Pakistani national with ties to Iran accused of plot to kill Trump

A Pakistani national with ties to the Iranian government has been accused of seeking to carry out a murder-for-hire plot targeting US government officials, according to the Department of Justice.

Asif Raza Merchant, who is now in federal custody, traveled to the US to hire hit men, who were undercover officers, in order to carry out assassinations in August or September this year, according to an indictment unsealed in New York on Tuesday.

The investigation does not appear to be related to the attempted assassination of Donald Trump during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania last month. White House and federal law enforcement officials do not believe the 20-year-old gunman who fired at the former president has any connection to the murder-for-hire scheme detailed in the indictment.

FBI officials reportedly believe Trump was among Merchant’s potential targets, according to CNN, which first reported the indictment.

“For years, the Justice Department has been working aggressively to counter Iran’s brazen and unrelenting efforts to retaliate against American public officials for the killing of Iranian General Soleimani,” according to a statement from Attorney General Merrick Garland.

“The Justice Department will spare no resource to disrupt and hold accountable those who would seek to carry out Iran’s lethal plotting against American citizens and will not tolerate attempts by an authoritarian regime to target American public officials and endanger America’s national security,” he added.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Tuesday that apparent retalitatory threats from Iran are “a national and homeland security matter of the highest priority.”

In April, after traveling to Iran, Merchant arrived in the US from Pakistan and contacted a person he believed could help carry out the attacks, according to the indictment.

That contact was coordinating with law enforcement as a confidential source.

The following month, during a meeting with the source, Merchant made a “finger gun” motion while giving instructions to meet with potential hit men, and detailed a scheme that involved stealing documents or USB drives from a target’s home, planning protests, and then killing a “politician or government official,” according to prosecutors.

Merchant said that the killings would take place while he was out of the country, and that he would use “code words” to communicate instructions, according to the indictment.

The source was told to run a “legitimate clothing business” to serve as a front that could launder money for the operation, with “tee-shirt” meaning “protest”; “flannel shirt” meaning “stealing”; and “fleece jacket” meaning “commit the act of the game,” the indictment alleges.

“Denim jacket” meant “sending money,” and Merchant began arranging plans to send $5,000 to pay hit men — who were, in fact, undercover law enforcement officers, according to prosecutors.

In June, Merchant said he needed the “hit men” to steal documents, stage protests at political rallies, and then kill a “political person,” according to prosecutors.

They were to receive instructions for the assassination within the last week of August or the first week of September, after Merchant fled the country, the indictment says.

Merchant was arrested on July 12 as he was preparing to leave the US. Law enforcement agents found a handwritten note with code words with him, according to the indictment.

FBI director Christopher Wray said the alleged plot is “straight out of the Iranian playbook.”

“A foreign-directed plot to kill a public official, or any US citizen, is a threat to our national security and will be met with the full might and resources of the FBI,” he said in a statement.

”The targeting of former and current officials by foreign actors is an affront to our sovereignty and our democratic institutions,” added Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen with the Justice Department’s National Security Division.

Human remains found inside 16ft crocodile days after man goes missing

Human remains were found inside a giant crocodile suspected of killing a man fishing on vacation with his family in Australia.

The remains are believed to be of David Hogbin, a 40-year-old man from New South Wales (NSW), who went missing after he fell from a steep bank on Saturday into the Annan River south of Cooktown in Queensland state and never surfaced.

While further testing will be conducted to confirm the identity of the victim, the police have temporarily suspended the search for him, reported 7 News.

Wildlife rangers on Monday killed a 4.9m (16ft) crocodile after locating it in a creek 4km upstream from where the man disappeared. The crocodile that allegedly took the man had distinctive scars on its snout similar to the ones witnesses reported seeing on a reptile in the vicinity of the disappearance, officials said.

“Wildlife officers have humanely euthanised a large crocodile that is believed to be responsible for the fatal attack on the Annan River,” said the Department of Environment, Science and Innovation.

“The animal had markings on its snout that were consistent with it being the target animal.

“Wildlife officers are removing the animal from the creek and will hand it over to the Queensland Police Service.”

The victim was a tourist from NSW, Australia’s most populous state which lies beyond crocodiles’ tropical habitat. He had been on vacation with his family and was fishing at a location known as Crocodile Bend, which is popular among tourists who come to see these large reptiles.

“He was at the top of the bank and has fallen into the water, and it’s quite a large drop there,” acting chief superintendent Shane Holmes told the media on Monday.

