PHILIPPINES
Environment chief rejected
A panel of the Commission on Appointments yesterday rejected the appointment of Environment Secretary Gina Lopez on the recommendation of the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources. Lopez had locked horns with the mining industry and members of President Rodrigo Duterte’s Cabinet after ordering the closure and suspension of 23 mines she said harm the environment and residents. She also canceled 75 mining contracts after an audit showed the mines were harming the environment, damaging watersheds and causing siltation in coastal waters and farms.
ISRAEL
Hamas’ detentions criticized
Human Rights Watch yesterday said that Hamas’ detention of two Israeli citizens with a history of mental illness was “cruel and indefensible.” The New York-based group said in a report that Avera Mangistu and Hisham al-Sayed had likely wandered into Gaza on foot and had no connection to hostilities with Gaza’s Hamas rulers. Hamas has indirectly acknowledged holding them, but has said it would not provide confirmation until Israel releases dozens of its jailed members. The group called on Hamas to release them, and to treat them humanely and allow them to communicate with family.
CHINA
UN rights envoy followed
A UN envoy on human rights said he was followed by security officers during an official trip to the nation and that some civil society representatives he met with were intimidated and faced reprisals. UN special rapporteur Philip Alston said the Chinese government’s conduct was at odds with the need for UN experts to have the freedom to assess situations and preserve source confidentiality. He details difficulties in a final report on his mission to China in August last year, which was e-mailed to The Associated Press on Tuesday. It is to be delivered to the UN Human Rights Council in June.
JAPAN
Flight brawl leads to arrest
Police have arrested a drunken American man over a punch-up with another passenger on an All Nippon Airways (ANA) flight, which caused a delay, officers said yesterday. The man, whose name has not been released, was pulled off the Boeing 777 that was due to fly from Narita International Airport to Los Angeles after the brawl erupted before takeoff. “I will kill you!” a male passenger wearing a red Hawaiian shirt, is seen yelling in video footage filmed by another passenger. He is seen throwing punches at another male passenger, as other people on the flight try to escape the area, until ANA staff separate the two men. “The suspect, a US citizen, was drunk and arrested after he injured an ANA official following the fight,” a member of the airport police said. The man’s arrest was formally over his injuring the airline official, not the onboard brawl, an airport police spokesman said.
NORTH KOREA
US citizen detained
The government has confirmed the detention of a US citizen for alleged acts of hostility aimed at overthrowing the government. The Korean Central News Agency says officials “intercepted” Kim Sang-dok at Pyongyang International Airport on April 22 and a detailed investigation into his alleged crime is under way. Kim had been in the country to teach accounting at Pyongyang University of Science and Technology.
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
A prominent Christian leader has allegedly been stabbed at the altar during a Mass yesterday in southwest Sydney. Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was saying Mass at Christ The Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley just after 7pm when a man approached him at the altar and allegedly stabbed toward his head multiple times. A live stream of the Mass shows the congregation swarm forward toward Emmanuel before it was cut off. The church leader gained prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic, amassing a large online following, Officers attached to Fairfield City police area command attended a location on Welcome Street, Wakeley following reports a number