3rd fired officer from Floyd death posts bail
A third fired Minneapolis police officer charged in George Floyd’s Memorial Day death has been released from jail, according to Hennepin County jail records
Tao Thao, 34, posted $750,000 bail and was released from the downtown Minneapolis jail Saturday morning. He had been held on $1 million bail with no conditions or $750,000 bail with conditions.
He is set to appear in court at 9 a.m. Sept. 11 on charges of aiding and abetting second-degree murder while committing a felony, and with aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter with culpable negligence.
Mr. Thao was one of four Minneapolis officers, all now fired, who were at the scene of Floyd’s death on May 25. Derek Chauvin, who kneeled on Floyd’s neck, is charged with second-degree murder, thirddegree murder and seconddegree manslaughter with culpable negligence; he is in custody on $1.25 million bail.
U.S. envoy forges on with Taliban peace deal
Washington’s envoy to Afghanistan on Saturday emphasized the economic benefits of the peace deal with the Taliban, forging ahead with an agreement that has run into new political obstacles in the U.S. and the region.
Zalmay Khalilzad was wrapping up a weeklong trip that included stops in Uzbekistan, Pakistan and the Gulf state of Qatar, where Taliban negotiators are headquartered.
Mr. Khalilzad offered no details about the kinds of economic projects being envisioned to jump-start an economy battered by widespread corruption and currently 75% funded by international donations. However, he did suggest joint economic projects involving Qatar and Pakistan, possibly on infrastructure and trade.
The U.S. signed a peace deal with the Taliban in February to end 19 years of war in Afghanistan. However, Washington has recently become embroiled in a controversy over intelligence reports that Russia was paying money to insurgents with links to the Taliban to kill American and NATO soldiers.
North Korea resists more nuclear talks
North Korea is ruling out more talks with the U.S., saying the American authorities are using the idea as a mere political tool.
“We do not feel any need to sit face-to-face with the U.S.,” North Korea Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui said, according to the state-run Korean Central News Agency on Saturday. The U.S. does not consider the North Korea-U.S. dialogue as anything more than a tool for grappling with its political crisis, Mr. Choe said.
The criticism comes amid efforts by the South Korean government to patch together broken down relations with the North. President Moon Jae-in had urged talks between the U.S. and North Korea be held before the American presidential election, according to a report by Edaily on Wednesday. On Thursday, South Korea Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said the country will continue to fully exercise diplomatic capabilities to bring North Korea back to the negotiation table.