abandoned. But the talks have been on hold since the election of Iran’s hardline President Ebrahim Raisi in June.
Tension between Taiwan, China escalates
Taiwan’s air force scrambled to warn off eight Chinese aircraft including fighter jets that entered its air defence zone, its defence ministry said, at a time of heightened tensions across the sensitive Taiwan Strait. Taiwan has complained for a year or more of repeated missions by China’s air force near the self-ruled island, often in the southwestern part of its air defence zone near the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Islands. The Chinese aircraft included six J-16 fighters, one anti-submarine aircraft and one surveillance aircraft, the defence ministry said in a statement. Taiwan, which China claims as its own and has not ruled out taking by force, says Chinese military activities near the island jeopardize regional stability and repeatedly vows to defend its freedom and democracy. US secretary of state Antony Blinken told his Chinese counterpart that the US opposed actions by China.
10 US states sue Biden govt
Ten Republican states have filed a lawsuit to stop President Biden’s Covid vaccine mandate for federal contractors. Attorney generals from Alaska, Arkansas, Iowa, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming signed on to the lawsuit, which was filed in a federal district court in Missouri. The states asked the judge to block Biden’s requirement that all employees of federal contractors be vaccinated by December 8, arguing that the mandate violates federal procurement law and is an overreach of federal power.
Thailand, Oz & Israel ease travel curbs
Thailand, Australia and Israel eased international border restrictions significantly on Monday for the first time in 18 months, offering a broad test of demand for travel worldwide amid the Covid pandemic. The relaxation contrasts with tightening lockdowns elsewhere, notably in eastern Europe where infections have hit record numbers, and in parts of China, which has taken a zero-tolerance approach despite relatively few cases. Hundreds of vaccinated foreign tourists arrived in the Thai capital for quarantine free travel after the Southeast Asian nation approved visitors from over 60 countries, including China and the US. Several European nations are also on the list as Thailand looks to capitalise visitors keen to escape the winter blues.
