Reuters, Washington
President Donald Trump has invited Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, who is dogged by a corruption scandal being investigated in the United States, to the White House on Sept. 12, officials from both countries confirmed on Thursday.
The U.S. Justice Department is conducting a criminal probe into 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), a state fund founded by Najib that has lost billions of dollars.
The Justice Department has also launched civil lawsuits to seize some $1.7 billion in assets it says were bought with misappropriated 1MDB funds, making it the largest action by the department under its kleptocracy asset recovery initiative.
Tehran’s disabled face accessibility crisis
AFP, Tehran
The chaotic, impenetrable streets of Tehran have left Navid, a multiple sclerosis sufferer, feeling like a prisoner in his home. Even for the able-bodied, the uncontrolled building spree of recent years means the Iranian capital can often seem like an assault course of narrow broken pathways, gutters full of rushing water, and cars shoved into every available inch of space.
16 dead as typhoon smashes Macau, southern China
AP, Hong Kong
The most powerful typhoon to hit the southern Chinese region in more than half a century left at least 16 dead as a sudden deluge swamped the gambling hub of Macau, submerging streets and stranding residents. Macau said Thursday that eight people were killed in the former Portuguese colony, including two men found overnight in a submerged parking garage.
Eight missing after landslide in Swiss Alps
AFP, Geneva
Eight people, including German, Austrian and Swiss citizens, are missing following a landslide that forced the evacuation of a village in the Swiss Alps, police said Thursday.
“In the region of Val Bondasca, eight people who were there at the time of the landslide have not been found,” the Graubunden cantonal police said in a statement.
