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Police in Haiti arrest lawmaker Arnel Belizaire, who faces charges including terror financing

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Authorities say they have arrested Haitian legislator Arnel Belizaire on charges including financing terrorism and conspiracy against state security.

It’s the latest arrest of Belizaire in a country where powerful political figures have long operated with impunity. Some have been linked to financing and supporting gangs that control an estimated 90% of Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital.

Haiti’s National Police made the announcement late Sunday, ending a hunt for the well-known lawmaker, who was first accused around two months ago.

Belizaire previously characterized the arrest warrant against him as political intimidation. It wasn’t immediately clear if he had an attorney.

Belizaire had registered his new political party late last week for the upcoming general election.

The U.S. government already had accused Belizaire of “significant corruption” last year, announcing that he and his immediate family members were blocked from entering the United States.

Belizaire was arrested in the early 2000s on an illegal weapons charge and sentenced to prison. He escaped and was rearrested, only to escape again following Haiti’s devastating 2010 earthquake.

He was elected to Haiti’s parliament in 2011 and then rearrested when police noted that he had escaped during the earthquake. He was subsequently released following political pressure.

Belizaire was arrested again several years ago, after being accused of arms trafficking, but those charges were dropped.

Beijing bans 4 New Zealand lawmakers from entering China because they visited Taiwan

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Beijing banned four New Zealand lawmakers from traveling to China for a year and demanded they apologize because they visited Taiwan on a parliamentary trip, according to a message from the Chinese embassy conveyed via parliamentary officials and shown to The Associated Press on Thursday. China has hit lawmakers from other countries with sanctions related to contact with Taiwan before, but it's the first time for New Zealand parliamentarians, the government in Wellington said. Beijing has been increasing pressure in recent years on the democratically governed island that it claims as its own territory. Two lawmakers reached by the AP on Thursday rejected the demand for an apology, while the other two could not be immediately reached. New Zealand's government said it would express concern about the travel bans to Beijing. The elected officials visited Taipei in May, as New Zealand parliamentarians have done “for decades,” a spokesperson for Foreign Minister Winston Peters said in a statement.
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