IRAN
Seized tanker departs port
The British-flagged Stena Impero tanker, detained by authorities in July, has started moving and yesterday exited the port city of Bandar Abbas, Refinitiv ship tracking data showed. The Stena Impero was detained by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in the Strait of Hormuz for alleged marine offenses two weeks after Britain seized an Iranian tanker off the territory of Gibraltar. That vessel was released last month. The Stena Impero has set a new destination for Port Rashid in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, about 250km away, the tracking data showed. At normal tanker speed, it would reach that destination within a half-day. A spokesman for the ship’s owner, Sweden-based Stena Bulk, yesterday said that the vessel was preparing to leave. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs had on Wednesday said that a lifting of the detention order had been finalized, but that an investigation into the vessel was ongoing. Stena Bulk said that it was not in negotiations with Iran and was not aware of any formal charges against the crew or the company.
RUSSIA
N Korean fishers detained
Border guards have detained three North Korean fishing vessels and 262 crewmembers for poaching in waters that Moscow considers its exclusive economic zone, the Interfax news agency reported yesterday. The crew and vessels, as well as several motorboats, have been taken to the port of Nakhodka and border guards have seized 30,000 squid, as well as illegal fishing equipment, the report said. It is the second such incident this month. Authorities on Tuesday last week detained two North Korean boats in Russian territorial waters in the Sea of Japan (known as the “East Sea” in South Korea) after one of them attacked a Russian patrol. In that incident, authorities said that they detained one of the vessels for poaching, prompting a second boat to open fire. Several border guards and alleged poachers were wounded and one of the North Koreans later died from his wounds. Moscow summoned a North Korean diplomat over the incident.
UNITED STATES
The Who cut concert short
The Who on Wednesday night cut short a concert in Houston, Texas, after lead singer Roger Daltrey lost his voice midway through the event. The legendary British rockers were eight songs into the concert when Daltrey told the audience: “I think I should quit while I’m ahead.” Lead guitarist Pete Townsend apologized, saying Daltrey “cannot actually speak now.” He promised the crowd that the band would honor their tickets at a make-good concert still to be scheduled. The band has also postponed concerts scheduled for yesterday in Dallas and tomorrow in Denver, Colorado. Daltrey, 75, and Townsend, 74, are the last original members with the band, which was formed 55 years ago.
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