ALGERIA
French hostage threatened
A group linked to Islamic State (IS) militants on Monday claimed the kidnapping of a French national and threatened to kill the hostage within 24 hours unless Paris halts air strikes on the IS in Iraq. Jund al-Khilifa (“Soldiers of the Caliphate”) posted a video showing the white-haired and bespectacled hostage, Herve Pierre Gourdel, squatting on the ground flanked by two hooded men clutching Kalashnikov assault rifles. The footage was confirmed as authentic by the French government, and came after IS issued a statement urging Muslims to kill Westerners whose nations have joined a campaign to battle the group.
YEMEN
Rebels sweep into Sana’a
In a stunning sweep of the capital, Sana’a, the country’s Shiite rebels seized homes, offices and military bases of their Sunni foes on Monday, forcing many into hiding and triggering an exodus of civilians from the city after a week of fighting that left 340 people dead. It was the latest development in the Hawthi blitz, which has plunged the volatile country into more turmoil, pitting the Shiite rebels against the Sunni-dominated military and their Islamist tribal allies. The heavily armed Hawthi fighters on Monday seized tanks and armored vehicles from military headquarters they had overrun, and raided the home of long-time archenemy Major General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar. Al-Ahmar himself fled and was forced into hiding, along with his followers.
CHINA
Fireworks plant blast kills 12
An explosion at a fireworks factory in Hunan Province killed 12 people and injured 33, the local government said yesterday. Two people were also missing following Monday’s blast, which shook Nanyang Export Fireworks Factory, in Liling. The government did not say what caused the explosion, but said it was a work safety incident.
MOZAMBIQUE
Poachers kill 22 elephants
Poachers slaughtered 22 elephants in the first two weeks of the month, environmentalists said on Monday, warning that killing for ivory by organized syndicates was being carried out on an “industrialized” scale. Until recently, poaching was not considered a crime and those arrested often got off with a fine for illegal weapons possession, frustrating conservation efforts. A new law passed in June toughens penalties for poachers, including jail terms of up to 12 years. New York-based environmental group WCS said that organized crime syndicates were killing between 1,500 and 1,800 elephants a year. The poachers use automatic weapons and high-calibre hunting rifles, but spikes concealed in the bush have also been used to wound animals, causing them slow and agonizing deaths from gangrene. Ivory from Mozambique has been traced to markets in Hong Kong and Taiwan.
JAPAN
Abe drops Putin visit plan
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has dropped plans to host Russian President Vladimir Putin this year due to friction after Tokyo imposed sanctions on Moscow over the Ukraine crisis, reports said yesterday. The two countries had agreed on the Russian leader’s visit “this autumn,” but Washington had asked Tokyo to postpone it, Kyodo News reported, quoting Japanese government sources. Tokyo has joined the US and Europe in putting pressure on Russia with sanctions over the Ukraine crisis, Kyodo said. Japan is now seeking to arrange for Putin to visit next spring or later, depending on the state of ties between Russia and the US.
‘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