Author: Kenneth Gibbs

A former U.S. Marine pilot, fighting extradition from Australia on U.S. charges of training Chinese military pilots to land on aircraft carriers, unknowingly worked with a Chinese hacker, his lawyer said. Daniel Duggan, 55, a naturalised Australian citizen, also feared requests by Western intelligence agencies for sensitive information were putting his family at risk, the lawyer said in a legal filing seen by Reuters. The lawyer’s filing supports Reuters reporting linking Duggan to convicted Chinese defence hacker Su Bin. Duggan denies allegations that he broke U.S. arms control laws. He has been in an Australian maximum security prison since his 2022 arrest after…

Copenhagen (14/11 – 40) The massive mobilization and sustained pressure jolted the Sri Lankan presidency of the previously all-powerful Gotabaya Rajapaksa, prompted mass resignations from the government at the time, and solidified existing spaces and created new spaces for dissent and discussions on much-needed reforms. Sri Lanka is facing an exceptional political and economic crisis that has sparked months-long protests across the country. The new leadership under President Ranil Wickremesinghe struggles with the economic situation and seemingly failed to uphold basic human rights and pursue accountability for grave crimes towards the people of Sri Lanka. Despite troubling trends of authoritarianism,…

Brussels (25/11 – 33.3) Tajikistan Supreme Court has sentenced a widely respected 65-year-old female journalist, Ulfathonim Mamadshoeva, to 21 years in prison on charges of incitement to overthrowing the government. Mamadshoeva was accused by the authorities of being a leading figure behind the political turbulence that rocked her native Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO) earlier this year. State propaganda has previously alleged that the veteran reporter and activist hatched the purported plot, for which no credible evidence has been produced, at the behest of an unnamed foreign government. Mamadshoeva’s brother, Khursand, was last week sentenced to 18 years in prison on…

The Hamas attack on Israel out of Gaza is at a different level than in the past, a senior defense official said today.  Hundreds of Israelis have been killed in the attacks that also killed 11 Americans, President Joe Biden said in a written release. Hamas terrorists have also kidnapped people in Israel and taken them to Gaza.   “While we are still working to confirm, we believe it is likely that American citizens may be among those being held by Hamas,” Biden said. “I have directed my team to work with their Israeli counterparts on every aspect of the hostage…

Donald Trump has asked a federal court to dismiss charges against him of election interference, arguing his role entitled him to “absolute immunity”. Mr Trump’s lawyers say his attempts to cast doubt on the 2020 results fell within his duties as president. His public statements were attempts at “ensuring the integrity of federal elections”, they added. The indictment, brought by Jack Smith, alleges he made illegal attempts to stay in office. It is one of a number of filings in recent days from his legal team. Mr Trump has asked that this trial for improperly handling sensitive files be held…

Fairfax County voters will select a new school board this November, with all 12 seats up for election. In addition to the nine district seats on the ballot, voters will pick from nine candidates vying to fill three vacant at-large seats. Incumbents are running for reelection in the Braddock, Hunter Mill, Mason and Providence districts. The rest of the seats are open. Source : washingtonpost

Derrick Downey Jr. was relaxing on his second-story balcony in Los Angeles when a bushy-tailed fox squirrel suddenly appeared. Downey said they stared at each other for a few seconds, and then he asked the squirrel: “Do you want something to eat?” “It seemed obvious to me that he did, so I told him, ‘Stay here, I’ll be right back,’” Downey recalled. Source : washingtonpost

In the days immediately after the Hamas attack on Israel, the Republicans seeking the US presidency had focused their criticism on President Joe Biden and what they saw as American weakness and missteps that had paved the way for violence. That changed on Wednesday night, however, when Donald Trump addressed the topic in a speech near his home in West Palm Beach, Florida. Now some of Mr Trump’s rivals are condemning the former president in some of the most direct language of this campaign. During remarks to a crowd of supporters, Mr Trump said Israel had to “straighten it out…

He achieved fame by going undercover to rescue children from sex trafficking. Now Tim Ballard is facing allegations of assault. In a lawsuit filed on Monday, five women said they were coerced into sexual acts after joining Mr Ballard on his sting operations. Mr Ballard, whose life story was the basis of the hit film Sound of Freedom, denies the allegations. He resigned from the non-profit behind the rescue missions this summer. Operation Underground Railroad (OUR), the organisation co-founded by Mr Ballard, was also named as a defendant in the lawsuit filed in Utah’s third district court. Through OUR, Mr…

Wellington, Sydney (6/10 – 33) Nearly a month after suffering brutal humiliation by host country France, New Zealand has barged through to the 2023 Rugby World Cup quarter-finals. France is supposed to be a polite, cultured society, but on 8 September they whacked the All Blacks 27-13. Sacré bleu! In that distant past, an ugly performance with questionable strategy and ill-disciplined plays made New Zealand an unlikely choice of becoming the first country in line to win the Rugby World Cup four times. All the rugby world was amazed as the All Blacks boomeranged back in style, picking themselves up…