INDIA
Avalanche kills soldiers
Three soldiers have died after avalanches struck a high-altitude army post in government-controlled Kashmir, an officer said yesterday, after heavy snowfall in the disputed Himalayan region. Multiple avalanches hit a post in Batalik near the Line of Control — the de facto border that divides Kashmir — on Thursday, burying five soldiers, an army spokesman said. “We launched rescue operations and two were rescued alive, but this morning three bodies were retrieved from under the snow,” Rajesh Kalia told reporters. Lower altitude areas have suffered heavy rains, prompting authorities to shut schools until tomorrow and close the region’s main highway over landslide fears. Officials said water levels began to recede yesterday after a halt in the rain.
MALDIVES
Opposition leader arrested
Police have arrested a leader of an opposition political party on a charge of plotting to overthrow the government. A joint opposition statement said Jumhooree Party leader and lawmaker Qasim Ibrahim was arrested on Thursday evening on charges of “attempting to influence no confidence motions against the speaker of parliament” and “plotting to overthrow the government.” The arrest came days after the government defeated a no-confidence motion against the speaker and thereby prevented the opposition bid to take control of the People’s Majlis. The opposition said the charges are “trumped-up” and demonstrate the willingness of President Abdulla Yameen’s government to “subvert state institutions in order to pursue and persecute anyone to who attempts to hold him accountable.”
NEW ZEALAND
English defends pizza recipe
Prime Minister Bill English yesterday defended his love of pizza topped with canned spaghetti and pineapple after the recipe sent fans of the Italian treat into an outraged frenzy. English earlier this week posted pictures of his unorthodox tastes on Facebook, saying he prepared the dish for his family. The Internet melted down faster than buffalo mozzarella as purists poured online scorn on his spaghetti speciality. US talk show host Jimmy Kimmel urged New Zealanders to “impeach that man immediately,” adding: “That is so offensive. That is an act of war. I think he just declared war on Italy, and maybe Hawaii too.” The Italian embassy declared a “vendetta” over the desecration, posting on Twitter a picture of the nation’s beloved pavlova dessert covered with salami. “Vendetta for PM’s pizza with tinned spaghetti and pineapple,” it said. English was unfazed by the criticism, saying his recipe might have cooked up strong opinions, but plenty of people were on his side. “Everywhere I go now I meet people who put spaghetti and pineapple on their pizza,” he told NewstalkZB.
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
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was
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