Lawyer Michael Avenatti due in California court on fraud charges

(Reuters) - Michael Avenatti, the combative lawyer known for his battles with U.S. President Donald Trump, was due to be arraigned in a Santa Ana court on Monday on 36 counts of fraud, identity theft and other financial crimes. A federal complaint filed in California charges Avenatti with multiple counts of wire fraud, accusing him of misusing more than $12 million he received on behalf of clients following settlements and other negotiations. The 48-year-old attorney, who drew international attention for representing adult film star Stormy Daniels in her litigation against Trump, has said he will fight the charges and plead not guilty. He is free on a $300,000 bond.

Avenatti became a vocal critic of Trump and a frequent guest on cable television news while representing Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford. She sued the president over a nondisclosure agreement that in the weeks before the 2016 U.S. presidential election kept her from discussing her claims that she and Trump had an extramarital affair 10 years earlier. Prosecutors say Avenatti misled clients and misused their funds to pay personal and legal expenses, finance a coffee shop business he also ran, and pay for his share of a private jet, according to federal prosecutors. He is also accused of failing to file personal tax returns since 2010 and to pay $3.2 million in payroll taxes on his coffee business, even though he withheld some portion of this money from employee paychecks. New York prosecutors have separately accused Avenatti of trying to blackmail athletic wear maker Nike Inc for more than $20 million. Daniels, who replaced Avenatti as her lawyer last month, has said she was “saddened but not shocked” by his arrest.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-crime-avenatti/lawyer-michael-avenatti-due-in-california-court-on-fraud-charges-idUSKCN1S50SV?il=0

Turkey says UAE spy suspect committed suicide in prison

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - A man held by Turkey on suspicion of spying for the United Arab Emirates has committed suicide by hanging himself in prison, the Istanbul prosecutor’s office said on Monday. The suspect, named as Zaki Y. M. Hasan, was found hanging from the bathroom door in his cell in Silivri prison, west of Istanbul, when guards arrived to give him food on Sunday morning, the prosecutor’s office statement said. It said the man had been registered in a roll-call that morning. An investigation has been launched and the Istanbul forensics institute has carried out an autopsy, the statement added. The dead man was one of two suspects charged with international, political and military espionage. The pair were arrested on April 19 and had confessed to spying on Arab nationals, a senior Turkish official said at the time. UAE officials were not immediately available for comment on the death and there has been no official statement following Turkey’s announcement of the arrests.

Investigators are examining whether the arrival in Turkey of one of the detainees was related to the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi six months ago. The United Arab Emirates is a close ally of Saudi Arabia. Relations with Turkey have been strained since the two Arab states launched a blockade of their Gulf neighbor, Qatar, in 2017, while Ankara supported Doha. Saudi Arabia and the UAE also view Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan’s Islamist-rooted ruling AK Party as a supporter of groups like the Muslim Brotherhood, which they oppose.

Turkey has not identified the nationality of either detainee but Turkish state broadcaster TRT’s Arabic service said both were Palestinians and carried Palestinian passports. Hasan was a 55-year-old retired major general and a senior intelligence official, TRT said on its website. Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist and critic of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was killed in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2 by a team of Saudi operatives, provoking an international outcry. According to the senior Turkish official, one of the two men arrived in Turkey in October, days after Khashoggi was killed, while the other arrived later to help his colleague. Erdogan has urged the United States to put its weight behind the investigation into the Khashoggi killing and not to set the matter aside because of its ties with Riyadh.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-turkey-security-emirates/turkey-says-uae-spy-suspect-committed-suicide-in-prison-idUSKCN1S50DV?il=0

Algeria's finance minister, ex police chief in court amid graft investigations

ALGIERS (Reuters) - Algeria’s finance minister and ex police chief appeared in court on Monday, joining a list of powerful figures to face judicial investigations since mass protests forced the resignation of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika this month. Finance Minister Mohamed Loukal - a former central bank governor who only got the job from Bouteflika last month - appeared in Algiers as part of an investigation into suspected misuse of public funds, state TV reported. Former police chief Abdelghani Hamel - who was sacked last year by Bouteflika for undisclosed reasons - and his son appeared in Tipaza, west of the capital, as part of an investigation into “illegal activities, influence peddling, misappropriation of land and abuse of office”, state TV said. There was no immediate comment from any of the men or lawyers defending them. Under the Algerian legal system judges can look into ongoing investigations and decide whether to put people in custody or release them until inquiries are complete.

Protesters have taken to the streets since February, calling for the ousting of Bouteflika and the dismantling of the political elite that surrounded his 20-year rule. Bouteflika resigned on April 2 under pressure from the army, but the protests have continued with calls for a handover to a new civilian-led government. At least five billionaires, some of them close to Bouteflika, have been placed in custody accused of involvement in corruption scandals. Abdelkader Bensalah, head of the upper house of parliament, became interim president after Bouteflika’s departure. Presidential elections are scheduled for July 4.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-algeria-protests-police/algerias-finance-minister-ex-police-chief-in-court-amid-graft-investigations-idUSKCN1S50MT?il=0

Security beefed up in Tokyo as emperor prepares to abdicate

TOKYO (Reuters) - Divers scoured moats around the Imperial Palace and police dogs sniffed in bushes on Monday as authorities ramped up security for the start of Japan’s new “Reiwa” imperial era. The new era begins on Wednesday when Crown Prince Naruhito ascends the Chrysanthemum Throne a day after the abdication of his father, Emperor Akihito, brings to an end the 31-year Heisei era.

Police stepped up security at the Imperial Palace, a 115 hectare (284 acre) site that is home to the emperor and empress in the heart of Tokyo. Officers poked at bushes with steel sticks to check for hidden objects, while dogs sniffed nearby. Divers checked the murky water of a dozen moats that surround the palace. Public access to the plaza in front of the palace will be restricted during the abdication and ascension ceremonies.

