Europe / UK / Americas Monday, July 8, 2019 09 US billionaire arrested on sex trafficking charges Frankfurt returns to normal after WWII bomb defused Washington: A hedge fund billionaire has been arrested on sex trafficking charges in the New Frankfurt AM MAIN: Thousands of residents in German city Frankfurt were free to return to their News York area, after having long been followed by accusations of molesting young girls, US media homes on Sunday afternoon after authorities reported that an unexploded World War II bomb found reported. Jeffrey Epstein, who is expected to appear before a federal magistrate on Monday, was close to the European Central Bank headquarters had been defused. in brief arrested on Saturday at a New Jersey airport after arriving from Paris in his private jet. “We did it! The World War II bomb in the Ostend neighbourhood has been defused by the ordnance A source familiar with the case said Epstein was charged with one count of sex trafficking and disposal team. Roadblocks and evacuation zones have been lifted,” the city fire service tweeted. one count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking. Epstein had long been the subject of accusa- Residential areas home to some 16,000 people within a roughly one-kilometre radius of the 500-kilo- tions of paying young girls for sexual massages at his Palm Beach, Florida mansion. (AFP) gramme (1,100 pound) bomb were evacuated. (AFP) US urges Germany to send ground troops to Syria to fight IS

AFP Syria James Jeffrey told Ger- aircraft and other non-combat Berlin man media including the Die The US request comes after Trump has repeatedly urged military support in Syria. Germany should consider US request Welt newspaper. Jeffrey, who Berlin to increase its defence spending, last month calling However Germany’s his- for troops in Syria, says Merkel ally The United States on Sunday was visiting Berlin for Syria Germany ‘delinquent’ over its contributions to NATO’s budget tory makes military spending called for Germany to send talks, added that he expects an controversial, so the prospect Berlin: A leading politician of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s ground troops to northern Syr- answer this month. of sending ground troops may Christian Democratic party has called for Germany to carefully ia, pushing Berlin to ramp up Last year US President pushing for increased military US-backed Kurdish forces provoke division in Chancellor look into a US request for Germany to support the fight against its military involvement in the Donald Trump declared vic- support from other members that expelled IS from northern Angela Merkel’s fragile coali- Islamic State with ground troops in Syria. fight against the Islamic State tory against IS and ordered of the international coalition Syria as they are increasingly tion government. The request shouldn’t be “rejected in a knee-jerk reaction,” group as Washington looks to the withdrawal of all 2,000 against IS. threatened by Turkey, and to The US request comes said Johann Wadephul, deputy leader of the parliamentary withdraw from the region. American troops from Syria. “We are looking for vol- prevent a potential IS resur- after Trump has repeatedly caucus of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Christian “We want ground troops But a small number have unteers who want to take part gence in the war-torn country. urged Berlin to increase its Social Union (CSU). Wadephul argued in favour of continuing from Germany to partly re- remained in northeastern Syr- here and among other coali- The US is hoping Europe defence spending, last month Germany’s deployment of reconnaissance planes there. place our soldiers” in the area ia, an area not controlled by tion partners,” Jeffrey said. will help, pressuring Britain, calling Germany “delinquent” “In this region, it’s about our security and not American as part of the anti-IS coalition, the regime of President Bashar Washington has two goals France and Germany, which over its contributions to NA- security,” he said on Sunday. (DPA) US special representative on al-Assad, and Washington is in the region: to support the has so far deployed surveillance TO’s budget Greek PM Tsipras concedes defeat Trump administration in general election AFP Athens dysfunctional & inept, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras admitted defeat on Sunday in a general election won handily by the conserva- tive New Democracy party af- says UK envoy to US ter over four years in opposi- tion, his office said. The result cuts short Kim Darroch attacks Tsipras’s bid to lead Greece Greek