U.S. charges Chinese tech giant Huawei
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department unsealed criminal charges Monday against Chinese tech giant Huawei, a top company executive and several subsidiaries, alleging the company stole trade secrets, misled banks about its business and violated U.S. sanctions.
The charges were announced just before a crucial two-day round of trade talks between the United States and China are scheduled to begin in Washington. Trade analysts say they could dim prospects for a breakthrough.
The sweeping indictments accuse the company of using extreme efforts to steal trade secrets from American businesses — including trying to take a piece of a robot from a T-Mobile lab.
The executive charged is Huawei’s chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou, who was arrested in Canada last month. The U.S. is seeking to extradite her, alleging she committed fraud by misleading banks about Huawei’s business dealings in Iran.
David Martin, Meng’s lawyer in Canada, didn’t immediately respond to messages seeking comment. Meng is out on bail in Vancouver and her case is due back in court Tuesday as she awaits extradition proceedings to begin.
5 officers injured in Houston shooting, suspect dead
HOUSTON — Five Houston officers were injured in a shooting Monday in an incident involving a suspect and taken to a hospital, police said.
Houston police tweeted the officers were “struck with gunfire following an encounter with a suspect” Monday afternoon in a neighborhood in southeast Houston.
Joe Gamaldi, president of the Houston Police Officers’ Union, tweeted that two officers were in critical condition and the other three in stable condition at Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center in Houston.
U.S. envoy: ‘Agreement in principle’ on Afghan peace talks
KABUL, Afghanistan — Negotiators for the U.S. and the Taliban insurgents have reached “agreements in principle” on key issues for a peace deal that would end 17 years of war in Afghanistan, the top U.S. envoy said Monday.
The statement by U.S. envoy Zalmay Khalilzad followed six days of talks last week with the Taliban in Qatar, where he urged the Islamic insurgent group to enter into direct negotiations with the government of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani.
Ghani on Monday assured Afghans that their rights will not be compromised in the name of peace with the Taliban, who have been staging near-daily attacks against Afghan forces, causing scores of casualties every week. Their offensive has not let up despite the severe Afghan winter and the insurgents now hold sway over nearly half of the country.
By wire sources