NEWS OF THE DAY
1 Iraq reconstruction: Kuwait this week opened a week of conferences seeking aid for rebuilding Iraq after the onslaught of the Islamic State. Kuwait is seeking tens of billions of dollars for a nation that invaded it only a generation ago. Authorities estimate Iraq needs $88.2 billion to restore a country smashed after the Sunni extremists seized the country’s secondlargest city of Mosul and a mass of territory in June 2014. While the U.S. will not make any new direct aid pledges at the conference, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is expected to announce an over $3 billion financial package, an American official said.
2 Ex-president arrested: Prosecutors in Guatemala said Tuesday they have arrested former President Alvaro Colom and almost his entire former Cabinet in a corruption case involving questionable purchases of public buses for Guatemala City. Colom, who governed from 2008 to 2012, is the latest in a series of former presidents to face legal problems. A customs fraud scandal that allegedly sent kickbacks to thenPresident Otto Perez Molina and Vice President Roxana Baldetti led both to resign in 2015. They have been jailed awaiting trial. Alfonso Portillo, president from 2000 to 2004, was extradited to the U.S. and pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy in 2014.
3 Korea talks: U.S. officials told South Korea’s president they were willing to hold direct negotiations with North Korea, a spokesman for President Moon Jae-in said Tuesday, indicating a shift in the Trump administration’s policy. The statement came just days after Vice President Mike Pence visited South Korea and met with Moon.
4 Turkey’s warning: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan issued a warning Tuesday to neighboring Greece, Cyprus and international companies exploring for gas in the eastern Mediterranean not to “step out of line” and encroach on Turkey’s rights. Meanwhile, Greek authorities said a Turkish coast guard vessel rammed a Greek coast guard boat off a couple of uninhabited islets in the Aegean Sea over which the two NATO allies nearly went to war in 1996. There were no injuries. Erdogan made the warning as Turkish warships continued to impede a rig from reaching a location off Cyprus where Italian energy company Eni is scheduled to drill for gas. Turkey claims part of the area Cyprus has designated for exploratory drilling.
5 Plane crash: Human error may be to blame for Sunday’s crash near Moscow of a Russian An-148 plane that killed 71 people, Russian investigators said Tuesday, noting that the plane’s pilots failed to turn on the heating unit for its measuring equipment, resulting in flawed speed data. The carrier, Saratov Airlines, has grounded several other An-148s pending the crash investigation.
6 Syria war: At least four private Russian military contractors were killed by a U.S. strike in Syria, Russian media reported Tuesday in a development that could further inflame Russia-U.S. tensions if officially confirmed. Russian media said the private contractors were part of pro-government forces that advanced on oil fields in the eastern Deir el-Zour province and were targeted by the U.S. The U.S. military said last week it launched air and artillery strikes on Syrian government-backed troops after some 300 attackers launched what appeared to be a coordinated assault on Syrian opposition forces accompanied by U.S. advisers.