Trump should be banned from NY real estate for ‘outrageous’ fraud, attorney general says
Donald Trump should be permanently barred from New York’s real estate industry for “outrageous” fraud, the state attorney general said in a court filing ahead of closing arguments in a civil case against the former US president.
The filing by New York Attorney General Letitia James on Jan 5 said Trump’s “myriad deceptive schemes” to “inflate asset values and conceal facts were so outrageous that they belie innocent explanation.”
Trump’s lawyers countered in an opposing filing that the state failed to show any “real-world impact” from Trump’s financial statements to banks, which according to a judge overstated his net worth by billions of dollars.
US intelligence confirms Islamic State’s Afghanistan branch behind Iran blasts: Sources
Communications intercepts collected by the United States confirmed that Islamic State’s (Isis) Afghanistan-based branch carried out twin bombings in Iran that killed nearly 100 people, two sources familiar with the intelligence told Reuters on Jan 5.
“The intelligence is clear-cut and indisputable,” one source said.
That source and a second, both of whom requested anonymity to discuss the sensitive issue, said the intelligence comprised communications intercepts, without providing further details. The collection of the intercepts has not been previously reported.
Gaza has ‘simply become uninhabitable’: UN humanitarian chief
UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths on Jan 5 said Gaza had become “uninhabitable” after relentless bombing by Israeli forces in retaliation for the Hamas militant group’s attack in October.
“Three months since the horrific 7 October attacks, Gaza has become a place of death and despair,” Griffiths said in a statement.
“Gaza has simply become uninhabitable. Its people are witnessing daily threats to their very existence – while the world watches on.
Nadal expresses doubt over Australian Open participation
Rafael Nadal is unsure if he will compete at the upcoming Australian Open after his defeat to Jordan Thompson in the Brisbane International quarter-finals on Jan 5, during which the Spaniard left the court on a medical timeout.
Nadal was making his comeback in Brisbane after spending almost a year on the sidelines with a hip injury, sustained during his second round defeat to Mackenzie McDonald in last year’s Australian Open.
The 37-year-old, winner of 22 Grand Slams, did not compete again last season after having surgery in June, and was using the Brisbane International as a warm-up for the Australian Open which begins on Jan 14.
German actor Christian Oliver killed in Caribbean plane crash
German-born Hollywood actor Christian Oliver was killed along with his two young daughters as their small plane plummeted into the Caribbean Sea moments after takeoff, local police said.
Oliver, who appeared on the big screen with George Clooney in The Good German and in 2008 action-comedy Speed Racer, died aboard a privately owned, one-engine aircraft on Jan 4, the Royal St. Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force said in a statement.
Fishermen, divers and coast guard immediately went to the scene, where four bodies were recovered.
