Six In The Morning Wednesday January 27

Deadly shooting during arrest of US militiamen

Militiaman killed and another wounded during FBI operation to detain leaders of armed group in Oregon.

27 Jan 2016 07:59 GMT | United States

An FBI operation to arrest leaders of a militia has ended with one man dead and another wounded on a highway in the US state of Oregon, with seven people from the armed group now in custody.

Ammon Bundy, 40 - the leader of the militia that occupied a national wildlife refuge on federal land for the past three weeks - was among the members arrested following Tuesday's deadly shootout.

The FBI said in a statement that one individual "who was a subject of a federal probable cause arrest is deceased".

Al Jazeera's Gabriel Elizondo reported that the man killed was LaVoy Finicum, the group's second-in-command. 

Brazil and Malaysia fall in corruption index as both countries are rocked by scandal

The good news is that more countries improved their scores in the latest corruption perception index. The bad news is that two-thirds of the 168 countries measured scored less than 50 on a 100-point scale.

Brazil and Malaysia, which both endured massive corruption scandals in 2015, suffered steep declines in the latest corruption perception index, which is produced annually by the watchdog organization Transparency International (TI).

Among the 168 countries ranked by TI, Brazil suffered the steepest decline plunging seven notches to 76 . They scored just 38 points on the 0-100 scale, with 100 being a virtually corrupt-free society.

Denmark, again, had the cleanest government, posting a score of 91 – followed closely by their Nordic neighbors, Finland and Sweden, and other Western countries New Zealand and the Netherlands rounding out the top five.

Denmark approves confiscating valuables from asylum seekers

Denmark's parliament on Tuesday adopted reforms aimed at dissuading migrants from seeking asylum by delaying family reunifications and allowing authorities to seize their valuables, under legislation that has sparked widespread condemnation.

The government insists the law is needed to stem the flow of refugees even though Denmark and Sweden recently tightened their borders, a move that prompted Germany and Austria to turn back new arrivals heading for Scandinavia.

The bill presented by the right-wing minority government of Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen was approved by a huge majority of 81 of the 109 lawmakers present, as members of the opposition Social Democrats backed the measures.

Israeli P.M. Benjamin Netanyahu: Ban Ki-moon comments encourage terror

By Lorenzo Ferrigno, CNN

Updated 0643 GMT (1443 HKT) January 27, 2016

The Israeli Prime Minister and his representative at the United Nations slammed the U.N. secretary general -- the head of the world's organization for peace and security -- for comments made about Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

"The U.N. Secretary General's remarks give a tailwind to terrorism. There is no justification for terrorism," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said of Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in a statement.

The remarks that prompted Netanyahu's scathing comments were made at a U.N. Security Council meeting Tuesday morning that addressed "the Palestinian question."

Vox Sentences: Why did Saudi Arabia give the Malaysian prime minister $680 million?

Updated by Dara Lind and Dylan Matthews

• Malaysia's attorney general has moved to close a corruption investigation into Prime Minister Najib Razak — saying the $680 million in mysterious funds Najib received in 2013 came from the Saudi royal family and there wasn't anything wrong with that.
  [NYT / Thomas Fuller]

• Here's why this is weird: This is part of an ongoing investigation into a heavily indebted state-owned investment fund called 1MDB. Najib is the head of 1MDB's advisory board.
  [CNBC]

• Last summer, the Wall Street Journal reported that investigators had turned up evidence that hundreds of millions of dollars had been transferred from accounts tied to 1MDB into Najib's personal accounts.
  [WSJ / Yantoultra Ngui and Tom Wright]

Denmark Passes Law Allowing Confiscation Of Refugees' Valuables

International human rights organizations have protested the new measures.

   

Alexander Tange

Denmark's parliament passed measures on Tuesday aimed at deterring refugees from seeking asylum, including confiscating valuables to pay for their stay, despite protests from international human rights organizations.

The measures, which also include extending family reunification among refugees from one year to three years, are the latest sign that the Nordic welcome for refugees is waning as large numbers flee war in Africa and Middle East for a better life in Europe.

The "jewelry bill" is the latest attempt by Denmark's minority center-right government to curb immigration to a country that took in a record 20,000 refugees last year.

Under the bill, refugees could keep possessions amounting to 10,000 Danish crowns ($1,450), raised from 3,000 crowns after criticism from human rights organizations. Valuables of special emotional value such as wedding rings will be exempt.