AUSTRALIA
Military to help US in Iraq
Prime Minister Tony Abbott said military aircraft will fly guns and ammunition to Iraq to help fight militants belonging to the Islamic State, formerly known as Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. “The United States government has requested that Australia help to transport stores of military equipment, including arms and munitions, as part of a multi-nation effort,” Abbott said in a statement yesterday. “Royal Australian Air Force C-130 Hercules and C-17 Globemaster aircraft will join aircraft from other nations, including Canada, Italy, France, the United Kingdom and the United States, to conduct this important task.” He did not say when the air drops would begin, but News Corp newspapers reported that the transport aircraft based at al-Minhad Air Base outside Dubai could fly their first mission within days.
GERMANY
New party tipped for seat
A party that wants the nation to ditch the euro is tipped to win its first seat in a state assembly. A poll conducted for public broadcaster ZDF predicted that the Alternative for Germany party will receive 7 percent of the vote in elections over the weekend for the Saxony state parliament. This would be enough for the party, founded last year, to clear the 5 percent hurdle needed to enter parliament. The party narrowly missed entering the national parliament and the Hesse State assembly last year, but won seven seats in the European Parliament elections in May.
AFGHANISTAN
Crash kills 23 people
A police spokesman said 23 people were killed when a passenger van and a fuel tanker collided in Herat Province. Raouf Ahmadi, a spokesman for the provincial police chief, said the crash happened yesterday morning. He said four other people were injured in the accident, on the main highway between the city of Herat and the Iranian border. He said he did not know what caused the accident, but that initial reports indicated both drivers were at fault.
FRANCE
Explosion blamed on gas
A four-story building was rocked by an explosion and collapsed, killing a child, in a northeastern suburb of Paris yesterday morning, authorities said. Ten people, including four seriously wounded, were evacuated from the rubble of the building, and a child was killed, fire department spokesman Gabriel Plus told iTele. The explosion occurred at about 7am. Minister of the Interior Bernard Cazeneuve, who arrived onsite, said it appeared the explosion occurred because of a gas leak, but said he could not confirm that theory. “We should be prudent, because there are investigations ongoing. There is no certainty,” he told reporters. About another 10 people could still be underneath the rubble, and an emergency rescue procedure was ongoing, Plus said.
JAPAN
‘Boob Aid’ raises thousands
Nine porn stars helped raised tens of thousands of dollars over the weekend by having their breasts squeezed by people at a “Boob Aid” charity event for AIDS prevention. Having sprayed their hands with disinfectant, many of the visitors were seen fondling the breasts quite discreetly. Boob Aid was part of the 24-hour “Stop! AIDS” campaign event that began on Saturday in Tokyo. Organizers said about US$40,000 has been collected as each participant was expected to donate ¥1,000 (US$10) or more.
URUGUAY
Marijuana set for market
The nation’s new market for legalized marijuana has attracted at least 20 companies bidding for the right to supply pot to pharmacies, a government official said on Thursday. An official from President Jose Mujica’s office said cannabis regulators would review and pick the best businesses from the competitors that passed initial scrutiny. The official did not specify an exact number of bidders, saying only it was “more than 20 and less than 25.” Successful companies must identify everyone involved in their businesses, document the source of their financing and be cleared by the nation’s anti-money laundering agency.
PERU
Record cocaine haul seized
The Ministry of the Interior on Saturday said the final tally of a record cocaine seizure last week totaled 7.6 tonnes, valued at more than US$300,000 million. “This is the largest drug seizure ever in Peru. It’s historic,” Minister of the Interior Daniel Urresti said. The stack of cocaine was found hidden in a coal shipment in the city of Trujillo and was to have been moved on to Spain and Belgium. Authorities said it belonged to a Mexican drug cartel operating in the country, but did not specify which one.
UNITED STATES
EU leaders congratulated
The White House sent congratulations to newly elected EU leaders on Saturday. “The president congratulates Prime Minister Donald Tusk of Poland on his election as president of the European Council, and Foreign Minister Federica Mogherini of Italy on being chosen as high representative for foreign affairs and security policy,” a White House statement said. “As we advance security and prosperity around the world, the United States has no more important partner than Europe,” the statement said. “We look forward to working closely with President Tusk and High Representative Mogherini, as well as Commission President Juncker and all of the new commissioners.”
BOLIVIA
Tourists among crash dead
Police say eight foreign tourists were among the 10 people killed when a bus returning to La Paz from the Salar de Uyuni salt flats ran off the highway and crashed. Police Captain Gonzalo Carrasco said that another 24 people, most of them foreigners, were injured and being treated in hospitals in Oruro, the closest big city. Carrasco said the accident occurred on Saturday about 290km south of the capital. He said the foreigners included an Australian, two Swiss, two Italians and a Peruvian and that two of the foreigners could not immediately be identified. Carrasco said the injured included Germans, Italians, Swiss, Canadians, Chileans, Peruvians and an Indian. He said the cause of the accident was under investigation.
UNITED STATES
Call for calm in Lesotho
The government on Saturday called for “peaceful dialogue” in Lesotho, after the prime minister said he was forced to flee the country after the military seized power. “The United States is deeply concerned by clashes between security forces today in Lesotho, and calls upon government officials and all parties to remain committed to peaceful political dialogue and to follow democratic processes in line with the Lesotho Constitution and principles of the rule of law,” a Department of State statement said. The statement made no direct mention of an attempt to oust Basotho Prime Minister Tom Thabane.
‘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