MALAYSIA
PM issues warning
Southeast Asian countries should guard against the involvement of big powers in the region, as such meddling might fuel conflict and lead to an arms race, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said. Drawing on the example of conflict in the Middle East, If major powers were allowed to intervene in the region, countries would face pressure to stock up on weapons and fight each other, Mahathir said. That would destabilize ASEAN, he said. “We are already beginning to see the seeds of confrontation and rivalry in our region,” Mahathir said. “Lines are being drawn. Bases are being built. Armadas are being readied. The pressure is on to take sides.”
UNITED STATES
Trump announces UN pick
President Donald Trump on Friday announced that he has selected Kelly Craft, the ambassador to Canada, as his nominee to serve as the next ambassador to the UN. Trump said in a pair of tweets that Craft “has done an outstanding job representing our Nation” and he has “no doubt that, under her leadership, our Country will be represented at the highest level.”
UNITED STATES
Mayor celebrates cow win
Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt is celebrating the completion of a mission: ridding the city’s airport of cow-tipping T-shirts. Holt said on Twitter on Thursday that after months of trying to end sales of shirts reading “Nothing tips like a cow” at Will Rogers World Airport, the clothing has sold out and would not be restocked. Airport spokesman Josh Ryan on Friday said that the shirts with the shape of the state and a cow lying on its back were “pretty popular” for more than 10 years, but that “the joke has run its course.” Cow-tipping is a largely debunked legend in which rural youths sneak into a pasture at night and push over a cow that is sleeping standing up. Debunkers say that the practice is unlikely to succeed, largely because cows do not sleep standing up.
UNITED STATES
Family seeks lost tortoise
A New Mexico woman is on a desperate hunt for her disappearing pet that cannot run fast and cannot be missed — a 45kg tortoise. KOB-TV reported that Dusty went missing earlier this month in Roswell, New Mexico, after strong winds knocked open a gate that housed him. Shana Emmert, who was looking after Dusty for her niece, says she believes the turtle strolled away from the backyard and into the desert during the wind storm. According to Emmert’s neighbors, the tortoise was last spotted near Berrendo Creek in Roswell and has not been seen since. The family is offering a US$500 reward for the animal’s safe return.
MEXICO
Alleged kidnappers killed
Residents allegedly killed six men they claimed tried to kidnap local teachers in Veracruz State. The killings occurred in an area where fuel theft and freight train robberies are common. It is not clear whether the dead men were part of those gangs. Four of those killed were detained by residents late on Thursday in the village of Soledad Atzompa, near the border with Puebla state, after they reportedly tried to force teachers into a vehicle. The villagers and some members of a local vigilante group took the men to the village square and beat, stoned and burned them to death. Residents also placed checkpoints on roads around the village. Two other suspects ran into hills to evade capture, but they were caught and killed early on Friday.
SEEKING CHANGE: A hospital worker said she did not vote in previous elections, but ‘now I can see that maybe my vote can change the system and the country’ Voting closed yesterday across the Solomon Islands in the south Pacific nation’s first general election since the government switched diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing and struck a secret security pact that has raised fears of the Chinese navy gaining a foothold in the region. The Solomon Islands’ closer relationship with China and a troubled domestic economy weighed on voters’ minds as they cast their ballots. As many as 420,000 registered voters had their say across 50 national seats. For the first time, the national vote also coincided with elections for eight of the 10 local governments. Esther Maeluma cast her vote in the
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
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