GUAM
Coral bleaching avoided
Vulnerable coral reefs on Guam have not experienced severe bleaching that was predicted for this year, officials said. Pacific Daily News reported that the Guam Bureau of Statistics and Plans said a mass coral bleaching event indicated by satellite measurements of sea surface temperatures did not occur. Recent stormy weather including Super Typhoon Hagibis might have contributed to the coral’s survival through cloud cover that cooled surface water temperatures, officials said, adding that storms and wind were also likely to have created a cooling water movement.
AUSTRALIA
Man paid out for jail time
An economist who wrongfully spent nearly two decades in prison for the assassination of a high-ranking police officer was yesterday awarded more than A$7 million (US$4.74 million) in compensation. Former public servant David Eastman was convicted in 1995 of killing Australian Federal Police officer Colin Winchester and sentenced to life in prison. Eastman, who had always maintained his innocence and mounted several appeals, was freed in 2014 after his conviction was quashed.
VIETNAM
Film pulled over map
The country has pulled DreamWorks’ animated film Abominable from cinemas over a scene featuring a map that shows China’s unilaterally declared “nine-dash line” in the South China Sea, state media reported yesterday. The U-shaped line is a feature used on Chinese maps to illustrate its claims over vast expanses of the resource-rich South China Sea, including large swathes of what Vietnam regards as its continental shelf, where it has awarded oil concessions. “We will revoke” the film’s licence, Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Ta Quang Dong was quoted as saying by Thanh Nien newspaper.
THAILAND
Royal puppies unveiled
Eight puppies related to the pet dog of late King Bhumibol Adulyadej have been revealed, as the country observed the third anniversary of the monarch’s death. The black, brown and white puppies were born from two royal dogs artificially inseminated with semen from two male offspring of Khun Thong Daeng, the late king’s pet. The project was supported by King Maha Vajiralongkorn, who was crowned this year after a mourning period for his father. “King Maha Vajiralongkorn kindly wished that Khun Thong Daeng’s lineage be extended so that the people may remember late King Bhumibol Adulyadej and Khun Thong Daeng,” Kasetsart University said in a statement. Khun Thong Daeng died in 2015 and was beloved by many Thais for her loyalty to the late king.
UNITED STATES
Hunter Biden leaves board
Facing intense scrutiny from President Donald Trump and his Republican allies, Hunter Biden on Sunday said he would step down from the board of directors of a Chinese-backed private equity firm at the end of the month as part of a pledge not to work on behalf of any foreign-owned companies should his father win the presidency. Biden, the 49-year-old son of former vice president Joe Biden revealed his plan in an Internet post written by his attorney, George Mesires, who outlined a defense of the younger Biden’s work in Ukraine and China, which has emerged as one of Trump’s chief lines of attack against Hunter’s father.
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
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
IN PURSUIT: Israel’s defense minister said the revenge attacks by Israeli settlers would make it difficult for security forces to find those responsible for the 14-year-old’s death Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday condemned the “heinous murder” of an Israeli teenager in the occupied West Bank as attacks on Palestinian villages intensified following news of his death. After Benjamin Achimeir, 14, was reported missing near Ramallah on Friday, hundreds of Jewish settlers backed by Israeli forces raided nearby Palestinian villages, torching vehicles and homes, leaving at least one villager dead and dozens wounded. The attacks escalated in several villages on Saturday after Achimeir’s body was found near the Malachi Hashalom outpost. Agence France-Presse correspondents saw smoke rising from burned houses and fields. Mayor Amin Abu Alyah, of the