1. New sanctions against DPRK

The U.N. Security Council unanimously* adopted a new resolution* to impose new sanctions* on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) for ignoring previous resolutions and its recent intercontinental ballistic missile* tests. Resolution 2371 (2017), drafted by the United States, bans DRPK’s exports of coal (DPRK’s largest source of external revenue), iron, iron ore, lead, lead ore and seafood. Such measures will prevent the DPRK from earning over US$1 billion per year of hard currency that would be redirected to its illicit programs, according to the resolution.

2. Jail for Samsung heir

On Monday, South Korean prosecutors demanded the heir to the Samsung empire be jailed for 12 years over his role in the corruption* scandal* that brought down the country’s last president. At the final hearing in the trial of Lee Jae-yong, the vice chairman of Samsung Electronics, prosecutors* called him the “ultimate beneficiary” of crimes committed in the scandal, which culminated in the impeachment* and dismissal of president Park Geun-hye.

3. Anti-crime operations in Rio slums

Thousands of Brazilian troops have raided Rio de Janeiro favelas* in a pre-dawn crackdown on criminal gangs on Saturday, leaving parts of the city looking like a warzone. Five favelas were targeted by police and 3,600 troops in a swoop*, the Rio state security service said in a statement. Officials said their main goal was to stop the gangs behind a surge in robberies of commercial trucks, but residents said the raids created more tension and fear. Rio state authorities said there were 10,000 cases of cargo theft last year. As part of the raids, 40 arrest warrants were issued.

4. Ex-Iranian leader to be sentenced

Iran’s former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is facing sentencing after a parliamentary* court found him guilty of misusing billions of dollars in government funds, the public prosecutor at Iran’s Supreme Audit Court said last week. He faces seven sentences.

5. Chinese tourists detained

Police in Berlin arrested two Chinese tourists for allegedly making Nazi salutes while posing for cellphone pictures in front of the Reichstag building housing Germany’s federal parliament. The suspects, identified only as Chinese tourists aged 36 and 49, were spotted doing the gesture associated with notorious* Nazi leader Adolf Hitler and were arrested for “using symbols of illegal organizations.” Both suspects were taken to a police station for questioning before being released after each posted bail of about US$590. Symbols associated with Nazism are illegal in Germany.

6. Man fires gunshots

A man of Asian origin fired multiple gunshots outside the Consulate General of China in Los Angeles last week before fatally shooting himself, local police said. The shooting did not injure anyone else. The man, in his 60s, was found dead in his vehicle parked 20 meters away from the consulate office building, according to a local police officer. Police is investigating the incident.

7. Afghan Shiite mosque attack

A suicide bomber and a gunman killed at least 29 people and wounded 63 last week at a packed Shiite* mosque in Afghanistan’s main western city of Herat, the latest attack to highlight the country’s deteriorating* security situation. The assault on the Jawadya mosque in Herat, which is close to Afghanistan’s border with Iran, came a day after the Islamic State group claimed a deadly attack on the Iraqi embassy in Kabul. (SD-Agencies)