PTI, New York
A 23-year-old man has been sentenced to 100 years in prison for sexually assaulting and robbing an octogenarian widow at gunpoint in the US state of Illinois. Tevin Rainey, who hails from Bolingbrook village in the southwest suburb of Chicago, was sentenced last week by DuPage County Judge Brian Telander.
Rainey was found guilty this year of breaking into the now 89-year-old woman’s apartment on January 1, 2015 and then sexually assaulting her at gunpoint in Westmont, some 40 kilometres west of Chicago, before forcing her to drive to an ATM to withdraw money.
Israel to build 15,000 more settlement homes in Jerusalem
Reuters, Jerusalem
Israel intends to build 15,000 new settlement homes in East Jerusalem, the Housing Ministry said on Friday despite US President Donald Trump’s request to “hold back” on settlements as part of a possible new push for Israeli-Palestinian peace. A formal announcement of the settlement plan, quickly condemned by the chief Palestinian negotiator, could come around the time Trump is scheduled to visit Israel next month.
19 killed as Myanmar bus plunges into gorge
AFP, Yangon
Nineteen people were killed and 21 injured after their bus toppled into a ravine in eastern Myanmar, police said Saturday.
The bus was carrying around 40 passengers from central Bago province when it plunged off a highway near Myawaddy, a town on the Thai border, on Friday.
Hekmatyar wants peace in Afghanistan
AP, Kabul
A former Afghan warlord who battled U.S. forces after the 2001 invasion and nursed bitter rivalries with other militant factions says he wants peace in Afghanistan.
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, leader of Islamist organization Hezb-i-Islami, appeared on local TV on Saturday.
