MYANMAR
Deal reached on Rohingya
The government and Bangladesh have agreed to work together to repatriate hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslim refugees, officials said, but details remain thin. After talks in the capital, Naypyidaw, on Tuesday, Bangladesh’s Home Ministry said Myanmar had agreed to stop the outflow of Rohingya and take back all refugees. However, the Burmese said only that refugees would need to be scrutinized for proof of their roots in Rakhine state. “We cannot say when we are going to receive [the refugees],” Tin Myint, from the Burmese Home Ministry, told reporters after the meeting.
AUSTRALIA
AISO warns on China
Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (AISO) Director-General Duncan Lewis late on Tuesday said that universities need to be “very conscious” of foreign interference in an apparent reference to China’s perceived undercover influence on campuses. He told politicians in Canberra that espionage and foreign interference were an “insidious threat” and that foreign powers were “clandestinely seeking to shape” the opinion of the public, media organizations and government officials “in order to advance their countries’ own political objectives.” He did not specifically name China in his late night testimony to a parliamentary inquiry, but when questioned about China’s involvement, he said he “strongly identified” with comments made by a senior government official this month that universities should protect themselves from Chinese influence.
JAPAN
‘Ninja’ thief, 74, nabbed
Osaka police have finally nabbed a nimble “ninja” thief who dressed in black and scrambled over walls to commit scores of break-ins over eight years — only to find he was 74. They had been stumped by a string of burglaries in which their only lead was security camera footage showing a thief wearing a black neck-warmer pulled up to the nose and a hood down to the eyebrows. In May the neck warmer slipped and police recognized Mitsuaki Tanigawa, who had a record for thefts. They finally nabbed him returning to his hideout at 4am after robbing a store. Tanigawa said he “hated working and thought stealing is quicker,” police said. He has been charged with more than 254 break-ins and thefts worth ¥30 million (US$260,000).
INDONESIA
Pangolins seized in raid
Authorities have seized more than 100 live pangolins during a raid on Tuesday on a fishing boat near Sumatra, an official said yesterday. Authorities were tipped off by local residents who said men were attempting to smuggle the mammals to Malaysia. Two men, aged 22 and 25, were arrested. If found guilty, the pair could face a maximum five years in prison. The pangolins will be released in a national park, an official said.
JAPAN
Fork cancels ‘slurping noise’
Nissin Food Products said it has created the world’s first “noise-canceling” fork to mask the sound made by slurping noodles, dubbed “noodle harassment” on social media. The giant fork — 4.4cm wide and 15.2cm long — has a microphone to detect offending slurps. “We developed a system in which any subtle slurping sound can be detected,” the company said. When a slurp alert is triggered, the fork sends a signal to the user’s mobile phone, which plays the sound of flowing water to mask the noise. Nissin said it would only sell the fork if it receives 5,000 preorders by the middle of next month.
ISRAEL
Einstein note sold at auction
While Albert Einstein’s theory of happiness might be relative, it fetched US$1.3 million at a Jerusalem auction on Tuesday. The Nobel-winning scientist’s handwritten note might not be as famous as his groundbreaking theory of relativity, but it still sheds light on one of the great modern minds. Winner’s Auctions & Exhibitions said Einstein was traveling in Japan in 1922 when he was told he would be awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics. In Tokyo, Einstein scribbled the note in German to a bellboy after he did not have cash to give him a tip. “A calm and modest life brings more happiness than the pursuit of success combined with constant restlessness,” it reads. Winner’s CEO Gal Wiener said Einstein told the bellboy that because of his fame, the handwritten note “will probably be worth more than a regular tip.” Wiener said bidding began at US$2,000 and quickly escalated, with the bidding war lasting about 25 minutes.
UNITED KINGDOM
Leak targets world’s richest
Financial details of some of the world’s richest people are set to be published after a Bermuda-based offshore firm suffered a data breach, the Telegraph reported yesterday. The legal firm, Appleby, said it was bracing for documents to be published after being approached by the media network behind the Panama Papers. The US-based International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and affiliated media raised allegations against the company’s operations and its clients, following information being leaked. “Appleby has thoroughly and vigorously investigated the allegations and we are satisfied that there is no evidence of any wrongdoing, either on the part of ourselves or our clients,” said the law firm, which has multiple offices in locations including Bermuda and the Cayman Islands. “We refute any allegations which may suggest otherwise and we would be happy to cooperate fully with any legitimate and authorized investigation of the allegations by the appropriate and relevant authorities.”
UNITED STATES
Guillaume dies aged 89
Robert Guillaume, who rose from squalid beginnings in St Louis, Missouri, slums to become a star in stage musicals and win Emmy Awards for his portrayal of the sharp-tongued butler in the TV sitcoms Soap and Benson, on Tuesday died aged 89. Guillaume died at home in Los Angeles, said his widow, Donna Brown Guillaume. He had been battling prostate cancer, she said. Among Guillaume’s achievements was playing Nathan Detroit in the first all-black version of Guys and Dolls, earning him a Tony nomination in 1977. He became the first African-American to sing the title role of Phantom of the Opera and was the voice of the shaman mandrill Rafiki in the film version of The Lion King. Guillaume won a Grammy in 1995 when a read-aloud version of The Lion King, which he narrated, was cited for best spoken word album for children.
UNITED KINGDOM
Prince’s shoes on display
A pair of floral-patterned satin shoes worn by Prince has stepped into the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum. The art and design museum said the “exquisitely crafted” shoes illustrate the imagery and industry of Prince, who last year died aged 57. The zippers feature “love symbol #2,” the logo to which Prince changed his name in 1993. The shoes also have metal braces inserted between heel and sole to help support his vigorous leaps. The shoes on Tuesday went on display at the museum, which also holds costumes from Elton John, Mick Jagger and The Beatles.
‘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
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
RIVER TRAGEDY: Local fishers and residents helped rescue people after the vessel capsized, while motorbike taxis evacuated some of the injured At least 58 people going to a funeral died after their overloaded river boat capsized in the Central African Republic’s (CAR) capital, Bangui, the head of civil protection said on Saturday. “We were able to extract 58 lifeless bodies,” Thomas Djimasse told Radio Guira. “We don’t know the total number of people who are underwater. According to witnesses and videos on social media, the wooden boat was carrying more than 300 people — some standing and others perched on wooden structures — when it sank on the Mpoko River on Friday. The vessel was heading to the funeral of a village chief in