Iran president warns of a region ‘on the edge of collapse’
UNITED NATIONS — Iran’s president warned world leaders Wednesday that security in the energy-rich Persian Gulf could collapse quickly with a “single blunder,” and he accused the United States of engaging in “merciless economic terrorism” against his country.
On the same day as President Hassan Rouhani spoke, the U.S. ramped up oil-related sanctions on Iran, imposing penalties on six Chinese companies and their chief executives for continuing to transport Iranian crude.
Rouhani said in his speech to the annual U.N. General Assembly that the United States was engaging in “international piracy” against his country by re-imposing economic sanctions after Washington withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.
Iran “will never negotiate with an enemy that seeks to make Iran surrender with the weapon of poverty,” Rouhani said in his highly anticipated speech. “Stop the sanctions so as to open the way for the start of negotiations.”
Iranian state television broadcast Rouhani’s speech live across the country of 80 million people, many of whom are struggling under the weight of crippling U.S. sanctions that have sent the Iranian economy into freefall and limited Tehran’s ability to sell its oil abroad.
Juul stops e-cigarette ads as teen vaping, illnesses grow
WASHINGTON — Juul Labs Inc. will stop advertising its electronic cigarettes in the U.S. and replace its chief executive as mysterious breathing illnesses and an explosion in teen vaping have triggered efforts to crack down on the largely unregulated industry.
The nation’s largest e-cigarette maker and other brands are fighting to survive as they face backlash from two public health debacles. Federal and state officials have seized on the recent outbreak of lung illnesses — including 10 reported deaths — to push through restrictions designed to curb underage vaping.
No major e-cigarette company has been tied to the ailments, including Juul, which said it won’t fight a Trump administration proposal for a sweeping ban on e-cigarette flavors that can appeal to teens.
Michigan, New York and Rhode Island banned vaping flavors this month, while Massachusetts said it will stop sales of all vaping products for four months, the first such step in the country.
“I think this rush to judgment is extraordinary, and we might be looking at the demise of vaping,” said Kenneth Warner, professor emeritus at University of Michigan’s school of public health.
PM Johnson faces raucous Parliament
LONDON — An unrepentant Prime Minister Boris Johnson brushed off cries of “Resign!” and dared his foes to try to topple him Wednesday at a raucous session of Parliament, a day after Britain’s highest court ruled he acted illegally in suspending the body ahead of the Brexit deadline.
Amid shouts, angry gestures and repeated cries of “Order!” in the House of Commons, Johnson emphatically defended his intention to withdraw Britain from the European Union on Oct. 31, with or without a separation agreement with the EU.
“I say it is time to get Brexit done,” he declared, accusing his opponents of trying to frustrate the will of the people, who in 2016 voted 52% to 48% to leave the 28-nation bloc.
Johnson was greeted with applause from his own Conservative lawmakers and jeers from the opposition side as he arrived in the Commons, hours after cutting short a trip to the United Nations in New York.
He flew home early after Britain’s Supreme Court unanimously ruled Tuesday that his attempt to suspend Parliament for five weeks had the effect of stymieing its scrutiny of the government over Brexit. The court declared the suspension void.
Israel’s Netanyahu given chance to form new government
JERUSALEM — Israel’s president on Wednesday asked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to form a new government, giving the longtime leader the difficult task of breaking a post-election deadlock that has paralyzed the country’s political system.
After a divisive campaign, Netanyahu called for a “broad unity government” with his chief rival former military chief Benny Gantz. But he faces an uphill struggle, with his future clouded by a likely corruption indictment and his opponents opposed to sitting with him.
President Reuven Rivlin announced his decision late Wednesday after a second meeting aimed at brokering a unity deal between Netanyahu and Gantz ended without an agreement.
Standing alongside Rivlin, Netanyahu said it was clear that neither his Likud party nor Gantz’s Blue and White could put together a coalition on its own, and that the only option was to band together.
“The two of us cannot form a government unless we are together,” he said. “The order of the moment is a unity government, a broad national unity government that is formed quickly.”
Woman behind French #MeToo movement is fined for defamation
PARIS — A Paris court ruled on Wednesday that the woman who launched the French version of the #MeToo movement must pay 20,000 euros ($22,000) for defaming the man she accused of harassment.
French journalist Sandra Muller said she fears the message of the decision is “be quiet.”
Muller launched #balancetonporc, which roughly translates as “squeal on your pig, “at the height of the global movement against sexual misconduct in October 2017 when she tweeted that former TV channel executive Eric Brion made sexually explicit comments to her.
TIME Magazine featured Muller among #MeToo “silence breakers” in its 2017 “Person of the Year” edition.
Brion, former head of television channel Equidia, took Muller to court over the tweets, arguing that they harmed him and that his remarks to Muller were not harassment. The court ruled in his favor, ordered Muller to delete her tweets and to pay Brion 15,000 euros ($16,400) in damages and 5,000 euros more ($5,400) in legal fees.
2nd man arrested as result of Mac Miller death investigation
LOS ANGELES — An Arizona man has become the second person arrested on drug charges in the investigation of the overdose death of rapper Mac Miller, authorities said.
Ryan Reavis, 36, was charged in Mohave County court with possession of marijuana, prescription drugs and drug paraphernalia; weapons misconduct by a prohibited possessor; manufacture of a prohibited weapon and engaging in fraudulent schemes, Lake Havasu City police said in a statement Tuesday.
Reavis was being held on $50,000 bail. He has not entered a plea, and police did not know if he has hired an attorney who could be asked for comment.
Police gave no details on the connection but said the arrest emerged from the investigation into the accidental overdose death of Miller, who died one year ago in his Los Angeles home at age 26 from a combination of cocaine, alcohol and the powerful opioid fentanyl , authorities said.
On Monday, local authorities and agents from the FBI and Drug Enforcement Agency served a search warrant at Reavis’ home, police said.
