World News Briefs For Sunday, 6 October 2019
Hello Australia!! - A Perth couple returns home from a terrible ordeal in Iran - Another official is reportedly ready to reveal more of Trump's allegedly dirty deals - What's to become of the Rohingya? - And more in your CareerSpot Global News Briefs:
Iran dropped all charges against Australians Jolie King and Mark Firkin of Perth and they are back home after being released from jail. The travel bloggers had been detained for reportedly flying a drone without a permit. "While the past few months have been very difficult, we know it has also been tough for those back home who have been worried for us," they said. "We are grateful for the efforts of the Australian Government in helping secure our release, and we thank our family and friends for their love and support." Attorney-General Christian Porter would not say if this was linked to Australia's decision not to extradite Iranian scientist and suspected spy Reza Dehbashi Kivi from Queensland to the US; Iranian media reported he returned home already.
A fifth day of rioting in Iraq has risen the death toll to around 100 lives lost. Demonstrators are upset with the government's inability to combat a poor economy and widespread unemployment.
US and North Korean negotiators broke off nuclear talks taking place in Stockholm, dashing prospects for an end to months of stalemate. Pyongyang's chief nuclear negotiator Kim Myong-gil accused Washington of falsely raising hopes "by offering suggestions like a flexible approach, new method and creative solutions, but they have disappointed us greatly and dampened our enthusiasm for negotiation by bringing nothing to the negotiation table". The Americans and their Swedish hosts declined to comment.
A second US intelligence official is reportedly considering filing a whistleblower complaint about Donald Trump's dealings with Ukraine. The complaint from the first whistleblower accused Trump of trading US weapons to Kiev in exchange for gossip that could damage the presidential campaign of Trump's political rival former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter. The New York Times says the second whistleblower complaint would come from an official with even more direct knowledge of the quid pro quo, which Trump has pretty much already admitted.
The man who killed four Paris police officers in a knife attack last week had converted to a far-right form of radical Islamic, according to prosecutors. Mickael Harpon had reached out to members of the Salafist movement, but had cut off contact with women and even changed the style of clothing he had worn over the 18 months prior. Authorities say he had defended the Charlie Hebdo attack in text messages with his wife.
Police in Brazil are accusing a top official with President Jair Bolsonaro's far-right party of wrongdoing in last year's election. Prosecutors are endorsing the finding against Marcelo Alvaro Antonio, who is also tourism minister, meaning that a judge's okay is all that is needed to send the case to trial. Authorities say Antonio got around rules to require parties to field at least 30 percent female candidates by putting up fake candidates who received no campaign funds or promotion. Those who did get party money were told to give it back immediately. Antonio, who denies wrongdoing, faces years in prison. Bolsonaro campaigned on an anti-corruption platform.
The United Nations' independent investigator on Myanmar says it's not yet safe for the return of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims who fled to Bangladesh to escape murder and repression. Yanghee Lee said in a report to the General Assembly that Myanmar has failed to dismantle its "system of persecution" of Rohingyas. Myanmar still restricts the Rohingya to their villages, meaning they can't make a living and are dependent on aid from NGOs; but at the same time, those groups are blocked from delivering that aid "so heavily" that the Rohingya's "basic means for survival has been affected".