Not everybody can say they met with the president of the US and hardly anybody can say they piloted their own 747 airliner halfway around the world to get to the meeting.
So it was noteworthy that Sultan of Brunei Hassanal Bolkiah, known for his vast oil wealth, sat down for talks with US President Barack Obama in the Oval Office on Tuesday.
“His majesty himself has led his country for 40 years now and he’s gone through nine US presidents. I won’t ask him which one was his favorite,” Obama said.
In a picture-taking session after their talks and before a White House lunch, Obama said he looked forward to attending an ASEAN summit meeting in October and expected issues such as trade, energy and climate change to come up
Brunei is a tiny Southeast Asian country nestled on the north coast of Borneo in the South China Sea. China’s sovereignty claim over a large area of the South China Sea has set it against Vietnam and the Philippines as the three countries race to tap possibly huge oil reserves. Malaysia and Brunei, also members of ASEAN, as well as Taiwan also claim parts of the sea.
“Obviously, there have been a lot of tensions in the region around maritime issues and his majesty has shown great leadership in trying to bring the countries together to make sure everybody is abiding by the basic precepts of rule of law and international standards, so that conflicts can be resolved peacefully and respectfully,” Obama said.
Reading from a statement, the sultan, 66, said he looked forward to welcoming Obama to the Brunei summit.
“He got here yesterday and flew in his own 747, meaning he actually piloted it himself,” Obama said. “I think he’s probably the only head of state who flies a 747 himself. So in case Air Force One pilots have problems, we know who to consult.”
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of
A prominent Christian leader has allegedly been stabbed at the altar during a Mass yesterday in southwest Sydney. Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was saying Mass at Christ The Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley just after 7pm when a man approached him at the altar and allegedly stabbed toward his head multiple times. A live stream of the Mass shows the congregation swarm forward toward Emmanuel before it was cut off. The church leader gained prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic, amassing a large online following, Officers attached to Fairfield City police area command attended a location on Welcome Street, Wakeley following reports a number