NEWS OF THE DAY
From Around the World
1 Sex crimes probe: Pope Francis is sending the Vatican’s most respected sex crimes expert to Chile to investigate a bishop accused by victims of covering up for the country’s most notorious pedophile priest. The Vatican said Tuesday that Maltese Bishop Charles Scicluna would travel to Chile “to listen to those who have expressed the desire to provide elements” about the case of Bishop Juan Barros. The Barros controversy dominated Francis’ just-ended trip to Chile and exposed Francis’ blind spot as far as clerical sex abuse is concerned. Even one of his closest advisers, Cardinal Sean O’Malley, publicly rebuked him for his treatment of victims and tried to set him straight.
2 Fugitive leader: Catalan separatist lawmakers who want to re-elect their fugitive ex-president suffered a setback Tuesday when the house speaker postponed a planned parliament meeting, saying it would not take place until there were guarantees Spanish authorities “won’t interfere.” The decision by Roger Torrent came after Spain’s top court ruled Saturday that Carles Puigdemont, who fled to Belgium three months ago and faces arrest if he returns, could be reelected only if physically present in the parliament in Barcelona. The court also ordered that he must obtain permission to appear at parliament from the judge investigating him over Catalonia’s independence bid.
3 Nigeria violence: Nigeria’s military has killed at least 35 people in air raids during attempts to combat growing violence between farmers and herdsmen, Amnesty International said Tuesday. Thousands of people have been displaced and at least 168 killed since the beginning of the year as farmers and nomadic herdsmen fight over land in five states, the human rights group said. Nigeria’s military response has not curbed the fighting and further threatens the communities it is trying to protect, the new report said.
4 Terrorism charge: An Uzbek man who rammed a stolen truck into a crowd in downtown Stockholm in April, killing five and injuring 14, was charged Tuesday with terrorism, attempts to carry out a terror act and endangering others. Rakhmat Akilov is the only suspect and has already confessed. He was arrested hours after he drove a stolen beer truck into a crowd of shoppers on a busy pedestrian shopping street and crashed it into an upscale department store in Stockholm’s city center on April 7. A British man, a Belgian woman and three Swedes were killed. Prosecutor Hans Ihrman said he would demand that Akilov gets a life sentence and be extradited from Sweden.
5 Concert attack thief: A British judge handed a prison sentence Tuesday to a homeless man who admitted stealing from victims of the Manchester Arena bombing while pretending to help them. Chris Parker, 33, received worldwide acclaim when he said he helped comfort people who were injured or dying after the suicide attack at the end of an Ariana Grande concert. Twenty-two people were killed in the May 22 bombing. Closed-circuit TV footage showing Parker stealing a purse and a mobile phone from victims ended his status as a homeless hero. He admitted to theft and fraud charges. In sentencing Parker to a prison term of four years and three months, Judge David Hernandez said it was hard to imagine a “more reprehensible set of circumstances.”