SAUDI ARABIA
S Khashoggi defends Riyadh
The son of murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who has denied a financial settlement with the government, yesterday spoke out in defense of the kingdom ahead of the first anniversary of the killing at the nation’s consulate in Istanbul, Turkey. Salah Khashoggi said he had “full confidence” in the nation’s judicial system and hit out at opponents he said were seeking to exploit the case. “A year has gone by since the passing of my beloved father. During this time, opponents and enemies in the East and West sought to exploit his case ... to undermine my country and leadership,” he said in a tweet. “I will not accept that his memory and case be taken advantage of to achieve that after his passing.”
NEPAL
Speaker quits over ‘rape’
Parliamentary Speaker Krishna Bahadur Mahara, one of the nation’s leading Communist Party leaders, yesterday resigned amid allegations that he raped a government worker at her home while he was intoxicated. His office has denied the allegation, saying it is a politically motivated character assassination attempt. News reports said the woman claimed Mahara entered her house on Sunday night while her husband was away and assaulted her. His office said he was at his official residence on Sunday evening.
RUSSIA
Alcohol use down 40%
A WHO report published yesterday showed alcohol consumption has dropped by 43 percent since 2003, which it attributed to measures brought in under President Vladimir Putin, including restrictions on alcohol sales and the promotion of healthy lifestyles. “The Russian Federation has long been considered one of the heaviest-drinking countries in the world. However, in recent years these trends have been reversed,” it said. The authors said this trend was a factor in increased life expectancies, which last year reached historic peaks of 78 years for women and 68 years for men.
NEW ZEALAND
Sick mothers miscarry
Two fetuses have died after their mothers contracted measles amid the worst outbreak of the illness in the nation in two decades. The deaths were announced yesterday by the Auckland regional public health service, which said that five pregnant women in the region had contracted the illness, and two had lost their unborn babies. Karen Bartholomew, director of health outcomes for the Waitemata and Auckland district health boards, told a news conference although it could not be certain the fetuses died due to the illness, their mothers were undergoing treatment after contracting measles.
AUSTRALIA
Boomerangs, pies on coins
The Royal Australian Mint and Australia Post have released an unusual commemorative set of 26 A$1 (US$0.67) coins featuring an A-Z of imagery — including a boomerang, a didgeridoo, a meat pie, the popular television soap opera Neighbours, the word “G’day” and a quokka, a diminutive marsupial native to Rottnest Island, the image of a yowie (a mythical creature said to inhabit the Outback), a lamington (a square sponge cake coated in chocolate and desiccated coconut) and a pair of thongs, or flip-flops. The coins are to be rolled out in batches throughout this month, but will only be available to customers who make a purchase using cash at a post office and receive A$1 coins in their change.
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
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