PALAU
Sunscreen ban enforced
A pioneering ban on “reef-toxic” sunscreens took effect yesterday as the Pacific island nation introduced strict environmental measures that also included one of the world’s largest marine sanctuaries. “We have to live and respect the environment because the environment is the nest of life, and without it nobody in Palau can survive,” President Tommy Remengesau said as the new laws took effect. Reef-toxic sunscreen imported or sold in the nation is to be confiscated and the owner fined US$1,000. “When science tells us that a practice is damaging to coral reefs, to fish populations or to the ocean itself, our people take note and our visitors do, too,” Remengesau said.
INDONESIA
Floods shut airport, roads
Heavy monsoon rain in the capital and nearby cities since Tuesday has triggered likely the worst flooding in almost seven years, submerging homes and shutting one of Jakarta’s airports. More than 700 areas in the greater Jakarta region suffered from power outages, while some commuter trains were suspended. The local government instructed schools and some offices to be prepared to provide shelter as the rainfall was expected to continue for another three days.
ANGOLA
Dos Santos’ assets frozen
A court has placed a freeze on assets held by Isabel dos Santos, Africa’s richest woman, a statement from the attorney general’s office said. The order also applied to Dos Santos’ husband, Sindika Dokolo, and Mario da Silva. The three allegedly engaged in transactions with state-owned firms that led to the government losing US$1.14 billion, reports said. Isabel dos Santos is the daughter of former president Jose Eduardo dos Santos, who served from 1979 to 2017.
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