The U.S. sanctioned a top member of China’s Communist Party on Thursday, along with three other senior officials and a Chinese entity involved in systematic human rights abuses of Muslim minorities and ethnic Kazakhs in China’s western province of Xinjiang. The action is likely to ratchet up already high tensions between the U.S. and China.
The missing mayor of Seoul, who had reportedly been accused of sexual harassment, has been found dead more than half a day after leaving a message for his daughter that was “like a will”. Police said rescue dogs found Park Won-soon’s body near a restaurant in wooded hills in northern Seoul, more than seven hours after they launched a search for him.
Donald Trump’s tax returns can be seen by a New York prosecutor, the US Supreme Court has ruled. The request to view the documents is part of a criminal investigation into alleged hush-money payments to women who claim they had affairs with the US president. In response, the US president – who has tried hard to keep his financial records private – tweeted: “This is all political prosecution.”
The U.S. Department of Transportation said it has revoked permission for Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) to conduct charter flights to the United States, citing Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) concerns over Pakistani pilot certifications. Pakistan last month grounded almost a third of its pilots after discovering they may have falsified their qualifications. Pakistan’s grounding of pilots with dubious credentials followed the crash of a PIA jet in May that killed 97 people.
The spire of Notre Dame cathedral, which was destroyed in a fire last April, will be restored according to the original Gothic design. French President Emmanuel Macron announced the decision, putting an end to speculation that the spire would be rebuilt in a modern style. Mr Macron had previously hinted he was in favor of a “contemporary gesture”.