Two Swedes Jailed for Bombing Danish Tax Office
COPENHAGEN—A Copenhagen court on Thursday found two Swedes guilty of bombing the Danish tax agency and sentenced them to five and four years’ jail respectively. Zacharias Tamer Hamzi, 24, and Nurettin Nuray Syuleyman, 23, were convicted of transporting a bomb via the Oresund Bridge, known from the TV crime series “The Bridge”, and detonating the device in August 2019. The explosion in Copenhagen shattered glass doors and windows and scorched metal cladding at the main entrance of the building in Nordhavn, just north of the city center. One person was slightly wounded. The motive for the bombing remained unclear, but the court dismissed terrorism charges. The prosecutor had sought lifetime sentences for the childhood friends, neither of whom had been convicted of a serious crime before. “I’m pleased that my…
WASHINGTON—The U.S. State Department said on Thursday it had approved the possible sale of 105 Lockheed Martin F-35 fighter jets to Japan at an estimated cost of $23 billion.
The Japanese request included 63 F-35A and 42 F-35B aircraft, 110 Pratt and Whitney F135 engines, and related equipment, it said, and implementation of the proposed sale, including technical support and training, would take 25 years.
“It is vital to U.S. national interest to assist Japan in developing and maintaining a strong and effective self-defense capability,” the State Department said, adding that the proposed sale would not change the military balance in the region.
F-35 jets are made at a Lockheed Martin factory in Fort Worth, Texas, but allies assemble jets for themselves at two final assembly and check out facilities in Japan and Italy.
In March, the Pentagon said Mitsubishi Heavy Industries was closing the Japanese plant for one week due to concerns about the coronavirus.
Focus News: US State Department OKs Possible $23 Billion Sale of F-35s to Japan
US Treasury Chief Supports More Direct Payments in Next Coronavirus Aid Bill
WASHINGTON—U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Thursday that he supports another round of direct payments to individuals as part of the next coronavirus legislation and is working to get it passed by Congress by the end of July. Mnuchin also told CNBC in an interview that not all of the airlines that signed Treasury loan agreements will need to access those loans, as they may be able to meet their financing needs in private financial markets. Despite United Airlines’ decision on Wednesday to notify 36,000 employees of potential furloughs, Mnuchin said he believed most airlines wanted to keep as many staff as possible, and healthy airlines were needed to aid the U.S. economic recovery. Regarding the future of the $660 billion Paycheck Protection Program, Mnuchin said any extension of…
