Report: Commerce head has stake in firm tied to Putin’s son-in-law

NEW YORK (AP) — Newly leaked documents show that Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, the Trump administration’s point man on trade and manufacturing policy, has a stake in a company that does business with a gas producer partly owned by the son-in-law of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

According to records obtained by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, Ross is an investor in Navigator Holdings, a shipping giant that counts Russian gas and petrochemical producer Sibur among its major customers. Putin’s son-in-law Kirill Shamalov once owned more than 20 percent of the company, but now holds a much smaller stake.

Commerce Department spokesman James Rockas said Ross “never met” Shamalov and has generally supported the Trump administration’s sanctions against Russia, according to the ICIJ report. Rockas added that Ross has withdrawn from matters related to transoceanic shipping vessels and has met the “highest ethical standards.”

The details are likely to add to the questions about ties between Russia and the Trump administration, connections that for months have shadowed the White House and are a focus of an investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller. Yet it wasn’t immediately clear how many partners Ross might have or what the profit-sharing agreement might be.

ICIJ disclosed the Ross holding as part of reporting on 13.4 million records of offshore entities in tax havens leaked to German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung. The newspaper then shared the records with ICIJ and a network of more than 380 journalists in 67 countries. The New York Times is its U.S. partner in this inquiry.

In Japan, Trump tries to put human face on NKorean menace

TOKYO (AP) — After easing into his Asian debut with golf and a taste of home, President Donald Trump is trying to put a human face on North Korea’s menace, hearing from anguished families of Japanese citizens snatched by Pyongyang’s agents.

Trump’s meeting Monday promises to elevate these heart-wrenching tales of loss to the international stage as he hopes to pressure North Korea to end its provocative behavior toward American allies in the region.

North Korea has acknowledged apprehending 13 Japanese in the 1970s and 1980s, but claims all those captives have died or been released.

But in Japan, where grieving relatives of the abducted have become a symbol of heartbreak on the scale of American POW families, the government insists nearly 50 people were taken — and believes some may be alive.

Trump has delivered harsh denunciations of the renegade North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, belittling him as “Little Rocket Man” and threatening to rain “fire and fury” on his country if the belligerence continues. But Trump also has begun highlighting the plight of the North Koreans.

Investigators scour past of man charged in NYC terror attack

NEW YORK (AP) — From his hospital bed, Sayfullo Saipov proudly told investigators how he had rented a truck and used it to fatally run down cyclists and pedestrians on a New York City bike path, all in the name of the Islamic State.

He assured them he acted alone. U.S. counter-terrorism agents want to make sure.

Since the attack that killed eight people, the New York Police Department and the FBI have been working behind the scenes to study his past, question his family and friends, examine his cellphone and online activity and hunt for any clues that might identify others plotting similar attacks.

That search has already revealed instances where Saipov had contact with other people who had drawn law enforcement scrutiny.

“What we are looking for is how has he touched the subjects of other investigations, what is his connectivity to those people,” said John Miller, the NYPD’s top counterterrorism official.

Judge to decide next phase in Spain- Catalonia fight

BRUSSELS (AP) — The fight between Spain and Catalonia’s separatists reached a Belgian judge on Sunday after the region’s deposed leader and four ex-ministers surrendered in Brussels to face possible extradition to Madrid for allegedly plotting a rebellion.

Hours after former Catalan regional president Carles Puigdemont and the others turned themselves in to Belgian authorities, Puigdemont’s party put him forward as its leader for an upcoming regional election called by the Spanish government — meaning he could end up heading a campaign from Brussels while he fights a forced return to Spain.

Belgian judicial authorities now have to make a decision rife with diplomatic implications for fellow European Union members Spain and Belgium and political consequences for Catalonia, the restive Spanish region fighting Madrid for independence.

Report: Commerce head has stake in firm tied to Putin’s son-in-law

NEW YORK (AP) — Newly leaked documents show that Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, the Trump administration’s point man on trade and manufacturing policy, has a stake in a company that does business with a gas producer partly owned by the son-in-law of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

According to records obtained by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, Ross is an investor in Navigator Holdings, a shipping giant that counts Russian gas and petrochemical producer Sibur among its major customers. Putin’s son-in-law Kirill Shamalov once owned more than 20 percent of the company, but now holds a much smaller stake.

Commerce Department spokesman James Rockas said Ross “never met” Shamalov and has generally supported the Trump administration’s sanctions against Russia, according to the ICIJ report. Rockas added that Ross has withdrawn from matters related to transoceanic shipping vessels and has met the “highest ethical standards.”

The details are likely to add to the questions about ties between Russia and the Trump administration, connections that for months have shadowed the White House and are a focus of an investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller. Yet it wasn’t immediately clear how many partners Ross might have or what the profit-sharing agreement might be.

ICIJ disclosed the Ross holding as part of reporting on 13.4 million records of offshore entities in tax havens leaked to German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung. The newspaper then shared the records with ICIJ and a network of more than 380 journalists in 67 countries. The New York Times is its U.S. partner in this inquiry.

In Japan, Trump tries to put human face on NKorean menace

TOKYO (AP) — After easing into his Asian debut with golf and a taste of home, President Donald Trump is trying to put a human face on North Korea’s menace, hearing from anguished families of Japanese citizens snatched by Pyongyang’s agents.

Trump’s meeting Monday promises to elevate these heart-wrenching tales of loss to the international stage as he hopes to pressure North Korea to end its provocative behavior toward American allies in the region.

North Korea has acknowledged apprehending 13 Japanese in the 1970s and 1980s, but claims all those captives have died or been released.

But in Japan, where grieving relatives of the abducted have become a symbol of heartbreak on the scale of American POW families, the government insists nearly 50 people were taken — and believes some may be alive.

Trump has delivered harsh denunciations of the renegade North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, belittling him as “Little Rocket Man” and threatening to rain “fire and fury” on his country if the belligerence continues. But Trump also has begun highlighting the plight of the North Koreans.

Investigators scour past of man charged in NYC terror attack

NEW YORK (AP) — From his hospital bed, Sayfullo Saipov proudly told investigators how he had rented a truck and used it to fatally run down cyclists and pedestrians on a New York City bike path, all in the name of the Islamic State.

He assured them he acted alone. U.S. counter-terrorism agents want to make sure.

Since the attack that killed eight people, the New York Police Department and the FBI have been working behind the scenes to study his past, question his family and friends, examine his cellphone and online activity and hunt for any clues that might identify others plotting similar attacks.

That search has already revealed instances where Saipov had contact with other people who had drawn law enforcement scrutiny.

“What we are looking for is how has he touched the subjects of other investigations, what is his connectivity to those people,” said John Miller, the NYPD’s top counterterrorism official.

Judge to decide next phase in Spain- Catalonia fight

BRUSSELS (AP) — The fight between Spain and Catalonia’s separatists reached a Belgian judge on Sunday after the region’s deposed leader and four ex-ministers surrendered in Brussels to face possible extradition to Madrid for allegedly plotting a rebellion.

Hours after former Catalan regional president Carles Puigdemont and the others turned themselves in to Belgian authorities, Puigdemont’s party put him forward as its leader for an upcoming regional election called by the Spanish government — meaning he could end up heading a campaign from Brussels while he fights a forced return to Spain.

Belgian judicial authorities now have to make a decision rife with diplomatic implications for fellow European Union members Spain and Belgium and political consequences for Catalonia, the restive Spanish region fighting Madrid for independence.