HONG KONG
McDonald’s ditches chicken
McDonald’s restaurants in the territory have taken chicken nuggets and chicken burgers off the menu after a Chinese supplier was accused of selling expired meat. The fast-food chain said late on Thursday that it “suspended relevant food ingredients” at outlets in the city in light of the scandal surrounding Shanghai Husi Food Co. Chinese authorities detained five Husi employees after a TV station reported last weekend that the company repackaged and sold meat past its use-by date. The city’s government said that imports of Husi products would be suspended as the investigation continued.
IRAQ
Jonah shrine destroyed
The new jihadist rulers of the northern city of Mosul on Thursday completely leveled one its most well-known shrines, an official and witnesses told reporters. The Nabi Yunus shrine was built on the reputed burial site of Jonah, a prophet in the Bible who is known as Yunus in the Koran. “Islamic State completely destroyed the shrine of Nabi Yunus after telling local families to stay away and closing the roads to a distance of 500m from the shrine,” said the official at the Sunni endowment, which manages Sunni religious affairs in Iraq. The endowment official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, and Mosul residents said it took the Sunni extremists an hour to rig the shrine with explosives. The endowment official said the Islamic State jihadist group, formerly known as Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant that overran large swathes of northern and western regions last month has now destroyed or damaged 30 shrines, as well as 15 husseiniyas and mosques in and around Mosul. Husseiniyas are Shiite places of worship that are also used as community centers.
AUSTRALIA
Boat people to be processed
A group of 157 asylum seekers in custody on the high seas for weeks will be taken to land and held until consular officials confirm their nationalities, authorities said yesterday. The development follows lawyers acting for about one-third of those on board — thought to be mostly minority ethnic Tamils from Sri Lanka — taking their case to the High Court. They argued that any transfer to Sri Lanka would be illegal, with concerns about the way they were screened. The boat left India last month, and authorities said the vessel was intercepted outside the country’s migration zone. The asylum seekers, including children, have since been held on board a customs ship while their legal status is determined. Minister of Immigration Scott Morrison announced the asylum seekers would be taken to land, where Indian consular officials would determine their identities. “It is our intention those who can be returned should and must be returned,” he said, adding that India had agreed to take back any of its citizens and would also consider taking Sri Lankan nationals who are Indian residents.
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