“I believe it was an accident when he fell into the water,” he said. It was unclear whether the victim’s family or people nearby saw what happened.

A spokesperson for Sonic Healthcare, a healthcare provider in Australia, condoled the death of Hogbin, reported ABC News. However, the nature of his association with the organisation is unclear. “We are deeply saddened by the news of this tragic event,” she was quoted as saying. “This is a very challenging time for our team.”

His biography at Jewells Medical Centre said Hogbin was a Fellow of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners after qualifying in 2021 and in spare time enjoyed “four-wheel driving and camping with his wife and three boys”.

The tragedy followed a 12-year-old girl’s death in a crocodile attack on 2 July. She was swimming with her family in a creek in the neighboring Northern Territory when she was snatched. Her remains were found days later and wildlife rangers shot dead a 13ft crocodile.

There have been three fatal crocodile attacks in Australia this year, close to the worst annual death toll on record of four in 2014. A 16-year-old boy was killed while swimming off a Queensland island on 18 April.

The crocodile population has exploded across Australia’s tropical north since they became a protected species in the early 1970s. Hunting for their skins since the 1950s had almost wiped them out.

The Department of Environment is also investigating online videos purportedly showing people feeding crocodiles as senior conservation officer Daniel Guymer described the behavior as “risky and reckless”.

“So any information and evidence in relation to alleged illegal activities, such as the unlawful feeding of a crocodile at that location, will be investigated by our wildlife officers,” he said.

Explaining the repercussions of “stupid” and “dangerous” behaviour, local wildlife carer Beau Peberdy told ABC News that it conditions “an animal to come in to feed from people”.

“People I think really need to start understanding that these animals are dangerous … and doing silly or inappropriate things in and around the water’s edge, it has severe consequences.”

Meta apologises over removal of Malaysia PM’s social media posts

Meta has apologised for removing some of Malaysian prime minister Anwar Ibrahim’s posts on its social media platforms that paid tribute to a Hamas leader who was killed last month.

Meta Platforms Inc said in a statement on Tuesday: “We apologise for an operational error where content from the prime minister’s Facebook and Instagram Pages were removed, and the content has since been restored with the correct newsworthy label.”

Mr Ibrahim had condemned the assassination of top Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in his posts. Malaysia does not recognise Israel as a sovereign state and the two countries have no diplomatic ties.

In May, Mr Ibrahim met with a Hamas delegation led by Haniyeh during a visit to Qatar, demonstrating support for the group designated a terrorist organisation by the US.

On Tuesday, the prime minister’s office (PMO) also expressed regret over the suspension of a Facebook Live broadcast from Malaysian national broadcaster RTM’s news account covering a rally in support of Palestinians on 4 August.

Meta said in a statement that a live-stream of the rally attended by the prime minister was briefly halted due to an intellectual property complaint related to music. Mr Ibrahim addressed a pro-Palestinian rally in Kuala Lumpur that drew thousands.

“The PMO views Meta’s actions as discriminatory, unjust and a blatant suppression of free expression. It is also seen as an affront to the legitimate struggle of the Palestinian people in their pursuit of justice and human rights,” the PMO said in the statement.

The PMO criticised Meta’s content moderation as discriminatory and suppressive of free expression and demanded a detailed explanation and a public apology, which the company issued on Tuesday.

On Monday, Meta officials met the PMO. The government said that the suspension was “also seen as an affront to the legitimate struggle of the Palestinian people in their pursuit of justice and human rights”.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said a short-range projectile was behind the killing of Haniyeh and accused the US of supporting the attack, which it blamed on Israel. Haniyeh was in Iran to attend the inauguration ceremony of the newly elected Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian.

The assassination has sparked fears of pushing the region into a wider conflict and forcing Iran and Israel into a direct confrontation if Iran retaliates.

Asian stocks rally a day after worst crash since ‘Black Monday’

Tokyo stocks surged over 10 per cent on Tuesday, recovering from a record selloff the previous day driven by concerns about the US economy and a stronger yen.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index soared 10.33 per cent, gaining 3,249.36 points to reach 34,707.78, while the broader Topix index rose 10.26 per cent, adding 228.49 points to close at 2,455.64.

In South Korea, Kospi opened sharply higher on Tuesday, gaining 4.35 per cent to reach 2,547.66 in the first 15 minutes of trading, recovering from its largest daily loss of nearly 9 per cent on Monday due to US recession fears and weak big tech performance.

