The beauty powerhouse is pushing for a pardon of Alice Marie Johnson, who has been locked up for more than two decades for a first-time drug offence
Hello, this is Anna bringing you Thursday's news from around the world.
Today's headlines
Kim Kardashian meets with Trump
Kim Kardashian West met with US President Donald Trump to discuss a potential pardon for a 63-year-old great-grandmother who is serving life in prison. Alice Marie Johnson has been locked up for more than two decades for a first-time drug offence. Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner has also been speaking with Kardashian West about the case for months as he pushes for federal prison reforms.Trump tweeted that they had a ‘great meeting’. Kardashian West became involved with the case when she saw a video shared on social media, and was so moved that she asked her longtime personal lawyer, Shawn Holley, to take a look at the case and is paying for a new legal team for Johnson.
Weinstein indicted on rape charges
Disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein has been indicted on rape and criminal sex act charges in New York City. Manhattan district attorney Cyrus Vance Jr announced the indictment Wednesday and said it brings Weinstein ‘another step closer to accountability’. There has been a slate of sexual misconduct allegations against Weinstein, which he and his lawyers vehemently deny.
North Korea-US summit a step closer
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s closest aide has met US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in New York to discuss a potential summit. Gen Kim Yong-chol dined with Pompeo and are due to meet again on Thursday. He is the most senior North Korean to visit the US in nearly 20 years. Donald Trump cancelled the 12 June summit after KIm said he was not interested in unilateral talks about denuclearisation, but both sides have since made efforts to hold it as planned.
European states complicit in US torture
European judges have ruled that Lithuania and Romania violated the rights of two al-Qaeda terror suspects by allowing the CIA to torture them. The US captured Abu Zubaydah and Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri after the September 2001 attacks in the US and they are now at the Guantanamo Bay prison. The CIA operated secret prisons, including in Lithuania and Romania. The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) said both countries had violated the European prohibition of torture.
Melania Trump tries to quash rumours
US First Lady Melania Trump, who has not been seen in public since a hospital operation this month, tried to quell rumours about her health and marriage. ‘Rest assured, I'm here at the @WhiteHouse w my family’" a tweet posted on her account read. Rumours have swirled in the 20 days since she was last seen - with President Donald Trump as he welcomed home three US detainees from North Korea - that the Trumps’ marriage is on the rocks.
A new private jet to get closer to Jesus
A gospel televangelist from Louisiana says Jesus has asked him to buy a new private jet. Jesse Duplantis, leader of Jesse Duplantis Ministries and the owner of three other private jets, is asking his followers to chip in so his ministry can purchase a brand new Dassault Falcon 7X, which costs about $54 million. In a video recently published on his website, Duplantis says the planes get him closer to the Lord -- both literally and figuratively -- and he had a divine conversation in which Jesus asked for the new aircraft by name.