JAPAN
Australia given sub proposal
Japan is proposing jointly building Australia’s new submarines, instead of exporting a new fleet, a report said on Monday, after concerns in Canberra over the effect on the domestic ship-building industry. Under the proposal, the Japanese Ministry of Defence is to cooperate with Australia in developing special steel and other materials for its new submarines, while Tokyo would be in charge of assembling them, the Mainichi Shimbun said. The Australian side has taken “a positive stance” on the proposal, the daily said, adding that the two nations might strike a deal by the end of this year. Australia needs to replace its fleet of diesel and electric-powered subs, which date from the 1990s, and Japan’s high-tech ship-building industry is thought to be well-placed to win the contract. However, opposition politicians and industry groups in Australia said that losing the contract could deal a potentially fatal blow to naval shipbuilding at home, with a knock-on effect for associated industries. However, critics say that Japan might be able to supply the fleet for as little as half of the cost of making it at home. Japan is on a drive to promote its manufacturing industries abroad, with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe touring the world as salesman-in-chief. Abe has argued that Japan must play a bigger role on the global stage and has pushed to loosen post-World War II restrictions on when its well-equipped armed forces can act. He has also relaxed a self-imposed ban on weapons exports, paving the way for the possible deal with Australia.
BRAZIL
Ex-president backed for 2018
Brazil’s ruling Workers’ Party would back former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to seek a third term in 2018, the nation’s chief of staff Aloizio Mercadante told the Folha de S.Paulo newspaper on Sunday, adding that the popular ex-president is the only choice in the next election. Mercadante serves as the chief of staff in the Cabinet of Lula’s protegee and current President Dilma Rousseff. The Workers Party has held Brazil’s presidency for 12 straight years, starting with Lula’s two terms from 2003 to 2010. Rousseff, Lula’s former chief of staff, won the presidency in 2010 and won a second term last year.
AUSTRALIA
Rapper charged with assault
New York hip-hop artist Joey Bada$$ has been charged in an Australian court with assaulting a security guard before a performance last week, officials said on Monday. The 19-year-old Brooklyn performer was headed for the stage at the Falls Music and Arts Festival near the tourist town of Byron Bay in New South Wales state on Friday when he was asked by a 20-year-old security guard to prove his identity, police said in a statement. Bada$$ allegedly punched the guard, breaking his nose, before continuing to the stage and performing his set. He was later charged with assault causing bodily harm and spent the night in police custody, the statement said. He could be sentenced to a maximum of five years in prison if convicted. He appeared in the Lismore Local Court on Saturday under the name Jo-Vaughn Virginie Scott and was released on unconditional bail, court official Melissa Everson said. She would not say whether he had entered a plea, citing privacy regulations. His lawyer Tracey Randall did not immediately return a call. Bada$$ would not be required to appear when the charge is next listed in the Byron Bay Local Court on March 19, Everson said. He is free to fly back to the US and will be represented in court by a lawyer.
‘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