TUVALU
NZ is doing its part: Ardern
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has declared that “Australia has to answer to the Pacific” on climate change, saying that her nation is doing what it can to limit global emissions to 1.5oC and expects other nations to do the same. Ardern stopped short of saying that New Zealand would throw its weight behind the smaller Pacific nations who are urging Australia to commit to a rapid transition from a coal-based economy at this year’s Pacific Islands Forum. “Issues around Australia’s domestic policy are issues for Australia,” she said, when asked about Australia’s coal use. “We will continue to say that New Zealand will do our bit and we have an expectation that everyone else will as well — we have to,” she added.
AUSTRALIA
Pig semen smugglers jailed
Two pig farmers in Perth are to be jailed after being convicted of illegally importing Danish pig semen concealed in shampoo bottles. Torben Soerensen has been sentenced to three years in prison, while Henning Laue faces a two-year sentence after pleading guilty to breaching quarantine and biosecurity laws. The semen was used in GD Pork’s artificial breeding program.
VIETNAM
Chinese survey ship returns
A Chinese survey vessel has re-entered disputed waters in the South China Sea, according to ship tracking analysis, after a tense month-long standoff in the same area that inflamed tensions between Hanoi and Beijing. Last month, Chinese geological survey ship Haiyang Dizhi 8 entered waters surrounding the Spratly Islands (Nansha Islands, 南沙群島), which are claimed by Taiwan, China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Brunei and Indonesia. The ship remained for several weeks with a number of Chinese Coast Guard ships. Las week, Hanoi said the ship had left, but on Tuesday it had returned, the US-based Center for Advanced Defense Studies said. The ship and at least two Chinese coast guard vessels remained in the area early yesterday, center senior analyst Devin Thorne said.
MALAYSIA
UK teen autopsy conducted
Doctors are conducting an autopsy to determine the cause of death of a 15-year-old British teen whose naked body was found nine days after she disappeared from a nature resort. Nora Anne Quinn’s body was discovered on Tuesday beside a small stream about 2.5km from the Dusun eco-resort in Negeri Sembilan state, where she went missing on Sunday last week. The body was airlifted to a hospital, where she was positively identified by her parents. In a statement yesterday, her family thanked the rescue team, adding that their hearts are broken and that “the cruelty of her being taken away is unbearable.”
RUSSIA
Village evacuation canceled
The military on Tuesday told residents of a village near a navy testing range to evacuate, but canceled the order hours later, adding to the confusion caused by a missile explosion at the range on Thursday last week that led to a brief spike in radiation that frightened residents and raised questions about the military’s weapons program. The initial notice from the military told residents of Nyonoksa to move out temporarily, citing unspecified activities at the range, but a few hours later, the military said that the planned activities were canceled and rescinded the request to leave, said Ksenia Yudina, a spokeswoman for the Severodvinsk regional administration.
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
‘DELUSIONAL’: Targeting the families of Hamas’ leaders would not push the group to change its position or to give up its demands for Palestinians, Ismail Haniyeh said Israeli aircraft on Wednesday killed three sons of Hamas’ top political leader in the Gaza Strip, striking high-stakes targets at a time when Israel is holding delicate ceasefire negotiations with the militant group. Hamas said four of the leader’s grandchildren were also killed. Ismail Haniyeh’s sons are among the highest-profile figures to be killed in the war so far. Israel said they were Hamas operatives, and Haniyeh accused Israel of acting in “the spirit of revenge and murder.” The deaths threatened to strain the internationally mediated ceasefire talks, which appeared to gain steam in recent days even as the sides remain far
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