News in Brief
Father sues in US over return of daughter
The father of a woman who left the US to join the socalled Islamic State terror group is suing the Washington government over her right to return.
Ahmed Ali Muthana filed the lawsuit, accusing the Trump administration of an “unlawful attempt” to revoke his daughter Hoda’s citizenship.
She has said she is willing to face federal charges upon her return. But Donald Trump has ordered officials to bar the former Isil propagandist from entering the US.
Muthana (24) grew up in Alabama and travelled to Syria to join Isil when she was 20, withdrawing from college and using her tuition money to purchase a ticket to Turkey without her family’s knowledge. She now has an 18-month-old son and wants to bring him to the US.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said last Wednesday that she had no “right” to a passport or any US visa. Her father’s prior status as a Yemeni diplomat at the UN was behind the US decision. Under US law, the children of diplomats are not considered US citizens.
Bond set for R Kelly on sex abuse charges
A judge in the US yesterday set bail of $1m for singer R Kelly. The R&B star awaits trial on charges that he sexually abused four people, including three minors.
Kelly, who was acquitted of child pornography charges in 2008, has consistently denied any sexual misconduct.
Both a BBC documentary and the multipart TV show Surviving R Kelly have publicly detailed allegations that the singer was holding women against their will and was running a “sex cult”.
State of emergency in Sudan crisis
Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir appointed a first vice president and a new prime minister yesterday — 24 hours after declaring a state of emergency that did little to halt street demonstrations in the East African country.
Following the most sustained series of protests of his 30-year rule, Bashir declared a one-year nationwide state of emergency last Friday and replaced all state governors with military officials.
There was no sign his speech had calmed the streets. Protests continued late into the night across Khartoum.
Singin’ in the Rain director Donen dies
Stanley Donen, director of Singin’ in the Rain and other Hollywood golden era musicals, has died aged 94. Other films directed by Donen include Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Funny Face starring Fred Astaire and Audrey Hepburn, and Charade, also starring Hepburn.
Faulty brakes blamed as 20 die in China
At least 20 people were killed and 30 injured in an accident at a mine in northern China yesterday morning. The casualties occurred when brakes failed on a bus carrying 50 miners to a lead, zinc and silver mine in inner Mongolia region, and crashed into the side of a tunnel.
4,000 ‘yellow vest’ marchers in Paris
Thousands of people marched yesterday in Paris and other French cities and dozens were arrested as France’s “yellow vest” movement staged its 15th consecutive weekend of demonstrations against the government.
Some 11,600 people joined the protests nationwide, including 4,000 in the capital — up from 10,200 last week, with 3,000 in Paris.
Ex-soldier fined in Swiss neutrality case
A military court in Switzerland this weekend fined a former sergeant in the Alpine nation’s army 500 Swiss francs (€440) for joining a foreign Christian militia to fight the Islamic State in Syria between 2013 and 2015.
The tribunal found Johan Cosar guilty of weakening Swiss defence and jeopardising Swiss neutrality — but acquitted him of recruiting others to join the Syriac Military Council, a Christian militia group.
Awards are elementary, my dear Trump
US President Donald Trump and a comedy take on Sherlock Holmes yesterday topped the annual Razzie awards for the worst performances and films of 2018.
Holmes & Watson, starring Will Ferrell and John C Reilly, took four trophies including worst film and worst rip-off. Reilly was named worst supporting actor in what Razzie founder John Wilson called a “clueless parody”.
Winners in the tongue-in-cheek Razzies are announced a day before the Academy Awards ceremony. Trump won two worst actor Razzies for appearing as himself in the 2018 documentaries Death of a Nation, from conservative film maker Dinesh D’Souza, and liberal Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 11/9. White House aide Kellyanne Conway was voted worst supporting actress for archival footage in Fahrenheit 11/9.