INDIA
China to grow military ties
India and China have agreed to expand their military ties and enhance interaction to ensure peace on their border, New Delhi said after a meeting between defense ministers. Chinese Minister of National Defense Wei Fenghe (魏鳳和) on Thursday had extensive discussions with Minister of Defense Nirmala Sitharaman, the government said in a statement. “It was decided to expand the engagement between their armed forces relating to training, joint exercises and other professional interactions,” the government said. The ministers also agreed to implement “confidence-building measures” to ensure the maintenance of peace on their border, including the early operationalization of a hotline between their armed forces, it said.
COOK ISLANDS
China aid write-off rejected
The Cook Islands yesterday rejected suggestions that small Pacific island nations should band together and pressure China to write off loans given under Beijing’s foreign aid program. Tonga Prime Minister Akilisi Pohiva earlier this month floated the idea, saying that repayments were eroding national budgets and the issue should be discussed at next month’s Pacific Islands Forum in Nauru. However, Samoan Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi dismissed the call and this week, Minister of Finance Mark Brown adopted a similar stance. “I believe the Samoa prime minister shares the same view as the Cook Islands, as we do not agree with a call for China to forgive all Pacific debt,” Brown said. Pohiva raised concerns that small developing nations would struggle to repay the debt and could face asset seizure by Beijing, although he later issued a statement praising the help China has given to his nation. Brown said there had been no regional discussion about the China debt issue ahead of the meeting in Nauru. He said the Cook Islands carefully managed its loans and was ahead of its debt servicing schedule.
SOUTH KOREA
Park’s sentence extended
The Seoul High Court yesterday extended the lengthy prison sentence of former president Park Geun-hye for corruption in office. A district court in April sentenced Park to 24 years in jail and fined her 18 billion won (US$16.11 million) over bribery, extortion, abuse of power and other charges. That ruling came a year after she was removed from office following months of street rallies over the corruption scandal that also led to the arrests of dozens of high-profile figures. The court yesterday added one more year to Park’s sentence after concluding that she took more money in bribes than initially believed. The court also increased her fine to 20 billion won and gave Park and prosecutors one week to appeal.
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