LONDON (Anadolu) -The first ministers of Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland are set to meet in Cardiff on Monday to discuss the possibility of leaving the United Kingdom through constitutional change and cooperation between the three UK nations, according to The Telegraph. Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney, Wales’ First Minister Rhun ap Iowerth, and Northern Ireland’s First Minister Michelle O’Neill are expected to sign a memorandum of understanding calling for greater cooperation on economic, energy, European and constitutional issues, Anadolu agency reported.

 

*** 

Washington (Washington Post) - Democrats plan to launch a series of investigations into US President Donald Trump, his family and his administration’s policies if they win control of the House of Representatives in the midterm elections. Democratic politicians interviewed by the newspaper said they intended to launch sweeping investigations into the growth of Trump and his family’s wealth while he has been in office, as well as his administration’s prosecution of political opponents and restructuring of the federal government.

 

*** 

Virginia (AFP) - A former CIA official found with $40 million of gold bars in his home has reached a tentative plea agreement after being charged with theft for fraudulently inflating his salary, according to court records. A federal judge on Friday extended a deadline to formally indict defendant David J. Rush until Oct. 8, giving time for federal prosecutors and his attorney to finalize the plea deal and avoid a public trial that the parties said could involve significant litigation over classified material.

 

*** 

BANJARMASIN, Indonesia (Reuters) - At least six people died and another 129 are still missing after an Indonesian passenger ship capsized in the Java Sea during bad weather early on Sunday, the search and rescue agency said.Crews managed to rescue 108 people from the Virgo Transport 8 ship and were still searching for any other survivors, the agency added. At a rescue centre, passenger Rinto Arahab said he held onto the ships railings after it flipped over, then managed to climb to a higher point on the stricken vessel as it tossed and turned in the water.

 

*** 

SANTIAGO, Chile (AFP) - More than 280 people were arrested in Chile during protests condemning Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship, the government said Saturday. Authorities arrested 284 people, including 31 minors, Public Security Minister Martin Arrau said on X. Pinochet led a dictatorship in Chile from 1973 to 1990 that left more than 3,200 dead or missing. Tens of thousands were tortured or imprisoned.

 

*** 

LAGOS (AFP) - Armed fighters have kidnapped six imams in a northern Nigerian state which has fallen prey to gangs demanding ransoms for release, police said on Sunday. Kidnappings have become a serious source of revenue for Nigeria’s many armed groups, both for jihadists and non-ideological gangs of criminals locally known as bandits. On Saturday, “a group of armed bandits, reportedly wielding sophisticated weapons, laid an ambush along Dakko-Damri feeder road and intercepted a vehicle conveying the victims,” police in the northeastern state of Zamfara said.