AUSTRALIA
Troops to guard APEC summit
The government has deployed special forces to Papua New Guinea as part of a large-scale security operation for the APEC summit in Port Moresby in November. Defense officials said forces were deployed at the request of the Papua New Guinea government. Port Moresby is rated one of the world’s most dangerous cities. Canberra’s contributions range from cutting-edge cybersecurity to fire engines and new jet skis for Port Moresby police. The Australian Broadcasting Corp quoted an unnamed special forces commander as saying: “We have Australian Army and Australian Special Forces assisting the PNGDF [Papua New Guinea Defense Force], making sure the counter-terrorism provision of services is first class.”
CHINA
Small farmers ignore virus
Even after 14 outbreaks of African swine fever across the country in just over a month, pig farmer Wang Wu does not believe the threat to his livelihood is real. “I heard about the African swine fever thing, but then people said it was just rumor,” said Wang, who raises about 60 pigs in a village in Heilongjiang Province. The farmer’s lack of awareness of the virus highlights the scale of the challenge Beijing faces in controlling the highly contagious disease. While industrialized pig producers have locked down their farms, many small pig farmers have done nothing. “You have to know what the risks are,” said an animal health expert at one of the biggest pig producers. “If a small farmer isn’t aware, he can’t manage those risks.”
JAPAN
Abe to arrange China visit
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, speaking in Vladivostok after meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), yesterday said they had agreed to work toward a visit by him to China next month, the latest sign of warming ties between the rivals. “In response to China’s gracious invitation, I intend to visit China this year, the year in which we commemorate the 40th anniversary of the conclusion of the Treaty of Peace and Friendship between Japan and China,” Abe told the forum later.
JAPAN
Rats feared as market closes
Tens of thousands of rats are expected to scurry loose when the world-famous Tsukiji fish market closes next month. The 23 hectare market near Tokyo’s swanky Ginza district is home to “not thousands but tens of thousands” of rats, attracted by fish offcuts and the market’s maze of sewers, rat expert Tatsuo Yabe said. After a fabled 83-year history, the world’s biggest fish market is to move to a brand-new facility about 2.3km away on the waterfront. “The rats will likely start moving en masse once they notice something unusual,” said the Tokyo government official in charge of the anti-rat operation.
BRAZIL
Whale sanctuary voted down
A proposal to create a whale sanctuary in the South Atlantic was defeated on Tuesday at a meeting of the International Whaling Commission, amid a clash between nations that think whales can be hunted sustainably and others that want more conservation measures. Opponents of the plan said the science did not support the case for a sanctuary, adding that it was not necessary because there is not any commercial whaling occurring in the South Atlantic. The measure received support from 39 countries with 25 opposed — falling short of the three-quarters majority to pass.
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
IN PURSUIT: Israel’s defense minister said the revenge attacks by Israeli settlers would make it difficult for security forces to find those responsible for the 14-year-old’s death Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday condemned the “heinous murder” of an Israeli teenager in the occupied West Bank as attacks on Palestinian villages intensified following news of his death. After Benjamin Achimeir, 14, was reported missing near Ramallah on Friday, hundreds of Jewish settlers backed by Israeli forces raided nearby Palestinian villages, torching vehicles and homes, leaving at least one villager dead and dozens wounded. The attacks escalated in several villages on Saturday after Achimeir’s body was found near the Malachi Hashalom outpost. Agence France-Presse correspondents saw smoke rising from burned houses and fields. Mayor Amin Abu Alyah, of the