PM Alexis Tsipras. White House in on into the post-bailout era after presiding over its fraught will have a majority of 158 law- leaked memos rescue by international credi- makers in the 300-seat parlia- published by Mail tors at the height of the Euro- ment. Tsipras’s party will have pean debt crisis. Leftist Tsipras 86 seats. called New Democracy leader The final number will de- REUTERS Kyriakos Mitsotakis to congrat- pend on how smaller parties LONDON ulate him, a source in the prime fare. They need at least 3.0 minister’s office told AFP. percent of the vote to enter Britain’s ambassador to the Early results from 40 per- parliament. The contents of at United States described Presi- cent of polling stations showed least one ballot box will likely dent Donald Trump’s admin- New Democracy scoring a be unaccounted for, after it istration as “dysfunctional”, crushing victory by nearly 40 was stolen by suspected anar- “clumsy” and “inept”, the Mail percent to over 31 percent for chists in Athens, police said. newspaper reported on Sun- Tsipras’s leftist Syriza party. New arrivals fighting to se- day, citing a series of confiden- “The result has been de- cure representation are Greek tial memos. termined... but we’ll be back,” Solution, a nationalist party In memos to the British outgoing finance minister Eu- formed by TV salesman Kyria- government which date from clid Tsakalotos told state TV kos Velopoulos, and MeRA25, 2017 to the present, Kim Dar- ERT. If the results are con- an anti-austerity party formed roch said Trump “radiates in- firmed, the 51-year-old Har- by maverick economist and security” and advises officials vard graduate and former Mc- former Greek finance minister in London that to deal with Kinsey consultant Mitsotakis Yanis Varoufakis. him effectively “you need to make your points simple, even blunt”. “We don’t really believe A supporter of President Donald Trump puts flags on a float after a rally for free speech at Freedom Plaza in Washington.(REUTERS) this administration is going British lawmakers weigh up to become substantially more nold) Schwarzenegger in the fi- how this apparent reversal of normal; less dysfunctional; nal scenes of The Terminator.” Trump ally Nigel Farage calls for his 2016 campaign promises options to block no-deal Brexit less unpredictable; less fac- A spokesman for the For- UK ambassador’s sacking would look come 2020,” Dar- tion riven; less diplomatically eign Office said the public roch wrote. REUTERS May’s Brexit deal was re- clumsy and inept,” Darroch would expect ambassadors London: Outspoken eurosceptic and sup- “Just one more Iranian LONDON jected three times by parlia- wrote in one, according to the “to provide ministers with an porter of US President Donald Trump Nigel attack somewhere in the re- ment due to rebellions within newspaper. honest, unvarnished assess- Farage called for the British ambassador gion could trigger yet another British lawmakers from her own party and opposition In others, the newspa- ment of the politics in their to Washington to be sacked on Sunday Trump U-turn. Moreover, the both the ruling Conservatives to it from Northern Ireland’s per said he had described the country. Their views are not after he called the Trump administration loss of a single American life and opposition Labour on Democratic Unionist Party administration as “uniquely necessarily the views of minis- “clumsy” and “inept” in leaked memos. would probably make a criti- Sunday said they were looking (DUP), who prop up the Con- dysfunctional” and that media ters or indeed the government. “Kim Darroch is totally unsuitable for cal difference.” During a state at ways to prevent the coun- servative government. reports about White House But we pay them to be candid.” the job and the sooner he is gone the bet- visit to Britain last month, try’s next prime minister pur- Labour’s trade spokesman “knife fights” are “mostly true”. “It’s important that our ter,” Farage tweeted. He told the newspa- Trump was effusive about the suing a no-deal Brexit against Barry Gardiner said his party Darroch wrote that “we ambassadors can offer their per that Darroch was “the wrong person to “special relationship” between parliament’s wishes. would call a no confidence could also be at the beginning advice and for it to remain con- be the British ambassador” under a Trump the United States and Britain, Boris Johnson, the front- vote in the government when of a downward spiral, rather fidential. Our team in Wash- administration because he is “globalist in outlook, totally op- promising a “phenomenal” runner to succeed Theresa