CHINA
Henan man dies of bird flu
A man in Henan Province has become the latest person reported to have died this winter from influenza A virus subtype H7N9, Xinhua news agency said yesterday, citing local health authorities. The 36-year-old roast duck salesman developed a fever and a cough on about Dec. 25 in Zhejiang Province and returned to Henan earlier this month, Xinhua said. He was diagnosed with H7N9 on Tuesday and died the next day. Bird flu is most likely to strike in winter and spring. In recent years, farmers have stepped up cleaning regimes, animal detention techniques and built roofs to cover hen pens in attempts to prevent the disease. The country’s last major outbreak killed 36 people and caused more than US$6 billion in losses for the agricultural sector. The H7N9 strain does not seem to transmit easily among people, and sustained human-to-human infection has not been reported, the WHO said, adding that the danger is that any such virus mutates and acquires genetic changes that could boost its pandemic potential.
PAKISTAN
Watchdog demands probe
The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists has asked the government to investigate the fatal shooting of a local journalist in the southwest. In a statement, the media watchdog yesterday demanded action against those responsible for the killing of 37-year-old Muhammad Jan, who was returning home late on Thursday night when he was targeted by unidentified assailants. The journalist had worked for the Urdu-language daily Qudrat and was teaching at a school. No group claimed responsibility for the killing. According to the watchdog, 59 journalists have been killed in the country from 1992 to last year.
THAILAND
Crash kills pilot at air show
An air force pilot died when his fighter jet crashed at an air show marking Children’s Day. Amateur video footage shows the Saab JAS 39 Gripen jet maneuvering over the Hat Yai air base in the south when it suddenly lost altitude and crashed in a ball of fire away from spectators. The Ministry of Defense is investigating the cause of the crash. Deputy government spokesman Werachon Sukondhapatipakerachon said Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha expressed condolences to the pilot’s family.
UNITED STATES
Firm recalls ‘swastika’ boots
A California-based company that sells footwear has recalled a model of military-style boots after a customer pointed out that the soles leave swastika imprints. Conal International Trading pulled the Polar Fox boots this week and issued an apology after a Reddit user on Monday posted an image of the imprint that went viral. “We would like to issue our sincerest apologies to our customers and to anyone who was offended by the swastika imprint that the boots left behind,” the firm said in a statement. “The design was not intentional and was a mistake made by our manufacturers in China.” The photograph, viewed more than 3 million times, prompted a flurry of snarky comments. “Very comfortable. Nein out of ten,” one person wrote. “I love them too, they really put me in mein kampfort zone,” another wrote. The boots were sold on Amazon.com, which removed the listing on Thursday. Many have pointed out another apparently unintended association with Nazi Germany: The boots share a name with a World War II military operation — Polarfuchs, or polar fox — in which German and Finnish soldiers captured the Salla area of central Finland from the Soviets.
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
A top Vietnamese property tycoon was on Thursday sentenced to death in one of the biggest corruption cases in history, with an estimated US$27 billion in damages. A panel of three hand-picked jurors and two judges rejected all defense arguments by Truong My Lan, chair of major developer Van Thinh Phat, who was found guilty of swindling cash from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) over a decade. “The defendant’s actions ... eroded people’s trust in the leadership of the [Communist] Party and state,” read the verdict at the trial in Ho Chi Minh City. After the five-week trial, 85 others were also sentenced on
‘DELUSIONAL’: Targeting the families of Hamas’ leaders would not push the group to change its position or to give up its demands for Palestinians, Ismail Haniyeh said Israeli aircraft on Wednesday killed three sons of Hamas’ top political leader in the Gaza Strip, striking high-stakes targets at a time when Israel is holding delicate ceasefire negotiations with the militant group. Hamas said four of the leader’s grandchildren were also killed. Ismail Haniyeh’s sons are among the highest-profile figures to be killed in the war so far. Israel said they were Hamas operatives, and Haniyeh accused Israel of acting in “the spirit of revenge and murder.” The deaths threatened to strain the internationally mediated ceasefire talks, which appeared to gain steam in recent days even as the sides remain far
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