Top Stories Today – April 3, 2019
Top Stories Today – April 3, 2019
Brunei punishes gay sex with death
Brunei is introducing strict new Islamic laws that make anal sex and adultery offences punishable by stoning to death. The new measures, that come into force on Wednesday, also cover a range of other crimes including punishment for theft by amputation.
The move has sparked international condemnation. Brunei’s gay community has expressed shock and fear at the “medieval punishments”. The sultan of the small south-east Asian nation on Wednesday called for “stronger” Islamic teachings. BBC
US House subpoenas on security clearances, census
The House Oversight Committee on Tuesday issued four subpoenas as part of its investigations into the White House’s security clearance process and the Trump administration’s attempt to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census. A whistleblower from the White House Personnel Security Office told Congress that career officials in her department rejected dozens of White House security clearances, but they were overruled in 25 cases. One of the subpoenas was served to former White House Personnel Security Director Carl Kline. The other three subpoenas stem from the White House wanting to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census, and were served to Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General John Gore for his testimony and Attorney General William Barr and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross for documents. The Hill via The Week
Chinese woman arrested at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago
A Chinese woman, Yujing Zhang who got through security checkpoints at President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida carrying a thumb drive coded with “malicious” software was arrested Saturday for entering a restricted property and making false statements to officials, according to a court filing. Zhang produced two Chinese passports displaying her photo and said she wanted to go to the pool. Secret Service officers could not initially find her name on an access list for the property.
A club manager said that a man named Zhang was a club member, and even though Yujing Zhang did not give a clear answer as to whether the man was her father, the resort officials allowed her on the property on the assumption she was related to a member. Resort personnel became suspicious after Zhang appeared to have trouble explaining why she was visiting Mar-a-Lago, according to the affidavit. Zhang initially said she was there for an event staged by a group called the United Nations Chinese American Association. But resort staff found no such event was scheduled, according to the court filing. The Voice of America
Chicago elects a black gay woman as mayor
Lori Lightfoot won a resounding victory Tuesday night to become both the first African-American woman and openly gay person elected mayor of Chicago, dealing a stinging defeat to a political establishment that has reigned over City Hall for decades.
She defeated Toni Preckwinkle, Cook County Board president and chair of the Cook County Democratic Party. Lightfoot, 56, is the second woman to be elected mayor of Chicago, after Jane Byrne, who served one term from 1979 to 1983. The Chicago Tribune
US House to vote on issuing Mueller report subpoena
The US House of Representatives Judiciary Committee was expected to vote on Wednesday to subpoena Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s full, unredacted report and underlying evidence from his investigation into alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 election.
If the motion passes, it would be a marked escalation of congressional pressure on the Trump administration to hand over all that Mueller documented during his 22-month probe, including grand jury evidence. Lawmakers were expected to vote along party lines to authorize the panel’s Democratic chairman, Jerrold Nadler, to subpoena Mueller’s material, as well as documents and testimony from five former Trump aides, including one-time political advisor Steve Bannon and former White House Counsel Donald McGahn. Reuters
Philippine court orders release of drug war evidence
The Philippine Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered the release of police documents on thousands of killings of suspects in the president’s anti-drug crackdown, in a ruling that human rights groups said could shed light on allegations of extrajudicial killings.
Supreme Court spokesman Brian Keith Hosaka said the court ordered the government solicitor-general to provide the police reports to two rights groups which had sought them. The 15-member court, whose justices are meeting in northern Baguio city, has yet to rule on a separate petition to declare President Rodrigo Duterte’s anti-drug campaign unconstitutional. Solicitor-General Jose Calida had earlier agreed to release the voluminous police documents to the court but rejected the requests of the two groups, the Free Legal Assistance Group and the Center for International Law, arguing that such a move would undermine law enforcement and national security. The two groups welcomed the court order. The Voice of America