While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, Sept 23
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Mr Volodymyr Zelensky (centre), Ukraine's president, receives a standing ovation in Canada's House of Commons, with Justin Trudeau (right), Canada's prime minister.
PHOTO: BLOOMBERG
Ukraine’s Zelensky bolsters war support in Canada trip
Ukraine’s president met on Friday with close ally Prime Minister Justin Trudeau who pledged additional aid to the war-torn country, as Volodymyr Zelensky completed the third leg in a tour aimed at bolstering international support.
Mr Zelensky, who landed late on Thursday in Ottawa, earlier this week addressed the United Nations and in Washington held meetings with the US Congress and President Joe Biden, who pledged the imminent arrival of US tanks to boost Ukraine’s arsenal.
Canada is home to the world’s second largest Ukrainian diaspora and Mr Zelensky, in a speech to parliament, expressed thanks for the backing given to Kyiv since Russian troops poured over the Ukrainian borders in February 2022.
“When we call on the world to support us, it is not just about an ordinary conflict,” he said, “It is about saving the lives of millions of people – literally our salvation.”
US Senator Bob Menendez charged with bribery
US prosecutors on Friday charged powerful Senator Bob Menendez and his wife with taking bribes from three New Jersey businessmen, which could complicate Democrats’ efforts to keep their slim majority in the US Senate in next year’s elections.
Menendez later stepped down temporarily from his role as chairman of the Senate’s Foreign Relations Committee until the case is resolved, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement, adding that Menendez had a right to due process.
The US Attorney’s office in Manhattan said Menendez, 69, accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of cash and gold bars in exchange for using his power and influence as New Jersey’s senior senator to benefit the government of Egypt and interfere with law enforcement probes into the businessmen.
Goldman in talks with Malaysia to resolve latest 1MDB clash
Bloomberg
Three years after Goldman Sachs Group agreed to fork out more than US$5 billion for its role in the plundering of Malaysia’s 1MDB investment fund, the Wall Street giant has struggled to put the scandal to bed.
Now, the New York-based bank and the South-east Asian nation are taking a fresh stab at resolving one of the most embarrassing episodes in the bank’s history.
Behind the scenes, Goldman Sachs executives have made fresh overtures, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim told Bloomberg News, during his visit to New York for the United Nations General Assembly.
Sunak may ban cigarettes in UK for future generations
REUTERS
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is considering introducing measures that would ban the next generation from ever being able to buy cigarettes, The Guardian reported on Friday, citing government sources.
Mr Sunak is looking at anti-smoking measures similar to laws New Zealand announced last year, which include a ban on selling tobacco to anyone born on or after Jan 1, 2009, the report said.
“We want to encourage more people to quit and meet our ambition to be smokefree by 2030, which is why we have already taken steps to reduce smoking rates,” a British government spokesman said, in an emailed response to Reuters.
‘We got a pilot in our house,’ homeowner tells dispatcher
A recording was released on Friday of a 911 emergency call from a homeowner reporting that the pilot of a US Marine Corps F-35 had parachuted into his backyard after ejecting from the stealth jet.
“I guess we got a pilot in our house,” the homeowner said. “He ejected from the plane. I guess he landed in my backyard and we were trying to see if we could get an ambulance to the house.”
“I’m sorry, what happened?“ said the bewildered 911 dispatcher who fielded the unusual call over the weekend.
