The suspect, identified as Mark Muffley, was arrested on Wednesday. Reuters
The suspect, identified as Mark Muffley, was arrested on Wednesday. Reuters
The suspect, identified as Mark Muffley, was arrested on Wednesday. Reuters
The suspect, identified as Mark Muffley, was arrested on Wednesday. Reuters

US arrests man with explosive device in luggage at Pennsylvania airport


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The FBI arrested a man who allegedly attempted to bring an explosive device on to a plane in Pennsylvania, US authorities said on Wednesday.

The bomb was discovered by Transportation Security Administration personnel on Monday, after the man's checked bag set off an alarm at Lehigh Valley International Airport in the city of Allentown, the federal agency said.

A section of the airport, about 160km west of New York, was evacuated as a precaution, the TSA said.

“FBI and local law enforcement bomb technicians determined that the item was indeed a live explosive device,” TSA spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein said on Twitter.

The explosive, according to a court filing, was a round package of powder-like substance wrapped in plastic wrap, with a fuse attached and hidden inside the bags lining.

Local experts determined the substance to be “consistent with a commercial grade firework,” said the court filing, which was published by media site Axios.

The bag also contained a can of butane, two power outlets taped together, and a pipe with “white powder residue” on it.

The suspect, identified as Mark Muffley, left the airport after being called to the security desk and was later arrested at his home.

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Real estate tokenisation project

Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.

The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.

Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.

Will the pound fall to parity with the dollar?

The idea of pound parity now seems less far-fetched as the risk grows that Britain may split away from the European Union without a deal.

Rupert Harrison, a fund manager at BlackRock, sees the risk of it falling to trade level with the dollar on a no-deal Brexit. The view echoes Morgan Stanley’s recent forecast that the currency can plunge toward $1 (Dh3.67) on such an outcome. That isn’t the majority view yet – a Bloomberg survey this month estimated the pound will slide to $1.10 should the UK exit the bloc without an agreement.

New Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that Britain will leave the EU on the October 31 deadline with or without an agreement, fuelling concern the nation is headed for a disorderly departure and fanning pessimism toward the pound. Sterling has fallen more than 7 per cent in the past three months, the worst performance among major developed-market currencies.

“The pound is at a much lower level now but I still think a no-deal exit would lead to significant volatility and we could be testing parity on a really bad outcome,” said Mr Harrison, who manages more than $10 billion in assets at BlackRock. “We will see this game of chicken continue through August and that’s likely negative for sterling,” he said about the deadlocked Brexit talks.

The pound fell 0.8 per cent to $1.2033 on Friday, its weakest closing level since the 1980s, after a report on the second quarter showed the UK economy shrank for the first time in six years. The data means it is likely the Bank of England will cut interest rates, according to Mizuho Bank.

The BOE said in November that the currency could fall even below $1 in an analysis on possible worst-case Brexit scenarios. Options-based calculations showed around a 6.4 per cent chance of pound-dollar parity in the next one year, markedly higher than 0.2 per cent in early March when prospects of a no-deal outcome were seemingly off the table.

Bloomberg

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Updated: March 02, 2023, 4:51 AM