A sidecar order was issued at 9.06am to halt programme purchasing after the Kospi 200 index rose over 5 per cent for more than a minute, Korea JoongAng Daily reported.

Major stocks in Seoul started positively, with Samsung Electronics, SK hynix, LG Energy Solution, Hyundai Motor, LG Chem, and SK Innovation all posting significant gains. The local currency also strengthened slightly against the dollar on Tuesday.

This potentially marks a recovery in battered Asian markets a day after Nikkei closed at 31,458.42, dropping 4,451.28 points as it entered bear market territory.

On Tuesday, the Nikkei index jumped more than 8 per cent, reaching above 34,000 in the first few minutes of trading, sharply rebounding from its previous close of 31,458.

Tokyo’s Nikkei index finished Monday with a 12 per cent loss, the largest one-day drop since the aftermath of “Black Monday” in October 1987, when a stock market crash stripped nearly 15 per cent off this index and 20 per cent off the S&P 500.

The rally was supported by calming statements from central bank officials, which eased investor concerns, The Japan Times stated.

Wall Street futures also showed signs of stabilisation, with S&P 500 futures up 0.9 per cent and Nasdaq futures rising 1.2 per cent, recovering from Monday’s losses.

Currencies and Treasury yields also showed signs of recovery, according to Reuters.

The dollar edged up to 145.64 yen after a sharp drop on Monday, while it regained ground against the Swiss franc.

“After the breathtaking and historic moves seen across Asian markets yesterday, driven predominantly by a significant liquidation of margin positions, we look for a solid counter rally on open today,” Chris Weston, head of research at broker Pepperstone told Reuters.

He, however, added: “After such a furious shake-out of leveraged positioning, with Japanese banks absolutely taken to the cleaners, it will take the bravest of investors to buy with any conviction.”

The Bank of Japan raised interest rates last week for the second time in 17 years, with speculation about another rate hike forthcoming, while the U.S. Federal Reserve has hinted at a potential rate cut as early as September.

“Gauging the bottom of such historic selloffs is complicated and investors will most likely remain cautious before pouring capital back into equity markets,” Boris Kovacevic, Austria-based global macro strategist at payments firm Convera.

“However, the dollar-yen pair has now fallen 12 per cent since peaking five weeks ago and is in highly oversold territory. The yen is therefore vulnerable to any upside surprises in U.S. macro data leading investors to reconsider the recession trade. This would help Japanese equities stabilise,” he said.

Meanwhile, in India, after suffering 3 per cent losses, Indian stock benchmarks Sensex and Nifty 50 rebounded sharply on Tuesday. Sensex rose over 1 per cent to 79,852.08, and Nifty 50 climbed over 1 per cent to 24,382.60 in early trading. Mid and small-cap segments reportedly saw even stronger gains, with indices jumping 2 per cent each.

On Monday, Taiwan’s stock exchange held an urgent press conference to calm investor fears after major Asian markets, including Taiwan’s, experienced significant plunges. Taiwan’s stocks fell over 7 per cent in morning trade, with tech shares like TSMC taking a major hit.

South Korea’s Kospi fell over 7 per cent, and Singapore’s Straits Times Index and Australia’s All Ordinaries declined by more than 3 per cent in the Monday horror show.

Additional reporting with agencies

More countries issue warnings against UK travel amid riots

Several countries have issued safety warnings to their citizens in the UK due to ongoing anti-immigration protests and riots.

Nigeria, Malaysia, Australia, Indonesia, the UAE and India have all sent out alerts, advising their nationals living in or visiting the UK to stay away from demonstrations.

India has become the latest of six countries to issue a warning to citizens travelling to the UK following days of violent riots.

The High Commission of India in London said they were “closely monitoring” the situation as they advised visitors from India to “stay vigilant and exercise due caution while travelling in the UK”.

Yesterday, Australia issued a similar warning and advised travellers to “avoid areas where protests are occurring due to the potential for disruption and violence” as it urged people to “monitor the media for information and updates”.

Follow our live coverage of riots across the UK.

The UAE embassy in the UK urged citizens to “exercise the highest level of caution” and “take the necessary precautions” in light of the unstable security situation.

A travel alert by Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, based in the capital Abuja, also stated that there is “an increased risk of violence and disorder occasioned by the recent riots in the UK”, noting that “the violence has assumed dangerous proportions”.

