The hopes of China’s president Xi Jinping to play a more assertive role on the world stage were under pressure on Thursday as he headed to the G20 summit amid a trade war with the US and blows to his flagship Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Mr Xi, who has reversed years of foreign policy caution, landed in Osaka amid reports that Tanzania had suspended a port project and Kenya halted construction on a coal…
Italy’s national airline has been forced to pull an online advertisement which featured an actor blacked up to look like former US president Barack Obama, after accusations that it was racist. Alitalia apologised for the advert, one of four launched under the hashtag #WhereIsWashington to publicise a new route between Rome and the American capital. The offending ad featured an actor, believed to be Tunisian, wearing heavy make-up to resemble Mr Obama. Three other ads from…
American Airlines has apologised to a Texan doctor for asking her to cover herself with a blanket before being allowed onto their plane. Dr Latisha Rowe was flying from Jamaica to Miami on June 30 when she and her eight-year-old son were asked to get off the plane shortly before take-off. A flight attendant told her, she claimed, that her outfit – a brightly printed, strapless jumpsuit – was “too distracting”. The attendant asked if…
New York’s notorious Gambino family and alleged mafia dons in Sicily were targeted in a series of raids on Wednesday carried out by more than 200 officers from the FBI and the Italian police. The coordinated operation was an aggressive move against the crime families’ hopes of re-establishing their presence on Sicily, from where they fled during a vicious war between rival clans in the 1980s. The war was waged by Salvatore “Toto” Riina, a…
Iran’s president has suggested he will release the British tanker seized in the Strait of Hormuz if the UK releases an Iranian tanker seized off Gibraltar, in his most explicit offer yet to resolve the crisis through an exchange. Iran initially claimed it captured the Stena Impero last Friday for violating international maritime rules but in recent days officials have made clear that the seizure was a tit-for-tat response to UK actions in Gibraltar. Hassan…
Cambodia has pledged to spend an additional $40 million on Chinese weapons to modernise its military, in a move that is likely to compound US fears about Phnom Penh’s growing proximity to Beijing as China spreads it influence across Southeast Asia. Cambodia’s military ties with ally China have been under particular scrutiny over reports that a secret deal has been signed to allow Chinese forces to use a Cambodian naval base to dock warships and…
In February 1984, the deputy head of the Indian Consulate in Birmingham was grabbed as he got off the bus heading home with a cake for his daughter’s birthday. The next day, Kashmiri nationalists announced that they had kidnapped him and were demanding a ransom and the release of a Kashmiri leader in Indian custody. The Indian government refused and Mhatre was brutally murdered. Three decades later in 2005, the Kashmiri connection came to life…
NEW YORK — Some e-cigarettes will soon go up in vapor in New York. State officials will take “emergency” action this week to ban flavored electronic cigarettes amid concerns about their widespread use by children, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Sunday. The state’s Public Health and Health Planning Council, an obscure 25-member regulatory panel, will move to impose the ban at an emergency meeting this week at the recommendation of Dr. Howard Zucker, the state’s health…
LOS ANGELES, CA — A man’s fight for bathroom equality aboard an Alaska Airlines flight from New York to Los Angeles landed him in handcuffs Thursday and forced the plane to land in the Midwest. According to authorities, the coach passenger is suspected of making a threat after he was denied access to a first class bathroom. Alaska Airlines Flight 411 landed in Kansas City Thursday evening, and the unruly passenger was arrested. According to…
Since she was 7 years old, Emily Shilson has dreamed of winning an Olympic gold medal. On Wednesday, Shilson captured the Junior women’s freestyle world title at the USA Wrestling Junior and Cadet national championships at the Fargodome. The decorated wrestler from Centennial High School in Maple Grove, Minn., is ranked No. 1 nationally in her weight class. She made quick work of Sage Mortimer from Utah on Wednesday in the 100-pound division, using two…