AUSTRALIA
Confucius Institute banned
New South Wales (NSW) on Thursday said it would axe China’s Confucius Institute amid fears over potential foreign influence. The state government said in a review that, while it found no specific evidence of interference, it was improper for the program to continue. “The review found, however, a number of specific factors that could give rise to the perception that the Confucius Institute is or could be facilitating inappropriate foreign influence in the department,” it said. NSW is the only state government worldwide to have such a program and the arrangement placed Chinese government appointees inside the state’s education department, the report added.
NAURU
Immolation over medevacs
A 36-year-old Pakistani refugee has been hospitalized after he set himself alight in Nauru yesterday, amid warnings that the government’s attempts to repeal medevac laws could have fatal consequences. There are also concerns that more than 50 men were sent to Papua New Guinea’s immigration detention center without access to phones in a bid to block medevac applications. A Senate inquiry is examining a bill to repeal the medevac laws, which give Australian doctors power to facilitate the urgent medical transfer of refugees from Manus and Nauru. The government’s policy often saw delays of up to five years.
SYRIA
Idlib corridor opened
Damascus on Thursday said that it is opening a corridor for civilians to leave Idlib Province, where government bombardment has killed hundreds since April. The announcement came a day after government forces recaptured the strategic town of Khan Sheikhun. Damascus has opened such corridors out of rebel bastions in the past as a prelude to retaking them either by force or through negotiated surrenders. Civilians are often wary of accepting government offers of refuge or safe passage for fear of arrest or conscription into the regime’s depleted forces.
UNITED STATES
New agency warns of China
A new cybersecurity agency on Thursday said that China represents the greatest strategic risk to the nation, and as a result, its top operational priority is reducing the risks from Chinese compromises to the global supply chain, including 5G technology. The statement was part of a report outlining the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s strategic intent for the next five years. The agency’s other priorities include election security, federal cybersecurity and reducing risks for industrial control systems. Agency Director Christopher Krebs said in a speech that his agency is the nation’s “risk adviser,” which seeks to make other agencies and companies do a better job managing risk.
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