UKRAINE
Minister scoffs at injuries
Minister of Foreign Affairs Leonid Kozhara on Saturday dismissed the injuries sustained by a protester found covered in blood as “a scratch.” “Physically this man is in a good condition. The only thing he has is a scratch on one of his cheeks,” Kozhara told al-Jazeera television on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference. “It looks like the alleged story that he was kidnapped and tortured is not absolutely true,” he said. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs later issued a statement saying that Kozhara had been misunderstood and he “is profoundly sorry for what happened to Dmytro Bulatov and wishes him a speedy recovery.” Bulatov said he was kidnapped by unidentified captors on Jan. 22 and released on Thursday after being tortured.
FRANCE
Japan upset by comics
Japan has expressed its “regret” at a South Korean exhibit at an international comic book festival in Angouleme featuring “comfort women” forced into wartime sex slavery in Japanese military brothels. Japanese Ambassador to France Yoichi Suzuki said he “deeply regrets that this exhibition is taking place,” saying it promoted “a mistaken point of view that further complicates relations between South Korea and Japan.” Franck Bondoux, director of the Angouleme International Comics Festival, said the subject was proposed by the South Korean government.
INDONESIA
‘Death zoo’ loses two more
An endangered komodo dragon and a pregnant barking deer have been found dead at Surabaya Zoo, a spokesman said yesterday. Zoo spokesman Agus Supangkat said a seven-year-old giant lizard was found dead on Saturday in his cage, one day after the deer died. A visitor reported to a zookeeper that the deer was having convulsions and was foaming at the mouth. Supangkat denied any negligence, and said a police forensic team was performing autopsies. The zoo has long been plagued with problems, including premature deaths, uncontrolled breeding and a lack of funding. An online petition has called on the government to close the facility, dubbed “the zoo of death.”
SOUTH AFRICA
Gay rights party formed
A new party that will defend gays and lesbians against violence and persecution will stand in elections this year, a spokesman said on Saturday. “We need a voice in parliament to protect women from being raped because people want to cure them from being lesbians,” Michael Herbst of the Equal Rights Party said. “We need someone in parliament when boys are bullied at school because they are thought to be gay… South Africa has one of the most beautiful constitutions that guarantees the rights of the people who are lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgenders, et cetera. But in reality, it doesn’t work well.”
INDIA
Visa overhaul planned
Tourists from up to 180 countries would no longer have to line up at their local consulates to obtain visas under reforms expected to be approved this week, the Indian Express reported yesterday. The nation’s intelligence agencies have now given their backing to proposals that would allow tourists to apply online and then wait only three days before receiving the green light, the newspaper reported. They would then be able to pick up their visas on arrival at any airport. Some countries such as Pakistan will not be included in the changes, the daily said.
UNITED STATES
Hagel calls nuclear officers
Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel on Saturday made the rare gesture of phoning air force nuclear officers in their underground launch bunkers to update them on efforts to correct problems in their service. Hagel placed the calls from aboard the military command aircraft that carried him home from a global security conference in Germany. The Pentagon chief spoke to six Minuteman 3 missile launch control officers at centers operated by the 341st Missile Wing at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana, the focus of a widening investigation into alleged cheating by launch officers on proficiency tests. A defense official who briefed reporters on Hagel’s phone calls said the six officers to whom he spoke were generally positive in their outlook, but also cited strains and stresses.
CANADA
Ford ticketed for jaywalking
It seems that Toronto Mayor Rob Ford cannot cross the street these days without getting into trouble. The mayor’s spokesman, Amin Massoudi, confirmed on Saturday that Ford received a jaywalking ticket on Friday night. Ford was in a suburb of Vancouver, British Columbia, where he was attending the funeral of a friend’s mother. Toronto’s embattled mayor last year made international headlines when he admitted to having smoked crack cocaine while in a drunken stupor. The Toronto Sun quoted Ford as saying he was shocked officers gave him a jaywalking ticket and that “they went out of their way to do this.” The Royal Canadian Mounted Police refused to comment on the reasons Ford received the ticket.
UNITED STATES
Christie booed at event
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie was greeted with audible boos and a few loud cheers during a Super Bowl-related appearance in New York City on Saturday, a day after a former appointee said the popular Republican knew about politically motivated lane closures near a busy commuter bridge. The Super Bowl was to be played yesterday in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Christie’s introduction was met with a chorus of audible boos and chants of support from the thousands of people gathered in the area for a Super Bowl street fair. He did not mention the scandal during brief remarks in which he thanked the NFL and his New York counterpart and Super Bowl cohost, Governor Andrew Cuomo.
ITALY
Nation hit by floods, snow
Heavy rains and windstorms battered the nation on Saturday, swelling rivers and flooding fields and roads, while alpine areas saw abundant snow. The spate of bad weather was expected to last until Tuesday. Agence France-Presse images of Ponte Milvio bridge in northern Rome show the Tiber river’s level nearing the tops of its arches. The river Arno in Pisa was also swollen. Fields and roads were flooded along the length of many rivers in central Italy. Near Pisa, in Ponsacco, 1,600 residents were forced to find shelter with relatives and friends after floodwaters invaded or threatened the ground floors of their homes, media reports said. Venice experienced an especially severe acqua alta (high water) measuring 1.04m, leaving some tourist areas under water, including Saint Mark’s Square. In the mountains, temperatures began to warm up, raising fears of avalanches. Heavy snowfall has made communications difficult and caused power outages. A strong sirocco wind swept the Gulf of Naples, while fog and heavy rains plagued Calabria in the far south, where driving was difficult and trees had fallen.
SEEKING CHANGE: A hospital worker said she did not vote in previous elections, but ‘now I can see that maybe my vote can change the system and the country’ Voting closed yesterday across the Solomon Islands in the south Pacific nation’s first general election since the government switched diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing and struck a secret security pact that has raised fears of the Chinese navy gaining a foothold in the region. The Solomon Islands’ closer relationship with China and a troubled domestic economy weighed on voters’ minds as they cast their ballots. As many as 420,000 registered voters had their say across 50 national seats. For the first time, the national vote also coincided with elections for eight of the 10 local governments. Esther Maeluma cast her vote in 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
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