It went on: “Demonstrations by far right and other extra-parliamentary groups in parts of the UK in recent weeks have been large, and in some instances unruly.”

The High Commission of Malaysia in London posted a message online on Sunday which read: “Malaysians residing in or travelling to the United Kingdom are urged to stay away from protest areas, remain vigilant and follow the latest updates and guidance provided by local authorities.”

It also “strongly encouraged” people to register with it to “receive timely information and assistance”.

The Indonesian embassy in London also issued a warning, advising its citizens in the UK to avoid large crowds and increase their vigilance.

Violence has broken out in several towns and cities in England and Northern Ireland following the killing of three young girls at a dance class in Southport last week (29 July).

Almost 400 people have been arrested after far-right riots rocked Liverpool, Bristol, Manchester, Hull, Belfast, Stoke and other cities across the UK over the weekend.

For more travel news and advice, listen to Simon Calder’s podcast

Kamala Harris’s uncle hits back at JD Vance over ‘childless cat lady’ comments

Kamala Harris’s uncle has fired back at JD Vance over his sexist “childless cat ladies” comments, brushing off Donald Trump’s running mate as not “a great thinker”.

Dr Gopalan Balachandran, a psephologist and expert on US-India relations who lives in India, spoke to The Independent about his niece’s chances of taking the White House in November, how her heritage could help her in the role and what he thinks about the personal attacks coming from her Republican rivals.

In the past couple of weeks, Vance has come under fire for his misogynistic comments branding Harris and other women “childless cat ladies”.

Balachandran told The Independent he doesn’t think comments like Vance’s are “worth responding to”.

“I don’t think he is a great thinker, not even a thinker,” he said.

Vance’s remarks, which were made in 2021 but resurfaced after he was named Trump’s vice presidential pick, represent just one of many personal attacks Harris has faced since President Joe Biden stepped down from the 2024 race and she launched her own presidential campaign.

Last week, Trump questioned Harris’s Black and Indian heritage, bizarrely claiming that she only recently “became Black” to win votes and questioning how she can be both “Indian or Black”.

Responding to Trump’s comments, Balachandran said: “I have no idea what Trump meant by ‘always Indian’. She went to school in Oakland, she was bused while in school, she went to Howard University, a historically black college.”

“Her early childhood photos show her in civil rights marches in which few Indians at that time were interested.”

He added: “Sure, her mother took her to temples in the Bay Area, etc., but she took her oath at various swearing-in ceremonies on the Bible along with her nearest family friends in the US, who were all black. In fact, as a journalist, I used to encounter a lot of Indians who were unhappy that she was stressing her ‘blackness’ more than her ‘Indianness’!”

Balachandran is one of the three surviving siblings of Harris’ mother Shayamala Gopalan, who hailed from the southern state of Tamil Nadu.

An academic and a political scientist himself, the 80-year-old often visits Washington for work and has been closely watching his niece’s march towards the highest office in the land from the early days of her career. He revealed that he last met up with Harris just days before Biden stepped aside.

Now, Harris has officially become the Democratic party’s nominee and is set to pick her own running mate early this week.

Balachandran said he believes her chances of becoming the next president are “very high” and voiced confidence in her ability to lead the US, framing her Indian heritage and experience of hailing from a multicultural background as her strength – even as her Republican rivals try to use it to talk her down, with some derogatively branding her a “DEI hire”.

“Her steadfast belief and commitment to her principles will help her lead the US to its full potential, hopefully,” he said.

“Her experience of India as one of the most heterogeneous countries in the world, with multiple major religions, languages, and customs, will help her guide the US also in attaining its potential as a country with multiple nationalities, languages, and customs.”

The vice president has often spoken of the importance of her Indian heritage and her family back in India, especially her grandfather Painganadu Venkataraman Gopalan, who she has called her “favorite person in the world”.

Locals back in Thulasendrapuram village in Tamil Nadu, where her grandfather was born, feel that the family has not forgotten its roots.

Back when Harris was elected vice president, the village saw it as a matter of pride and celebration. Writing for The Independent in November 2020, Balachandran said he hoped to one day see his niece go on to take the highest office. “It is a matter of great family pride,” he said at the time.

Fast forward four years and in the days after Harris launched her presidential campaign, a collection of giant blue posters appeared in the village adorned with her face, each wishing her – in the local Tamil language – luck for November’s election.

Harris was the first person of color to become the vice president. If she wins in November, she will be the first woman, woman of color and Indian American ever to be US president.

