TWO unidentified drones have killed two Iraqi members of an Iran-backed paramilitary force, according to a statement by the group.
The statement, issued by the force known as the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), said the attack occurred in the Anbar province of Iraq, near the Qaim border crossing with Syria, and targeted the Hezbollah Brigades faction, also known as Brigade 45.
Two officials from the Hezbollah Brigades, which is separate from the Lebanese group of the same name, confirmed Sunday’s attack.
Iraq’s Hezbollah Brigades operate under the umbrella of the state-sanctioned militias known collectively as the PMF, many of which are supported by Iran.
If confirmed, the incident would be the latest in a series of attacks targeting PMF bases and weapons depots in Iraq.
MEANWHILE, Harvey Weinstein is due back in court to face a new indictment that prosecutors say would open the door for an actress to testify against him in his sexual assault case.
Weinstein was arraigned yesterday morning in a Manhattan courtroom.
The new indictment has not been made public, but in court papers, prosecutors said it was needed to present evidence involving Sopranos actress Annabella Sciorra, who said Weinstein raped her in 1993.
Court papers filed by the defence called it an “11th-hour manoeuvre” which “raises significant legal issues”, and could delay a trial now scheduled to begin early next month by several weeks.
ELSEWHERE, Indonesia’s president has announced that the country’s capital will be moved from overcrowded, sinking and polluted Jakarta to East Kalimantan province.
President Joko Widodo told a news conference yesterday the decision to choose the province on the Indonesian side of Borneo island, which is shared with Malaysia and Brunei, has gone through in-depth studies.
Indonesia’s decades-long discussion about building a new capital on Borneo inched forward in April when Widodo approved a plan for it to move from Jakarta on Java island.
Jakarta is a sprawling metropolis of 10 million people that swells to three times that number when counting those living in its greater metropolitan area.
FINALLY, The crew of the International Space Station has successfully relocated a Soyuz space capsule to another docking port to facilitate the rendezvous with another spacecraft.
The manoeuvre followed Saturday’s failed docking of the Soyuz MS-14 spacecraft.
The docking attempt was aborted due to a suspected glitch linked to an automated control system on board the space station.
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