May it believed enough Conserva- than just a rollercoaster: some- ington have strong relations posed to the Trump doctrine.” Darroch’s decision to “speculate trade deal after Britain leaves as prime minister this month, tives would support it. Several thing could emerge that leads with the White House and no about Trump’s alleged involvement with Russia shows him to be the European Union. has said Britain must leave Conservatives have said they to disgrace and downfall.” doubt these will withstand totally unsuitable,” Farage added. (DPA) The Mail on Sunday re- the European Union on Oct 31 would consider voting to try But he also warned British such mischievous behaviour.” ported that in a message sent with or without a deal. He may to bring down a government officials not to write Trump off, The Foreign Office later said after that visit, Darroch said find his hands tied, however, as which was pursuing a ‘no deal’. saying there was a “credible a formal investigation into the tration over Trump’s decision had changed his mind “didn’t that the president and his team the Conservatives do not have Other Conservatives said path” to him winning a second leak would take place. to call off a military strike on stand up”. had been “dazzled” by the visit a majority in parliament and they were looking at ways they term in office. He said Trump In a memo written last Iran, and that the president “It’s more likely that he and Britain might be “flavour most lawmakers in parliament could try and block a no-deal may “emerge from the flames, month, Darroch described citing the number of predicted was never fully on board and of the month” but “this is still oppose a no-deal Brexit. exit through legislation. battered but intact, like (Ar- confusion within the adminis- casualties as the reason he that he was worried about the land of America First”. Migrants disembark in Italy after rescue boat defies ban AFP maso Stella is being investi- would raise the maximum fine ROME gated for allegedly aiding ille- Pope Francis calls for humanitarian to one million euros. gal immigration, according to corridors to protect migrants “I do not authorise any Dozens of shipwrecked mi- the Italian news agency Agi. landing for those who couldn’t grants disembarked in Italy A third boat that had also VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis said prayers on Sunday for victims care less about Italian laws and early on Sunday after their res- been waiting off Lampedusa, of the bombing of a migrant centre in Libya last week and called help the people smugglers,” cue boat docked on the island the German charity Sea-Eye’s for concerted action to create extensive humanitarian corridors Salvini tweeted late Saturday. of Lampedusa, the second ves- vessel Alan Kurdi carrying 65 to prevent similar tragedies. An air strike hit a detention centre Mediterranea said it had sel in a week to defy efforts to migrants, was sailing towards housing mainly African migrants in Tripoli last Tuesday, killing sailed to the only possible safe stop them by far-right Interior Malta on Sunday. The charity dozens and wounding many more. port for landing, citing “in- Minister Matteo Salvini. said it could not “wait until the “The international community cannot put up with such grave tolerable hygiene conditions Some 41 people were final- state of emergency prevails” in acts,” the Pope said in his weekly Angelus in Rome. Pope Fran- aboard” in a tweet on Saturday. ly allowed to step off migrant a message on Twitter. cis also called for prayers for those caught up in recent attacks Authorities on Lampedusa rescue charity Mediterranea’s “Now it has to be proven in Afghanistan, Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger. (REUTERS) in late June seized a rescue Italian-flagged Alex, which whether the European gov- ship belonging to German aid arrived at the port on Satur- ernments stand by Italy’s at- group Sea-Watch, which had day in an overnight operation titude. Human lives are not a fines of up to 50,000 euros waters without authorisation”. forced its way into port with that saw the ship temporarily bargaining chip,” it added. ($57,000) for the captain, After the Alex reached dozens of rescued migrants on A banner reading ‘Welcome in Lampedusa’ as migrants disembark a seized by authorities. Salvini last month issued owner and operator of a ves- port, the populist deputy board, and arrested its captain rescue boat in the port of Lampedusa, Italy, on Sunday. (REUTERS) The boat’s captain Tom- a decree that would bring sel “entering Italian territorial prime minister said that he Carola Rackete.