GLOBAL SNAPSHOT

Horrific killing

WASHINGTON: A violent Latino street gang that US President Donald Trump has vowed to wipe out beheaded a man and cut out his heart before burying him in a park near the US capital, reports said yesterday. The unidentified victim was stabbed more than 100 times in Wheaton, Maryland, just outside Washington DC. Authorities have so far arrested Miguel Angel Lopez-Abrego, 19, on firstdegree murder.

Adventurer stabbed

SANTANA: Kiwi adventurer Pete Bethune has survived being stabbed in the ribs after he wrestled with two men trying to rob him in Brazil. Bethune fought with two men for about two minutes in the port of Santana, where he was trying to hire a boat while looking into the local wildlife trade. “I felt the knife go into my ribs, I thought my number had come up,” he told Radio NZ.

Underwater noise

MAR DEL PLATA: Argentina’s navy said yesterday it was investigating an unusual noise detected in the South Atlantic hours after it last communicated with a missing submarine, but refused to confirm whether it indicated an explosion aboard the ARA San Juan. The development came as the clock was ticking down on hopes of finding alive the 44 crew members now missing for a week despite a massive search of surface and seabed, amid fears their oxygen had run out.

Senator charged

NICE: Russian billionaire senator Suleyman Kerimov was charged yesterday with tax fraud in Nice. Mr Kerimov was detained upon arrival at the airport earlier in the week, where he faced two days of questioning over alleged tax evasion involving the purchase of luxury properties. He has now been released under strict conditions including handing over his passport and posting bail of five million euros.

Outrage at law

BAGHDAD: A proposal in Iraq’s parliament to scrap the minimum age for Muslim girls to marry has stirred outrage among critics who view it as a licence “to rape children”. Conservative Shiite deputies proposed an amendment to a 1959 law that set the minimum age for marriage at 18. Social media has been flooded with criticism of the Bill.

Myanmar under fire

NAYPYIDAW: US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson now says Myanmar’s military operation against the Rohingya population amounts to “ethnic cleansing” and says targeted sanctions against those responsible will be considered. Mr Tillerson had left Myanmar after a visit last week without using the label.