INDONESIA
Former first lady dies
Former first lady Ani Yudhoyono has died in Singapore. She was 66. The Singaporean Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement of condolences that Yudhoyono passed away on Saturday morning. She was the wife of Indonesia’s sixth president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. She had been treated for cancer at the National University Hospital in Singapore for several months. She is survived by her husband, two sons and grandchildren.
KENYA
Huawei signs AU deal
Huawei Technologies on Friday said it had signed a draft agreement to reinforce its cooperation with the African Union (AU) in a number of areas, including in 5G communications that is at the heart of the Chinese telecom giant’s dispute with the US. The draft agreement would also reinforce their cooperation in areas such as cloud computing, artificial intelligence and high-speed networks. The agreement follows one signed in 2015. “This collaboration is witness to the continued confidence between the African Union and Huawei,” said Philippe Wang, Huawei vice president of public affairs and communication for northern Africa. He added that this accord should put a rest to “rumours that Huawei equipment leaked data, given that the AU conducted a complete audit of its IT system ... and the conclusions rejected information that appeared in the press last year.” Last year, the French newspaper Le Monde reported that China had spied on the AU’s headquarters in Addis Ababa, citing sources inside the organization.
HUNGARY
Boat crash search tricky
As divers on Friday descended into the Danube, Hungarian authorities predicted it would take an extended search to find the 21 people still missing after a boat carrying South Korean tourists was rammed by a cruise ship and sank into the river in Budapest. Seven people so far are confirmed dead and seven others were rescued. Minister of Foreign Affairs Peter Szijjarto and his South Korean counterpart, Kang Kyung-wha, visited the site of Wednesday’s accident and met with rescue and search officials before holding talks. “We have to prepare for a protracted search,” Szijjarto said he was told by Budapest river police, adding that authorities were also expecting help from Serbia, where the Danube flows after leaving Hungary. The Ministry of Interior said that about 60 experts were experimenting with theoretical models and test dives to find a “unique” method to salvage the sunken tour boat. It said the adverse conditions would not allow for the use of any traditional methods.
UNITED STATES
Elton John slams censorship
Elton John on Friday criticized Russia’s reported censorship of gay sex scenes in the new movie musical based on his life. John and the makers of Rocketman, which depicts the warts-and-all rise to fame of the gay British musician, issued a statement after Russian media reported that scenes involving gay sex and drug taking had been cut from a screening in Russia. “We reject in the strongest possible terms the decision to pander to local laws and censor Rocketman for the Russian market,” John and the filmmakers said. “That the local distributor has edited out certain scenes, denying the audience the opportunity to see the film as it was intended, is a sad reflection of the divided world we still live in and how it can still be so cruelly unaccepting of the love between two people,” their statement added.
‘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
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