SPAIN
Catalans shun King Felipe VI
Catalonia’s pro-independence political leaders are snubbing the king in their latest public challenge to rule from Madrid. Catalan President Quim Torra said his regional government would not invite the monarchy to any official event, nor would it send representatives to any royal event, because King Felipe VI refuses to discuss the possibility of the wealthy northeastern region seceding. The monarch, like the Madrid-based national government, has rejected the unilateral declaration of independence passed by separatists in October. In an announcement in the Catalan capital, Barcelona, on Friday, Torra said: “We are not subjects, we are citizens.” Torra is due to meet with Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on July 9.
JAPAN
Legislator heckles patient
A legislator apologized on Thursday for jeering a lung cancer patient testifying about the dangers of second-hand smoke, and said he had spoken out to prevent discrimination against smokers. The country lags behind many others in efforts to fight smoking, with attempts to tackle tobacco often stymied by pro-smoking politicians, restaurateurs and Japan Tobacco, which is one-third owned by the government.
VIETNAM
Soccer gambling ring bust
Police broke up an online soccer gambling ring worth about US$26 million, arresting four people as authorities look to stop illegal betting that surges during sporting events, such as FIFA World Cup. Gambling is illegal in the nation, apart from the state-run lottery and a few casinos that are only open to foreigners. Yet the law is widely flouted, especially during top-tier sports competitions when many punters head online or to illegal gambling dens to try their luck. The four were arrested in Ho Chi Minh City on Friday, a report published in the police’s official Cong An Nhan Dan newspaper said. The suspects allegedly admitted to operating transactions through a Web site hosted in the Philippines.
SOUTH KOREA
Spy agency founder dead
Kim Jong-pil, founder of the nation’s once-infamous spy agency and former prime minister, died yesterday in Seoul, his aide said. He was 92 years old, and is believed to have died of natural causes. Kim’s political career took off in 1961 when he joined then-major general Park Chung-hee in staging a successful military coup. He helped Park consolidate his grip on power by establishing the notorious Korean Central Intelligence Agency, which wielded unlimited and unchecked power, arbitrarily arresting, torturing and persecuting Park’s political opponents.
UNITED STATES
Zoo’s last white tiger dies
The Cincinnati Zoo’s last white tiger has died. Zoo officials on Thursday said that Popsy has been euthanized due to age-related issues. The female tiger was 22. Zoo director of Animal Health Mark Campbell said Popsy had several health issues, and in the end it was determined that the zoo was unable to maintain her “good quality of life.” The tiger arrived in Cincinnati from Nashville in June 1996. Popsy and her sister Erica were named after the late Cincinnati Pops Orchestra conductor Erich “Prince of Pops” Kunzel. Popsy spent the last 10 years with a male companion named Akere, who died in December last year. The average white tiger lifespan is 15 to 20 years, the zoo said.
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
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