Author: Gulf News Week
Human Rights WatchThe case sent shockwaves through Sri Lanka, spurring diplomatic efforts to seek clemencySaudi Arabia’s Supreme Court has set aside the death sentence handed to a Sri Lankan migrant worker over a comment he made on Facebook, Colombo’s Deputy Foreign Minister Arun Hemachandra said.Anojan Sivarasa, 27, was sentenced to death in September after a Saudi appellate court convicted him of blasphemy against Islam and the Prophet Muhammad over his comment.The case sent shockwaves through Sri Lanka, spurring diplomatic efforts to seek clemency.Saudi Arabia’s top court set aside the sentence on Wednesday, Hemachandra said in a post on Facebook, where…
Getty ImagesBank of America has been fined $1.2bn (£910m) for failing to detect potential money laundering and other illegal activity, the US Treasury Department said on Tuesday.The banking giant failed to report over $5bn in suspicious activity to the government, $1bn of which posed national security and illicit finance risks, the Treasury said. Those failures included not flagging transactions that possibly involved Chinese money laundering networks or trade-based laundering “with a substantial nexus to the southwest border”, according to the Treasury.”Our team is far along with and committed to completing the work required to address the issues raised by our…
NurPhoto via Getty ImagesReports in Turkish media said said financial crimes police were searching Halk TV’s Istanbul headquarters (file photo)Turkish police have raided the headquarters of a pro-opposition TV channel, halting its live broadcasts.Halk TV said its employees were unable to enter the building in Istanbul on Wednesday morning, and that a new manager had been appointed to run the channel.Reports in Turkish media said financial crimes police were searching the building and 17 arrest warrants had been issued in the raid linked to the channel’s owner.Halk TV has been seen by many in the country as being close to…
ReutersFirefighters work at the site of an apartment building damaged by a Russian missile strikeA key energy facility supplying Kyiv with heating and electricity has been hit in a Russian ballistic missile attack, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said.Darnytska CHP-4, or CHPP-4, and a residential building were hit in a strike the president said came with “no early warning from our partners”.Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said two people had been killed and 21 injured in the missile strike on the apartment block late on Tuesday. He said “several energy facilities” in Kyiv had been hit in what he, without giving…
Getty ImagesPersistent haze this year has prompted Indonesian authorities to step up efforts to punish offendersAs Indonesia battles its worst wildfire season in a decade, a toxic smog is choking millions of residents in the region.The air on the islands of Kalimantan and Sumatra have turned an ominous amber, with air quality recorded at hazardous levels.The smog – also known as the haze – has also drifted beyond Indonesia’s borders to neighbouring countries, raising public health concerns. It has obscured Singapore’s skyline and forced some schools to close in Malaysia.Now, anger is mounting at the companies accused of burning farmland…
Why the lonely in China are hiring ‘temporary children’A new industry being dubbed the “loneliness economy” has emerged in China, with people hiring themselves out as companions to help the elderly.6 hrs agoChina
Family handoutThe family of a man who was killed by a tiger after he entered its enclosure at a wildlife park has paid tribute, describing him as “bright, warm and engaging”.William Chapman, 23, visited Yorkshire Wildlife Park near Doncaster on Saturday and was attacked after going into the animal’s pen. He was pronounced dead at the scene.In a statement, his family said that he had suffered from “significant mental illness” over a number of years and had been prescribed “strong medication”.It said it was for the coroner to decide whether his mental illness played a part in his death, asking…
Watch: ‘Traumatic’ – Witnesses recount moment man fell out of Six Flags roller coasterOne person has died and others were injured after an incident on a rollercoaster at an amusement park in the US state of Georgia.2 hrs agoUS & Canada
Watch: Selma Blair is seen leaving court after plane incidentUS actress Selma Blair has been charged with two additional assault counts over allegedly kicking an officer and a nurse after being removed from a flight. Blair was arrested late Sunday in New York after she allegedly attacked flight attendants on a Delta plane travelling from Los Angeles to New York. The FBI issued her a federal summons accusing her of assault on board.While appearing in court over the additional charges, the Legally Blonde star’s attorney asked the judge to consider the actress’s “body of work”, and called Blair the “gold…
US Department of JusticeProsecutors released CCTV images of the suspect allegedly checking on the secret recorderA Saudi national has been charged with secretly planting a recording device in one of OpenAI’s offices in California, federal prosecutors announced. Abdulrahman Alfozan, who worked at the AI firm as an engineer, was charged federally with using or endeavoring to use an electronic, mechanical, or other device to intercept oral communications.OpenAI said it had discovered a “sophisticated recording device” hidden in their San Francisco office and alerted the FBI. The company said it used its AI models to track that it had been planted…