Twenty Chinese school children wounded in hammer attack
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-crime-idUSKCN1P20IV?utm_campaign=trueAnthem:%20Trending%20Content&utm_content=5c349dab04d3013ab5cc3153&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=twitter
Oil tanker fire in Hong Kong waters kills one, rescue going on
HONG KONG (Reuters) - An oil tanker caught fire in Hong Kong’s southern waters on Tuesday, killing one crew member while at least 21 were rescued, police said, with witnesses reporting a loud blast that shook windows several kilometers away.
Rescue operations were going on about one nautical mile south of Lamma Island.
“There are still some crew that haven’t been saved,” a police spokeswoman told Reuters. She was not immediately able to provide more details including the name of the tanker, or its size.
A picture of the coastal oil tanker posted on a police Facebook page showed it listing with black smoke pouring from the hull. The ship’s name, Aulac Fortune, could be seen on the stern.
The Aulac Fortune is a small, 17,500 deadweight tonne oil product tanker built in 2010, sailing under Vietnamese flag, according to data from Marine Traffic.
Ship tracking data shows it last loaded 6,000 tonnes of gasoline, most of which was delivered to Guangzhou between Jan. 6 and 7.
The Aulac Fortune later arrived south of Lamma Island and sent its position from there at 0500 GMT on Tuesday.
(For a graphic on 'Map showing Lamma Island off Hong Kong' click tmsnrt.rs/2RD6Yhc)
Residents of the nearby island of Lantau said they heard a big blast which rattled doors and windows.
“It felt like when there is a strong typhoon, when the wind shakes your doors violently. It was really strong,” said the woman, Rhea Nee.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-hongkong-tanker-idUSKCN1P209K?utm_campaign=trueAnthem:+Trending+Content&utm_content=5c34c45a04d301367a799287&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=twitter
Exclusive: New documents link Huawei to suspected front companies in Iran, Syria
https://www.marketscreener.com/news/Exclusive-New-documents-link-Huawei-to-suspected-front-companies-in-Iran-Syria–27839245/
Exclusive: New documents link Huawei to suspected front companies in Iran, Syria
LONDON/HONG KONG (Reuters) - The U.S. case against the chief financial officer of China’s Huawei Technologies, who was arrested in Canada last month, centres on the company’s suspected ties to two obscure companies. One is a telecom equipment seller that operated in Tehran; the other is that firm’s owner, a holding company registered in Mauritius.
U.S. authorities allege CFO Meng Wanzhou deceived international banks into clearing transactions with Iran by claiming the two companies were independent of Huawei, when in fact Huawei controlled them. Huawei has maintained the two are independent: equipment seller Skycom Tech Co Ltd and shell company Canicula Holdings Ltd.
But corporate filings and other documents found by Reuters in Iran and Syria show that Huawei, the world’s largest supplier of telecommunications network equipment, is more closely linked to both firms than previously known.
The documents reveal that a high-level Huawei executive appears to have been appointed Skycom’s Iran manager. They also show that at least three Chinese-named individuals had signing rights for both Huawei and Skycom bank accounts in Iran. Reuters also discovered that a Middle Eastern lawyer said Huawei conducted operations in Syria through Canicula.
The previously unreported ties between Huawei and the two companies could bear on the U.S. case against Meng, who is the daughter of Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei, by further undermining Huawei’s claims that Skycom was merely an arms-length business partner.
Huawei, U.S. authorities assert, retained control of Skycom, using it to sell telecom equipment to Iran and move money out via the international banking system. As a result of the deception, U.S. authorities say, banks unwittingly cleared hundreds of millions of dollars of transactions that potentially violated economic sanctions Washington had in place at the time against doing business with Iran.
Meng did not respond to a request for comment by Reuters, and Huawei declined to answer questions for this story. Canicula’s offices could not be reached. A Justice Department spokesman in Washington declined to comment.
Meng was released on C$10 million (ÂŁ5.9 million) bail on Dec. 11 and remains in Vancouver while Washington tries to extradite her. In the United States, Meng would face charges in connection with an alleged conspiracy to defraud multiple financial institutions, with a maximum sentence of 30 years for each charge. The exact charges have not been made public.
Huawei said last month it has been given little information about the U.S. allegations “and is not aware of any wrongdoing by Ms. Meng.” The company has described its relationship with Skycom as “a normal business partnership.” It has said it has fully complied with all laws and regulations and required Skycom to do the same.
Meng’s arrest on a U.S. warrant has caused an uproar in China. It comes at a time of growing trade and military tensions between Washington and Beijing, and amid worries by U.S. intelligence that Huawei’s telecommunications equipment could contain “backdoors” for Chinese espionage. The firm has repeatedly denied such claims. Nevertheless, Australia and New Zealand recently banned Huawei from building their next generation of mobile phone networks, and British authorities have also expressed concerns.
https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-huawei-iran-exclusive/exclusive-new-documents-link-huawei-to-suspected-front-companies-in-iran-syria-idUKKCN1P21ME
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Russian Lawyer in Meeting at Trump Tower Is Charged in Case That Shows Kremlin Ties
Natalia V. Veselnitskaya, the Russian lawyer who in 2016 met with Trump campaign officials in Trump Tower, was charged on Tuesday in a separate case that showed her close ties to the Kremlin.
Ms. Veselnitskaya was charged by federal prosecutors in New York with seeking to thwart a Justice Department civil fraud investigation into money laundering that involved an influential Russian businessman and his investment firm.
The case was not directly related to the Trump Tower meeting. But a federal indictment returned in Manhattan seemed to confirm that Ms. Veselnitskaya had deep ties to senior Russian government officials.
The indictment charges that after the Justice Department asked the Russian government to assist its investigation, the Russian government refused, responding with a letter that purported to exonerate Russian officials and the firm’s personnel.
The indictment says Ms. Veselnitskaya had secretly cooperated with a senior Russian prosecutor in drafting the Russian response, which was filed in federal court in Manhattan. “In doing so, Veselnitskaya obstructed the civil proceeding,” the indictment charged.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/08/nyregion/trump-tower-natalya-veselnitskaya-indictment.html