Speaking about the symbolism of a woman of Indian origin potentially becoming the US president, Balachandran said the impact “will be more in the US than in India.”

“India had a woman prime minister long before!” he said.

“On the other hand, the symbolism [in the US] will be very high and important, especially amongst girls from the Black, Indian American, and other minority communities.”

He added that for Indians in India, her win would perhaps also mean “some greater appreciation and understanding of their view of the US as an open society with full opportunities for immigrants and their own views on immigrants.”

Regardless of the excitment about Harris among the general public in India, how much her victory in November could impact the US-India relationship is yet to be seen.

As an expert on Indo-American relations and security in the Asia-Pacific region, Balachandran believes “how the India-US relationship develops depends as much on India as on the US, not all on US”.

Harris has not visited India since she became vice president – but she has previously indicated unease with the Narendra Modi government’s approach to the thorny issue of Kashmir, saying in 2019 that it was up to America “to remind Kashmiris that they are not alone in the world”.

“I do not foresee any major policy change on US towards India,” Balachandran told The Independent, adding: “Except, perhaps, some more emphasis on human rights issues.”

Man kills neighbour for taunting him about being single

A man in Indonesia killed his neighbour for persistently asking why he wasn’t married, police said.

Parlindungan Siregar, 45, attacked Asgim Irianto, 60, a retired civil servant, with a piece of wood around 8pm on 29 July, the Straits Times reported. The incident took place in Tapanuli Selatan in northern Sumatra.

Assistant police commissioner Maria Marpaung said on 31 July that Mr Irianto ran out after Siregar attacked him but fell down after he was hit on the head. Siregar continued hitting him until their neighbours intervened.

They took Mr Irianto to a local community health centre but he died on the way.

Siregar was arrested shortly after and admitted to plotting his neighbour’s murder, Ms Marpaung said. She added: “He was determined to beat Mr Asgim to death because of the frequent taunts about his single status.”

Police said the neighbours didn’t share a particularly cordial relationship. They would argue over their chickens going into each other’s coops.

Last month, a man in Indonesia allegedly stabbed his friend to death after they got into an argument over which came first, the chicken or the egg.

The suspect, identified only as DR, stabbed Kadir Markus from Muna Regency in South East Sulawesi province at least 15 times after they got into a heated argument over the riddle on 24 July.

Surgeon sued for not telling patient he used ‘experimental’ jaw device

A Melbourne surgeon has been sued for negligence by a patient who claimed that he did not inform her of his “experimental” jaw device during surgery.

Dr George Dimitroulis is facing a lawsuit from a former patient who says he did not fully disclose the risks associated with her 2018 jaw surgery or reveal that the device, called OMX prosthesis, was experimental.

The patient has claimed that Dr Dimitroulis used a classification system he created to diagnose her condition as severe enough to require surgery. She claimed this system was not widely used by other surgeons and that less invasive treatments were available.

The unidentified patient has also alleged that the surgery resulted in chronic pain and inability to work, The Guardian reported.

Dr Dimitroulis, in his defence filed on 16 July, has denied the allegations and said that he followed accepted medical practices and discussed known risks with the patient.

“At all relevant times he acted in a manner that was widely accepted in Australia by a significant number of respected practitioners as competent professional practice,” his lawyer’s statement said.

An amended statement of claim filed on 21 June by law firm Slater & Gordon on behalf of the patient said Dr Dimitroulis wrote a research paper proposing a new classification system for diagnosing temporomandibular joint, or TMJ, disorders to determine which patients required surgery for it.

The paper was published in the International Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery in 2013.

The claim alleged that the doctor used his classification system to diagnose the patient and suggested surgery as the only option available to her.

The patient has claimed that Dr Dimitroulis did not inform her that the surgery might not work or that it could leave her jaw condition worse.

The claims have been denied by the doctor’s defence team.

Dr Dimitroulis is described on his website as a “globally recognised surgeon and author” who “has been invited all over the world as a guest and keynote speaker by various national and international organisations spanning five continents to present topics ranging from TMJ surgery to surgical research”.

It notes that “he is the inventor of almost a dozen groundbreaking craniomaxillofacial medical devices including the TMJ Arthrojaw and Osseoframe”.

The Independent has reached out to Dr Dimitroulis for comment.

According to Medical News Today, “Temporomandibular joint disorder surgery can reduce pain and improve jaw functioning” but “doctors use this treatment as a last resort because there’s a lack of research on its safety and effectiveness”.