Director Busfield faces abuse charges
Authorities in New Mexico have issued an arrest warrant for director and Emmy Award-winning actor Timothy Busfield in connection with alleged child sex abuse, police said Friday. The warrant follows a complaint filed by an Albuquerque Police Department investigator accusing Busfield of inappropriate sexual contact with a minor on the set of the television series The Cleaning Lady.
The complaint includes that the child alleged the incidents occurred when he was 7 and 8 years old, between late 2022 and early 2024. The child’s mother reported the allegations to Child Protective Services, prompting an investigation that began in November 2024 after a referral from a hospital doctor.
The warrant lists two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor. Court documents say the child has since been diagnosed with anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Busfield’s attorney and agent did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The actor has denied the allegations through legal filings.
Protester climbs on to balcony of Iranian embassy in London
A protester has climbed on to the balcony of the Iranian embassy in west London as hundreds gathered outside the building, waving flags and shouting anti-government slogans, BBC reported.
The Metropolitan Police said two arrests had been made at the protest and that officers were also seeking another individual for trespass.
Anti-government protests erupted in Iran on 28 December, with two human rights groups reporting that at least 50 protesters have been killed, according to BBC.
China, Russia, Iran start 'BRICS Plus' naval exercises in South African waters
China, Russia and Iran began a week of joint naval exercises in South Africa's waters on Saturday in what the host country described as a BRICS Plus operation to "ensure the safety of shipping and maritime economic activities".
BRICS Plus is an expansion of a geopolitical bloc originally comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - and seen by members as a counterweight to U.S. and Western economic dominance - to include six other countries, Reuters reported.
Though South Africa routinely carries out naval exercises with China and Russia, it comes at a time of heightened tensions between U.S. President Donald Trump's administration and several BRICS Plus countries, including China, Iran, South Africa and Brazil.
US may lift more Venezuela sanctions next week, Bessent says
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has told Reuters that additional U.S. sanctions on Venezuela could be lifted as soon as next week to facilitate oil sales, and that he will also meet next week with the heads of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank on their re-engagement with Venezuela, Reuters reported.
Bessent said in an interview late on Friday that almost $5 billion worth of Venezuela's currently frozen IMF Special Drawing Rights monetary assets could be deployed to help rebuild the country's economy.
"We're de-sanctioning the oil that's going to be sold," Bessent said during a visit to a Winnebago Industries engineering facility. The Treasury was examining changes that would facilitate the repatriation of sale proceeds of the oil stored largely on ships back to Venezuela.
