CHINA
Beijing irked by Modi visit
China summoned India’s ambassador over Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to a disputed border region in the Himalayas, a long-festering irritant in relations between the Asian giants. On Friday, Modi visited the northeastern Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, an immense territory of nearly 84,000km2 that China claims as part of its Tibet region. Modi marked the 28th anniversary of Arunachal Pradesh being declared a state, opened a train line and called for hydropower projects to spur regional growth. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said late on Saturday that Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin (劉振民) had called in Indian Ambassador Ashok Kantha to express “strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition” to the visit, saying it undermined China’s territorial sovereignty. Liu said China places importance on developing relations with India. It called for New Delhi not to take any action that might complicate the issue and stick to resolving it through bilateral negotiations. China and India fought a brief but bloody frontier war in 1962. They agreed to a line of actual control in 1996 and began talks on settling the dispute.
CHINA
Man kills three in care home
A nursing home worker in central China accused of killing three elderly residents with a brick and injuring 15 other people had argued with his boss over unpaid wages, according to a local government and state-run media. Luo Renchu (羅仁初), 64, attacked elderly residents and staff at the privately run home in Hunan Province at about 2am on Thursday, the first day of the Lunar New Year, the Shuangfeng County government said in a statement. Luo fled and police said they apprehended him on a mountain on Saturday afternoon. The Xinhua news agency, citing police, reported on Saturday that the attack happened shortly after Luo argued with the nursing home’s owner over unpaid wages of 40,000 yuan (US$6,394). Luo and his wife, who also works at the Aixin Nursing Home, had been promised 10,000 yuan before the Lunar New Year, but owner Fang Hongchun (房鴻春) gave them only 6,000 yuan, Xinhua said. Xinhua said the 15 injured were residents and included Fang’s mother and brother. Most suffered head injuries and six were in life-threatening condition. The home has more than 90 residents, mostly in their 70s and 80s.
THAILAND
Police arrest gathering
Thai police plucked at least three people off the streets of the capital yesterday after they held a small gathering to “exchange views” with the country’s military junta. Thailand’s military has severely restricted public gatherings since seizing power in a coup in May last year. Taking a hard line on dissent, it has detained more than 300 people, including activists, journalists and politicians. The leader of a group of four people, Akkarakit Noonchan, was dragged away by plainclothes officers shortly after the beginning of the event at Bangkok’s downtown Victory Monument, according to a witness. Akkarakit told reporters the event by the group, calling itself Serichon Thailand 58, was not intended as a protest. At least two other people were seen being detained. They had earlier displayed t-shirts depicting a bird with its beak and claws bound, as dozens of uniformed police stood by. One person has been questioned by police, Phayathai police station head of investigations Lieutenant Colonel Thepitak Saengla said. He did not give any further details.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of
IN PURSUIT: Israel’s defense minister said the revenge attacks by Israeli settlers would make it difficult for security forces to find those responsible for the 14-year-old’s death Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday condemned the “heinous murder” of an Israeli teenager in the occupied West Bank as attacks on Palestinian villages intensified following news of his death. After Benjamin Achimeir, 14, was reported missing near Ramallah on Friday, hundreds of Jewish settlers backed by Israeli forces raided nearby Palestinian villages, torching vehicles and homes, leaving at least one villager dead and dozens wounded. The attacks escalated in several villages on Saturday after Achimeir’s body was found near the Malachi Hashalom outpost. Agence France-Presse correspondents saw smoke rising from burned houses and fields. Mayor Amin Abu Alyah, of the