■AUSTRALIA
Rudd accused of cowardice
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd was on Saturday accused of kowtowing to China over his decision not to meet the Dalai Lama when the exiled Tibetan leader visits in December. Rudd braved Beijing’s displeasure and met the Dalai Lama in 2007 when he was leader of the opposition Labor Party but has kept him at bay since taking office after the November 2007 election. Greens member of parliament Sarah Hanson-Young accused Rudd of cowardice. “Mr Rudd needs to be firm and strong enough to have a meeting with the Dalai Lama,” she said. “The only understanding of this decision is his reluctance to upset the Chinese government.” Former prime minister John Howard met the Dalai Lama when he was the nation’s leader. Rudd, then opposition leader, initially refused but relented when Howard set up an appointment with him.
■INDIA
Cabin crew duke it out
Air India said yesterday it was investigating allegations of a mid-air brawl in which pilots and cabin crew were reported to have exchanged blows in front of startled passengers. The Times of India reported that crew members threw punches and hurled abuse at each other on the flight from Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates to Delhi after a female attendant accused the pilots of sexually harassing her. The fight spilled out into the galley of the plane as about 100 passengers looked on, the paper said under the headline “Pilots, crew slug it out at 30,000 feet.” The cockpit of the Airbus A-320 was left unmanned at one point and one of the pilots threatened to divert the plane to Pakistan, the Times said. The 24-year-old female crew member and a co-pilot both suffered bruises on Saturday and police registered a case against the pilots for “outraging the modesty of a woman.”
■ITALY
Protesters want free media
Tens of thousands of protesters thronged to a historic square in one of Europe’s largest capitals on Saturday to defend press freedom amid concerns of growing government interference in how the news is reported in the country. “Free information, not on a leash,” Franco Siddi, secretary general of the Italian Press Federation, told a keyed up crowd that organizers estimated to be at least 300,000 strong. Police officials said the number was closer to 60,000. The group planned the event “after a crescendo of episodes” that suggested that the government of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was trying to exert pressure on the national news media, Siddi said later backstage. On Friday, Berlusconi dismissed the protest as “a real farce.” Speaking at a political convention, he said: “Freedom is far greater in Italy than any other Western country,” ANSA reported. For years accusations of conflict of interest have dogged Berlusconi, who owns the country’s leading private TV networks and a publishing empire. His government also oversees the state broadcaster RAI. In recent months, he has become increasingly impatient with the European news media and, in particular, those outlets that have riveted people with accounts of a number of racy scandals involving the 73-year-old prime minister and a clutch of young women.
■UNITED STATES
‘Anarchist’ plan foiled
A self-described New York City anarchist has been accused of tweeting the location of police officers to protesters trying to evade them during the G20 economic summit in Pittsburgh. Pennsylvania State Police arrested Elliot Madison alleging he used Twitter to direct the movement of protesters and inform them about law enforcement actions at last month’s summit. The New York Post reported on Saturday. Court papers filed by Madison’s attorney said FBI agents executed a search warrant at the 41-year-old’s Queens home on Thursday. They seized computers, political writings and anarchist literature. Madison faces charges including hindering prosecution.
■UNITED STATES
Obamas have quiet dinner
There was no trip to New York and no fancy outing as the Obamas celebrated their first wedding anniversary since they moved to the White House. Instead they kept it simple, with a dinner out on Saturday night at an elegant, American-fare restaurant near Georgetown. The evening was balmy and the moon almost full. President Barack Obama stayed in all day before taking a motorcade with Michelle Obama to the Blue Duck Tavern to mark their 17th wedding anniversary.
■CANADA
Prince Charles to visit
Britain’s Prince Charles will visit with his wife Camilla between Nov. 2 and Nov. 12, the government said on Saturday. “The visit by Their Royal Highnesses is a great honor for Canadians,” Prime Minister Stephen Harper said in a statement. “It will allow all of us, particularly young people, an opportunity to learn more about the heritage and traditions of which we are all proud.” The royal couple plans to visit 12 cities and communities in four provinces, Harper’s office said. Heir apparent Prince Charles has visited the country 15 times, with his last official visit in 2001. This will be his visit official visit with Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall. Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II remains Canada’s monarch and is represented by Governor General Michaelle Jean.
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese