IRAN
Another tanker seized
The country’s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) has seized a foreign oil tanker in the Persian Gulf that was allegedly smuggling fuel to some Arab states, state TV reported, adding that seven sailors onboard of the tanker had been detained. “The IRGC’s naval forces have seized a foreign oil tanker in the Persian Gulf that was smuggling fuel for some Arab countries,” TV quoted IRGC commander Ramezan Zirahi as saying. “It carried 700,000 liters of fuel. Seven sailors onboard of the tanker, who are from different nationalities, were detained.” Last month, Iran seized a British-flagged tanker in the Strait of Hormuz for alleged maritime violations and allowed a second one to proceed after issuing a warning.
UNITED KINGDOM
Pilots arrested before flight
Two pilots have been arrested on suspicion of being under the influence of alcohol or drugs before a scheduled flight to the US, police in Scotland said yesterday. The flight, United Airlines 162 to Newark, New Jersey, was due to leave Glasgow Airport at 9am. It was canceled after the arrests. The 61-year-old and 45-year-old pilots were held under the section of a transportation safety law that covers on the job intoxication and impairment for aviation, Police Scotland said. Under the law, the legal alcohol limit for pilots, navigators and other flight personnel subjected to breath tests is less than half the drink-drive limit for motorists on Scotland’s roads.
FRANCE
Beijing cuts police ties
China has cut off all cooperation with the country on police affairs after Paris gave asylum to the Chinese wife of a former Interpol chief now in jail on corruption charges, Le Monde reported. Chinese authorities late last month told a diplomat in Beijing that a decision had been made to halt all cooperation after Grace Meng (孟昭文) was awarded political asylum in May, the newspaper reported.
MALTA
Migrants to disembark
The government said it has authorized 40 migrants aboard a rescue ship run by German non-governmental organization Sea-Eye to disembark following an agreement reached among several EU countries to take them in. The deal was announced after the migrants on the ship Alan Kurdi, rescued on Wednesday off Libya, had been barred from landing in Italy. The migrants were to arrive in the capital, Valletta, later yesterday, the government said late on Saturday. The German government and the European Commission made arrangements for the migrants to be shared among several EU countries, it said.
BRAZIL
Deforestation ‘undeniable’
Ricardo Galvao, the sacked head of the country’s space research agency, on Saturday said that the trend of sharply rising deforestation was undeniable, a day after he was fired following a public spat with President Jair Bolsonaro over data published by the agency. “There is not the slightest doubt,” he told reporters when asked whether the data pointed to a trend of significantly increasing deforestation. “Our data is absolutely correct.” The sacking of Galvao, a respected physicist and member of the Brazilian Academy of Science, sent shockwaves through the country’s scientific community. Environmentalists have also seen it as a dangerous attack on one of the key pillars of the country’s fight against climate change — the use of data from satellite imagery to measure and combat deforestation in the Amazon rainforest.
‘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
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
RIVER TRAGEDY: Local fishers and residents helped rescue people after the vessel capsized, while motorbike taxis evacuated some of the injured At least 58 people going to a funeral died after their overloaded river boat capsized in the Central African Republic’s (CAR) capital, Bangui, the head of civil protection said on Saturday. “We were able to extract 58 lifeless bodies,” Thomas Djimasse told Radio Guira. “We don’t know the total number of people who are underwater. According to witnesses and videos on social media, the wooden boat was carrying more than 300 people — some standing and others perched on wooden structures — when it sank on the Mpoko River on Friday. The vessel was heading to the funeral of a village chief in