Ex-Nissan chief had help to flee Japan
ANKARA, Turkey —A Turkish company that charters private jets says a rogue employee helped fugitive auto executive Carlos Ghosn escape from Japan to Lebanon.
MNG Jet said in a statement Friday that two of its jets were used “illegally” to transport Mr. Ghosn without the knowledge of company management. The company said it has filed a criminal complaint.
MNG said it had leased two separate planes to different clients that did not appear to be connected. One was chartered from Dubai to Osaka, Japan, and then Osaka to Istanbul, while the other was booked from Istanbul to Beirut.
Turkish police launched an investigation into Mr. Ghosn’s escape on Thursday, detaining seven people on suspicion of involvement in the plot.
Mr. Ghosn — the former chairman of Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors, and former chairman and CEO of their alliance partner, Renault — had been awaiting trial in Japan on charges of financial wrongdoing,
Australia fires raging
SYDNEY — One of the largest evacuations in Australia’s history was underway Friday ahead of hot weather and strong winds that are forecast to worsen devastating wildfires raging across the country.
More than 200 fires were burning, and warnings of extreme danger to come Saturday prompted mass evacuations. Traffic was gridlocked as people fled and firefighters escorted convoys of evacuees as fires threatened to close roads. Navy ships were called in to pluck hundreds of people stranded on beaches.
Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews declared a disaster across much of the eastern part of the state, allowing the government to order evacuations in an area with as many as 140,000 permanent residents and tens of thousands more vacationers.
The early and devastating start to Australia’s summer wildfires has made this season the worst on record. About 5 million acres have burned, at least 19 people have been killed, and more than 1,400 homes have been destroyed.
Jakarta floods kill 43
JAKARTA, Indonesia — The death toll from floods in Indonesia’s capital rose to 43 on Friday as rescuers found more bodies amid receding floodwaters, disaster officials said.
Monsoon rains and rising rivers submerged at least 182 neighborhoods in greater Jakarta and caused landslides in the Bogor and Depok districts on the city’s outskirts as well as in neighboring Lebak, which buried a dozen people.
National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman Agus Wibowo said the fatalities also included those who had drowned or been electrocuted since rivers broke their banks Wednesday after extreme torrential rains throughout New Year’s Eve.
Belarus’ fuel woes
Belarus has suspended exports of oil products after the halt of crude supply from Russia forced it to curb production at its refineries.
Belarus, which has traditionally relied on Russia for crude, is now running its refineries at minimum rates. Transit of Russian crude to European buyers across Belarus territory continues, according to Russian news service Tass.
Russia and Belarus have been at odds over transit fees and oil supply for months, with the two nations yet to agree on compensation for the contaminated crude that was delivered to refineries in Belarus via the Druzhba pipeline earlier last year. Belarus fuel exports dropped by almost 15% in the first 10 months of 2019, according to the nation’s statistics service.