NEWS OF THE DAY
From Around the World
➊ Jihadi plot: A Dutch court convicted six men Thursday of plotting a largescale jihadi attack on a public event and sentenced them to prison terms ranging from 10 to 17 years. Rotterdam District Court said in a statement that the men were planning to open fire with AK47 assault rifles at a festival and to detonate a car bomb in late 2018. However, intelligence agencies tipped off police and an undercover operative was able to infiltrate the gang and ultimately thwart their preparations before any attack took place. The ring leader, a man of Iraqi descent, was sentenced to 17 years. The names of the defendants weren’t released in line with Dutch privacy rules.
➋ Porno bust: French police have arrested 61 people suspected of involvement in a vast child pornography network, including at least three people who raped children on camera, officials said Thursday. Among the suspects are several who work in jobs that put them in contact with children, such as teachers, religious leaders and city hall officials, according to Eric Berot, head of the French police agency overseeing the operation. They were arrested in coordinated operations in 30 regions of France between Monday and Thursday, based on months of investigation of child pornography shared on peertopeer networks online, French investigators said.
➌ Ancient scroll: A 700yearold Chinese painted scroll from the Yuan Dynasty fetched $ 41.8 million at a Sotheby’s auction in Hong Kong. The 6.6feet scroll, titled “Five Drunken Princes Returning on Horseback” is by Ren Renfa, a renowned Chinese artist and government official. The painting depicts the princes riding horses, together with four attendants. One of the princes is Li Longji, who later became the longestreigning Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty. In 1922, the “Five Drunken Princes Returning on Horseback” scroll was transported out of the Forbidden City by Pu Yi, the last emperor of China, after the fall of Qing dynasty.
➍ Terror financing: Pakistan’s counterterrorism police on Thursday arrested two suspected militants on charges of collecting funds for outlawed charities of a radical cleric wanted by Washington for his role in the 2008 Mumbai attacks. According to the CounterTerrorism Department, the two men were captured in a raid from a remote village in Muzaffargarh district in Punjab province. The suspects were collecting funds for Hafiz Saeed’s outlawed JamaatudDawa and FalaheInsaniat charities, suspected of being fronts for the militant LashkareTaiba group. Saeed is the founder and chief of the outlawed LashkareTaiba, blamed by neighboring India for the Mumbai terrorist attacks that killed 166 people. He is serving a 5 ½ year prison sentence since February, after being convicted of financing terrorism. He has denied it.
➎ Kyrgyzstan protests: The president of Kyrgyzstan held his first talks Thursday with the newly appointed speaker of parliament to try to end a political crisis that unfolded in the Central Asian country after mass protests over a disputed parliamentary election. President Sooronbai Jeenbekov spoke by phone with Myktybek Abdyldayev, who was named to the leadership post by lawmakers. Kyrgyzstan, a country of 6.5 million located on the border with China, plunged into chaos this week after mass protests erupted Monday, the day after a parliamentary election appeared to show parties connected to the ruling elite winning. Protesters stormed and seized government buildings, looting some offices, and the Central Election Commission responded by nullifying Sunday’s balloting.