‘Hero’ dog returns to duty after Baghdadi raid
Washington: A US service dog who was injured during the raid at the hideout of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in northwestern Syria has returned to service, a top American general said.
The dog is a four-year veteran of the SOCOM Canine Program and has been a member of approximately 50 combat missions, US Central Command Commander General Kenneth McKenzie told reporters at a Pentagon news conference on Wednesday.
“He was injured by exposed live electrical cables in the tunnel after Baghdadi detonated his vest beneath the compound,” the general said, adding the dog, whose name was not revealed, has returned to duty.
McKenzie said that US special operations command military working dogs are critical members of the US forces.
These animals protect US forces, save civilian lives, separate combatants from noncombatants, and immobilise individuals who express hostile intent, he said.
These special dogs are very good at scenting humans and going after them when they’re not immediately obvious.
Baghdadi’s safe house in northwest Syria was stormed on Sunday by special forces along with military-working dogs.
Meanwhile, the Pentagon on Wednesday released short videos of the US forces’ raid in northwestern Syria that resulted in the death of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. (PTI)
Malaysian financier to give up claims to millions of dollars
Washington: A fugitive financier will give up claims to hundreds of millions of dollars in luxury goods prosecutors say were purchased with money stolen from a Malaysian investment fund, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press.
Under the settlement with US prosecutors, the financier, Jho Low, relinquishes claims to assets that were seized by US officials beginning in 2016, the person said.
The settlement would also allow millions of dollars in fees to be paid to Low’s legal team.
The person was not authorised to discuss the matter publicly and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.
The settlement comes about three years after the Justice Department moved to recover more than $1 billion that it said had been stolen.
It had filed a civil complaint that sought the forfeiture of property, including a Manhattan penthouse, a Beverly Hills mansion, a luxury jet and paintings by Vincent Van Gogh and Claude Monet.
Low was charged last year by federal prosecutors in New York.
They accused him of being involved in a money laundering and bribery scheme that pilfered billions of dollars from the Malaysian investment fund.
The indictment against Low, who is also known as Low Taek Jho, accuses him of misappropriating money from the state-owned fund and using it for bribes and kickbacks to foreign officials, to pay for luxury real estate, art and jewellery in the United States and to help finance Hollywood movies, including The Wolf of Wall Street. (PTI)
Quebec introduces ‘values test’ for immigrants
Montreal: Economic migrants seeking to settle in Canada’s mostly French-speaking Quebec will have to pass a controversial “values test,” the provincial government announced on Wednesday.
“I think it’s important that we understand the values and the society where you want to live,” said Quebec Premier Francois Legault.
Those include support for democracy, gender equality and a new secularism law that prohibits some public servants from wearing religious symbols such as veils or turbans, he said.
The aim is to ensure better integration, said Quebec immigration minister Simon Jolin-Barrette, who announced a raised ceiling in arrivals from 40,000 this year to a maximum of 44,500 in 2020.
Quebec has the unique option of selecting which immigrants to Canada it wants to take in, and assigns them a so-called selection certificate — the first step toward permanent residency.
The test, which starts on January 1 but does not apply to refugees, requires applicants to answer 15 of 20 questions correctly.
Critics have said that it risks sending a negative message to would-be immigrants. (PTI)