POLAND
US forces to be deployed
The Pentagon said on Wednesday it planned to send a US Air Force detachment to the country to support fighter jets and transport planes, marking the first time that US soldiers have been stationed there. The detachment “will arrive this fall to support quarterly F-16 and C-130 deployments beginning in 2013 and will be the first US forces stationed on Polish soil,” Pentagon spokesman George Little said in a statement.
GERMANY
Sea Shepherd founder flees
Sea Shepherd founder Paul Watson skipped bail and fled the country over fears Japan would seek his extradition if he was sent to Costa Rica, the organization suggested yesterday. The head of the marine conservation group left the country “for an unspecified destination,” his lawyer told a Frankfurt court on Wednesday, prompting an arrest warrant to be reissued. Earlier this year, Costa Rica filed an extradition request on charges stemming from a high-seas confrontation between a Sea Shepherd ship and a Costa Rican vessel over alleged illegal shark finning in 2002. Watson was accused of “putting a ship’s crew in danger.” The 61-year-old was arrested at Frankfurt airport in May.
ARGENTINA
New Evita bill unveiled
The country’s iconic former first lady, Evita Peron, has been honored in song, in film and currently on Broadway. Now her face will grace the nation’s currency. President Cristina Fernandez revealed the new 100-peso (US$21.90) note on Wednesday night on the eve of the 60th anniversary of the death of Peron. She is the first woman to appear on any of the country’s banknotes.
MEXICO
Mass bird vaccination starts
The country started vaccinating about 10 million poultry yesterday against the highly contagious bird flu strain that has already led to the deaths of 5 million birds, which either fell ill or were slaughtered. “Starting tomorrow, we are going to vaccinate hens and chicks across the country to put an end to this bird flu epidemic,” President Felipe Calderon said. The president indicated that the ultimate goal is to have a batch of 80 million vaccinations.
MEXICO
Seven miners die in blast
Emergency personnel recovered the bodies of seven miners killed in a gas explosion on Wednesday at a coal mine in northern Mexico. The miners, aged 20 to 39, suffered severe burns and were crushed by falling rock, said Francisco Contreras Obregon, the head of the civil defense force in that part of Coahuila State. A total of seven men were trapped underground after what appears to have been a methane gas explosion.
UNITED STATES
‘Twilight’ star sorry for fling
Public displays of affection gave way to public displays of apology on Wednesday as Twilight star Kristen Stewart and the director of her latest movie candidly admitted they have had an illicit affair. Stewart, 22, the most bankable actress in Hollywood, was first to take the plunge, confessing via People magazine that she had cheated on longtime boyfriend and Twilight co-star Robert Pattinson, 26. Then came Snow White director Rupert Sanders with his own statement, saying he was “utterly distraught about the pain I have caused” to his wife of seven years, model Liberty Ross, 33, and their two young children. Prompting both apologies was Us magazine, which revealed on Tuesday it would be running “exclusive photos” of Stewart and Sanders.
CHINA
Bo Xilai’s wife indicted
The wife of ousted politician Bo Xilai (薄熙來) and a family aide have been charged with the murder of a British businessman, the government said yesterday. Xinhua news agency reported that the prosecutor’s indictment said Bo’s wife, Gu Kailai (谷開來), had a falling out with Briton Neil Heywood over money and worried that it would threaten her and their son’s safety. Gu and the aide, Zhang Xiaojun (張曉軍), are alleged to have poisoned Heywood together, the report said. Heywood’s death in November last year was attributed initially to a heart attack or excessive drinking. They were charged in Hefei, Xinhua said. It did not say when exactly the indictment was issued or why the case is being prosecuted in Hefei and not in Chongqing, the metropolis Bo ran as Chinese Communist Party secretary and where the couple lived.
MYANMAR
Court jails 92 Thai farmers
A court in the southern town of Kawthuang sentenced 92 Thai nationals to three-and-a-half years in prison for entering the country illegally to grow crops. The verdicts were issued on Tuesday, a senior immigration ministry official said on Wednesday. The official declined to be identified because he was unauthorized to speak to the media. Thailand’s foreign ministry confirmed the verdicts, but made no immediate comment. The Thais were arrested during an operation early this month for illegally entering the country and attempting to grow rubber crops on 607 hectares of land.
MALAYSIA
PM promises payout
Prime Minister Najib Razak has announced a 2.2 billion ringgit (US$693 million) payout for civil servants and pensioners ahead of general elections widely expected this year, earning a rebuke from opposition lawmakers. Najib said in a statement late on Wednesday that the country’s 1.27 million civil servants would receive a half-month bonus and about 660,000 pensioners would be given a special payment of 500 ringgit. The money will arrive next month ahead of the Eid al-Fitr festival marking the end of the fasting month of Ramadan. “It’s an election payout,” opposition lawmaker Tony Pua said. “The government will likely spend more money in the coming weeks to stay in power than be prudent in their expenditure.”
AUSTRALIA
Man jailed for bullet mail
A “cranky” old man was yesterday jailed for mailing bullets and detonators to political leaders, including Prime Minister Julia Gillard, bank chiefs and religious figures, reports said. John Gordon, 81, pleaded guilty to 12 charges over the letters. He had sent six explosive packages containing bullets and detonators, menacing and offensive letters, a death threat and a bomb hoax. Gordon’s lawyer, Bruce Mumford, told the Brisbane District Court that the father-of-two regretted his actions between 2007 and 2010, blaming them on a “cranky mood.” Judge Brian Devereux jailed him for two-and-a-half years, of which he must serve eight months before being released on a good behavior bond.
INDONESIA
Migrants land near Bali
Sixty Iraqi and Iranian migrants, believed to be headed for Australia and adrift at sea for three days with engine trouble, were safe on a small island near Bali, an official said yesterday. East Java provincial search and rescue agency chief Sutrisno said the stricken boat had landed near Raas Island, after authorities received a distress call on Wednesday, but were unable to find the vessel.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
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
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