Security will be tight at Naruhito’s residence in the Akasaka royal estate, a police official said. “We will be enhancing security to prevent illegal behavior, including terrorism acts, from happening near the palace and the Akasaka Imperial property as well as streets accessing them,” said the official who declined to be identified because he was not authorized to speak to media. Kyodo News said several thousand police officers will provide security for the ceremonies and a public appearance by the new emperor on Thursday when huge crowds of well-wishers are expected. “I feel like there are more police officers today. I see way more people than usual,” said Mariko Hiratsuka, 36, who jogs around the palace once a week with a friend. Police on Monday declined to comment on media reports that two knives were found on the classroom desk of Prince Hisahito, the 12-year-old grandson of Emperor Akihito. Security camera footage showed a man disguised as a construction worker enter the grounds of the junior high school in Tokyo, Kyodo News said, citing police.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-emperor-security/security-beefed-up-in-tokyo-as-emperor-prepares-to-abdicate-idUSKCN1S50MJ?il=0

Turkey indicts third US Consulate worker in Istanbul on terrorism charges

Turkey has indicted a third US Consulate employee and his wife and daughter on charges of membership of a terrorist group, according to a copy of the indictment seen by Reuters, a move likely to further strain ties between Ankara and Washington. Nazmi Mete Canturk, a security officer at the US Consulate in Istanbul, and his wife and daughter are accused in the indictment of links to the network of Fethullah Gulen, the US-based Muslim cleric blamed by Ankara for a failed 2016 coup. A Turkish prosecutor is seeking jail sentences for all three on charges of membership of an armed terrorist organisation, according to the indictment, which was completed on March 8 but has not been made public. It says Canturk was in contact with dozens of individuals under investigation for being members of Gulen’s network and that “evidence has been obtained regarding the suspect’s actions in line with the instructions of the (terrorist) organisation”. Canturk, his wife and daughter are cited in the indictment as denying the charges. A spokesman for the Istanbul prosecutor’s office did not respond to a request for comment. A lawyer for Canturk declined to comment. The US Consulate referred questions to Washington.

A State Department spokeswoman said Washington had seen no credible evidence that Canturk was involved in any illegal activities and that, in his 30-year career, he had had many contacts with Turkish government and security officials in the course of his work. She called for a timely, transparent, and fair resolution of his case. She added that the United States has raised Canturk’s case with the Turkish government. “We have expressed our concerns on multiple occasions to the Turkish government at the highest levels publicly and privately,” she said. Canturk was questioned by Istanbul police in January 2018 and subsequently put under house arrest, according to the indictment and a preliminary proceedings report seen by Reuters. That report, dated March 22, said that his first hearing would be held on June 25.

Two other locally employed US Consulate workers, also Turkish citizens, were arrested in 2017 on terrorism and espionage charges. The detentions prompted Washington to suspend non-immigrant visa applications from the country, triggering a reciprocal move from Ankara which snowballed into one of the worst crises between the two NATO allies. A Turkish court ruled on March 28 that one of them, Metin Topuz, a translator and fixer for the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) at the US consulate in Istanbul, should remain in jail until his trial resumes on May 15. If convicted, Topuz could face a sentence of life in prison.

The other, Hamza Ulucay, who worked as a translator at the US Consulate in the southern city of Adana, was sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison on terrorism charges but was released in January, with travel restrictions, after almost two years in detention. Topuz has denied charges of espionage and links to Gulen. Ulucay also denied any links to terrorist organisations during his trial.

Earlier this month, two US senators introduced a bipartisan bill requiring the imposition of sanctions on Turkish officials responsible for the detentions of US citizens and local consulate staff. In a meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu earlier this month, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also called for the swift resolution of the remaining cases, the State Department said. Despite being NATO allies, Washington and Ankara are already at loggerheads over their opposing interests in Syria and Ankara’s plans to buy Russian missile defences.

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20190427-turkey-indicts-third-us-consulate-worker-in-istanbul-on-terrorism-charges/

BREAKING: London Heathrow flight declares mid-air EMERGENCY - 'smoke and fumes in cabin'

A UNITED Airlines flight from Heathrow to Chicago declared a mid-air emergency over UK and circled back to the London airport this morning. The pilot declared the emergency just 20 minutes after takeoff and there are unconfirmed reports of smoke and fumes in the cabin. Flight UA929 made a squawk 7700 call – the aviation term for a general emergency. The Boeing 767 made a U-turn over south Wales before approaching the capital again.

An emergency call was made at 29,000ft over Newport as the pilot took a left turn and headed back to London. The flight took off from Heathrow Terminal 3 at 8.28am this morning and was expected to arrive in Chicago O'Hare International Airport at 11.15am local time. The 26-year-old American aircraft arrived back at the UK's busiest airport at 9.43am. Live data on FlightRadar24 showed arrivals and departures continued as the plane sat on the taxiway.

United Airlines said on their website they are addressing a "technical error" on the Boeing 767 but did not elaborate on the problem. They said on their website: "We want you to know your flight is departing late because we are addressing a technical issue on your plane. Your safety is our priority and we're sorry for the inconvenience. (Estimated departure two hours 13 minutes late)."

Jonathan Vasdekas was on the flight and tweeted United Airlines saying: "Hey @united, we just landed back at Heathrow because of the smell of smoke in the cabin… could we please get a newer plane?? "Props to the captain and crew for getting us back on the ground safely." They replied: "Hello Jonathan, we apologize for this experience. "Please know that safety is always our priority, and our teams will all work to get you back on the way as quickly as possible."

https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest-news/775360/breaking-London-Heathrow-chicago-united-airlines-ua929