Author: Phillip Colon

London (05/11 – 44.44) Benjamin Wey, a Chinese-American financier, founder of Fintech Holdings and a history of legal trouble, is suing Sri Lanka for $250 million. Wey claims that he was assured by Sri Lanka’s central bank governor that the country would repay a $250 million bond. However, Sri Lanka defaulted on the bond in April 2022. Wey is seeking to collect the full amount of the bond, plus interest. He has filed a lawsuit in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York. The lawsuit is a major setback for Sri Lanka, which is already facing a severe…

London (07/11 – 71) For ten years now, the authorities of Tajikistan have been engaged in forced assimilation of the ethnic Pamiri people, giving away the heartlands to China for debts,” Orzu M. shared with RFI – Radio France Internationale is a French news and current affairs public radio station that broadcasts worldwide. RFI met with Orzu in Paris, sharing the fact that more and more Pamiris are leaving their native homes in Gorno-Badakhshan Mountainous Autonomous (GBAO) Region of Tajikistan; they are driven into exile by the persecution of the authorities, who are displacing indigenous peoples. RFI: How did it…

Jakarta, Surakarta, Berlin (7/12 – 11) Amid a generally declining period for Germany’s national football team, the 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Indonesia has been a shining light for them. Germany is one of the most successful national teams ever in international competition. They have won four World Cups (1954, 1974, 1990, 2014), three European Championships (1972, 1980, 1996), and a Confederations Cup (2017). Nevertheless, in recent years, Germany is suffering a horrid fate. In 2018, Germany suffered their first-ever first-round exit from the World Cup, since 1938. Germany became the fifth defending champions to be eliminated in the…

Native American storyteller Perry Ground, a Turtle Clan member of the Onondaga Nation, starts his “rethinking” of Thanksgiving with a quiz. Ground, who has been telling stories for 25 years in an effort to increase cultural understanding around Native American history, says his audience is usually surprised by “what they think they know – and don’t know– about the story of the ‘First Thanksgiving.'” The three-day feast in 1621 was a moment in time, with just one tribe, Ground says, but has shaped the way that many people think about Native Americans because of the role they are believed to have played in…

ROCEHSTER, Minn. — Four people were transported by Mayo Clinic ambulance services and treated for acute carbon monoxide poisoning after swimming at a local hotel. Rochester police and fire were called to the scene around 11:20 this morning. Initial calls were for people feeling lethargic after swimming, Upon arrival the Rochester fire department investigated the pool area and found high levels of carbon monoxide.  Utility crews shut off gas to the hotel to prevent the carbon monoxide from spreading to the rest of the building. Large ventilation fans were brought in to rid the area of the odorless gas. Minnesota…

Minnesota’s most intensely debated art contest in memory is down to six designs for the next state flag and just a handful for the official seal, a tiny fraction of the more than 2,500 in total submissions. For Brandon Hundt, that two of his submissions — one for the flag and another for the seal — remain in contention is an achievement in itself. “This whole last 24 hours have just been surreal,” said Hundt, a Twin Cities based product designer and writer. Hundt spoke to MPR News on Wednesday after the State Emblems and Redesign Commission selected his concepts…

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has invited former President Trump to his country’s war zone, saying the former president “can’t manage this war.” Zelensky, who joined NBC “Meet the Press” Kristen Welker, responded to Trump’s claims that he could end the war with Russia in 24 hours. “Former President Trump said that about 24 hours, that he can manage it and finish the war,” Zelensky said during the interview that airs Sunday. “For me, what can I say? So he’s very welcome as well.” “President Biden was here, and I think he understood some details which you can understand only being here,” Zelenskyy continued. “So I invite President…

Mayor Eric Adams is denying a woman’s claim that he sexually assaulted her 30 years ago. The claim stems from a lawsuit filed Wednesday night. A woman says Adams sexually assaulted her in 1993, when he was with the NYPD. Usually, that would be past the statute of limitations and too long ago to sue. But the Adult Survivors Act suspended that time limit for a year-long period that expires at midnight Thursday. The mayor planned to spend his morning serving pies and talking about Thanksgiving. Instead, he also found himself fielding questions on a far different topic. “The accusation absolutely did not happen.…

Five people were injured in a shooting during a motorcycle rally in Galveston, Texas, Saturday night, police said. Shots were fired as crowds were gathered for the Lone Star Rally in a historic district known as The Strand around 11 p.m. local time, Galveston Police Department spokesperson Kurt Koopmann told CNN. All five people who were shot were taken to an area trauma center for treatment, Koopmann said. “One person of interest has been detained, but not charged at this time,” Koopmann said, adding that the incident is under investigation. It’s unclear what led up to the shooting, or how many people opened…

GREENVILLE COUNTY, S.C. (WSPA) – A man has been arrested after a shooting and several carjackings prompted an investigation in Greenville County. According to the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded to a shooting and multiple carjackings in the area of Collins Road around 1:20 p.m. Around 9 p.m., deputies located the suspect, identified as 56-year-old Alfredo Pontani, in the wood line of North Glassy Mountain Road and Highway 414 and took him into custody. Deputies initially responded after reports that a person was pulled from their car at gunpoint. A shot was reportedly fired. Though it is unclear whether…