UNITED KINGDOM
Greek vote rumbles London
Britain will do “whatever is necessary to protect its economic security,” a government spokesman said on Monday after Greeks voted overwhelmingly against austerity in a referendum that could send them crashing out of the eurozone with unknown consequences. “This is a critical moment in the economic crisis in Greece,” a Downing Street spokesman said. “We will continue to do whatever is necessary to protect our economic security at this uncertain time. We have already got contingency plans in place and later this morning the prime minister will chair a further meeting to review those plans in light of yesterday’s result.”
PAKISTAN
Blast kills one, hurts eight
A bomb hit a market in southwest Pakistan late on Sunday, killing one person and wounding eight, police said. The bomb went off in the center of the city of Quetta, where thousands of shoppers visit daily. Quetta is the capital of Balochistan Province. “One person was killed and eight wounded. Police are investigating the nature of the bomb,” senior police official Abdul Razzaq Cheema told reporters. Another Quetta police official speaking on the condition of anonymity confirmed the blast and casualties, adding that dozens of police and paramilitary personnel were on duty near the site of the blast, “but fortunately all remained safe.” No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attacks. Rebels began their fifth insurgency against the state in 2004, with hundreds of soldiers and militants killed in the fighting. Pakistan accuses neighboring India of funding and arming the rebels a charge some analysts say is payback for Pakistan’s perceived interference in Kashmir.
CHINA
Animals aid quake research
Government researchers are using chickens, fish and toads to try to predict earthquakes, media reported. The seismological bureau in the eastern city of Nanjing has transformed seven animal farms into seismic stations, the China Daily newspaper reported last week. Breeders on the farms are asked to update the bureau about the behavior of the animals twice a day, the report said. Possible abnormal behaviors that could indicate imminent earthquakes include chickens flying to the tops of trees, fish leaping out of water or toads moving in a group, it added. Nanjing plans to recruit seven more farms into the program this year, it said. Facilities must house more than three species to be eligible, but some animal keepers seemed reluctant to become involved. “Our zoo is not being transformed into a monitoring station because the animals will display abnormal behavior when they are teased by visitors,” the report quoted a local zookeeper as saying. Using animals predict earthquakes is not new in China. State-run media said last year that the central city of Nanchang was using dogs to predict tremors. Three people died in an earthquake last week in the far western region of Xinjiang.
UNITED STATES
‘Jurassic’ slaughters rivals
Dinosaur blockbuster Jurassic World showed no signs of extinction at North American movie theaters last weekend, taking the top spot for the fourth week running, according to industry estimates showed on Sunday. The film brought in US$30.9 million over the weekend, bringing total earnings to US$558 million — making it the fifth-highest-grossing film of all time, according to media analysts.
‘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