INDIA
Curfew eased for prayers
Authorities were yesterday to ease a curfew in troubled Kashmir so that the Muslim-majority population could go to Friday prayers, the region’s police chief told reporters. “People are allowed to pray within their neighborhood, there is no restriction on that,” Jammu & Kashmir Police Director-General Dilbag Singh said. “But they should not venture out of their local area.” Kashmir, also claimed by Pakistan, has been on lockdown since Monday with no Internet or telephone service and severe restrictions on movement after the government canceled the Himalayan region’s special autonomous status. Tens of thousands of additional troops have been sent to the region to impose the clampdown, which has been condemned by Pakistan and some opposition politicians. However, there have been sporadic protests, with police chasing groups of pro-separatist demonstrators, many of whom gather at night, residents said.
JAPAN
Mayor decries nuclear arms
Nagasaki yesterday marked the 74th anniversary of the atomic bombing of the city as the mayor criticized nuclear states, including the US and Russia, for challenging survivors’ efforts toward establishing a nuclear-free world. Nagasaki Mayor Tomihisa Taue lamented in his peace declaration that the opinion that nuclear weapons are useful is gaining traction. The US and Russia are returning to development and deployment of nuclear weapons, as the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty was dissolved, he said. Taue urged world leaders to visit the atomic-bombed cities and learn firsthand the inhumanity of nuclear weapons. Survivors and other participants marked the 11:02am blast with a minute of silence.
THE NETHERLANDS
Heat caused more deaths
Almost 400 more people died in the nation during Europe’s record-breaking heat wave than in a regular summer week, Statistics Netherlands said yesterday. In total, 2,964 people died during the week that started on July 22, the agency said, which was about 15 percent more than during an average week in the summertime. Temperature records tumbled across Europe during the heat wave late last month and on July 25 topped 40°C in the country for the first time since records began. The death toll during that week was comparable to the rate during two heat waves in 2006, which were among the longest ever in the country, researchers said. About 300 of the additional fatalities were among people aged 80 or older. Most of the deaths occurred in the east, where temperatures were higher and the heat wave lasted longer. The heat wave was Europe’s second in a month, and climate specialists warned that such bursts of heat might become more common due to global warming.
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
A top Vietnamese property tycoon was on Thursday sentenced to death in one of the biggest corruption cases in history, with an estimated US$27 billion in damages. A panel of three hand-picked jurors and two judges rejected all defense arguments by Truong My Lan, chair of major developer Van Thinh Phat, who was found guilty of swindling cash from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) over a decade. “The defendant’s actions ... eroded people’s trust in the leadership of the [Communist] Party and state,” read the verdict at the trial in Ho Chi Minh City. After the five-week trial, 85 others were also sentenced on
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