News in Brief

Date: 20 December 2022 - 21:39

News ID: ۱۱۰۳۹۶

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- Lawmakers investigating last year’s assault on the U.S. Capitol recommended that Donald Trump be charged with multiple offenses including insurrection -- raising the stakes in a parallel criminal investigation that could put the former president in jail. The House of Representatives select committee called for the indictment -- as well as charges of obstruction of an official proceeding and conspiracy to defraud the United States -- after an 18-month probe into the storming of Congress on January 6, 2021. At least five people died after a mob whipped up by Trump’s claims of a stolen election, and directed to march on Congress by the defeated president, ransacked the seat of US democracy in a thwarted bid to prevent the transfer of power to President Joe Biden.

***

PRACHUAP KHIRI KHAN, Thailand (AFP) -- One sailor was found alive Tuesday in the Gulf of Thailand after two nights at sea following the sinking of a naval vessel, giving hope to the families of over two dozen still missing. In total, 76 sailors from the HTMS Sukhothai have been hauled from the sea after the vessel went down late Sunday roughly 37 kilometers (22 miles) off the country’s southeastern coast. Rescuers in helicopters, two planes, and four vessels -- the HTMS Kraburi, HTMS Angthong, HTMS Naresuan and HTMS Bhumibol Adulyadej -- were scanning the turbulent waters for 29 missing sailors, the navy said.  Naval commander Pichai Lorchusakul confirmed on Tuesday afternoon they had found, in good health, 23-year-old Chananyu Gansriya, from Loei province.

***

MOSCOW (Reuters) -- Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin said that more than 60 Russian “hostages” were serving prison sentences in the United States, the result of what he called an illegal global hunt for Russians by U.S. intelligence services. Vershinin’s remarks, made in an interview to Russia’s state-owned news agency RIA published on Tuesday, come as Washington is seeking a new prisoner swap with Moscow amid speculation about which captives Russia may want freed in such a deal.

***

GUATEMALA CITY (AFP) -- Guatemalan authorities have intercepted a narcotics-laden submarine, arrested two Ecuadorans and a Colombian on board, and seized more than 1.7 tons of drugs, the prosecutor’s office said. The narcotics were worth an estimated $23.2 million, according to spokesman Moises Ortiz. The prosecutor’s office described the seizure as “a heavy blow to transnational organized crime.” Last year, Guatemala seized more than 11 tons of cocaine, according to the interior ministry -- a 20 percent drop from 2020.

***

LONDON (AFP) -- A 23-year-old man from York in northern England was charged with “threatening behavior” after several eggs were thrown towards King Charles III during a visit to the city last month. Patrick Thelwell will appear at York Magistrates’ Court on January 20 next year, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said, following a probe into the November 9 incident. He could face up to six months in prison if convicted, according to sentencing guidelines. Thelwell was arrested on suspicion of a public order offence and released later that day, police said at the time, after several eggs landed near the monarch as he toured central York.  The university student remained free on bail, with part of his temporary release conditions that he could not carry eggs in public apart from when grocery shopping.

***

BEIJING/SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Cities across China scrambled to install hospital beds and build fever screening clinics on Tuesday as authorities reported five more deaths and international concern grew about Beijing’s surprise decision to let the virus run free. China this month began dismantling its stringent “zero-COVID” regime of lockdowns and testing after protests against curbs that had kept the virus at bay for three years but at a big cost to society and the world’s second-largest economy. Now, as the virus sweeps through a country of 1.4 billion people who lack natural immunity having been shielded for so long, there is growing concern about possible deaths, virus mutations and the impact on the economy and trade. Beijing reported five COVID-related deaths on Tuesday, following two on Monday, which were the first fatalities reported in weeks. In total, China has reported 5,242 COVID deaths since the pandemic emerged in the city of Wuhan in late 2019, a very low toll by global standards.

***

SUVA, Fiji (AFP) -- Fiji’s opposition reached a deal on Tuesday to form a new coalition government, breaking an election deadlock and signaling an end to Frank Bainimarama’s 16-year rule. Two-time coup leader and former rugby international Sitiveni “Rambo” Rabuka, is set to be the country’s next prime minister, after securing the support of a minor party and a parliamentary majority. Last Wednesday’s contentious election ended in deadlock, with both frontrunners forced to court a minor party to secure power.  After days of horsetrading, the small Social Democratic Liberal Party said Tuesday that its executive had voted 16-14 in favor of joining Rabuka’s broad coalition.