JAPAN
Talking robot blasts off
The first talking humanoid robot “astronaut” has taken off in a rocket. Kirobo — derived from the Japanese words for “hope” and “robot” — was among 5 tonnes of supplies and machinery on a rocket launched yesterday for the International Space Station from Tanegashima, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said. The childlike robot was designed to be a companion for astronaut Koichi Wakata, and will communicate with another robot on Earth, according to developers. Wakata is expected to arrive at the space station in November. Ahead of the launch, the 34cm tall Kirobo told reporters, “one small step for me, a giant leap for robots.”
SWAZILAND
Chief bans miniskirts
A chief banned women from wearing miniskirts and trousers at a two-day nomination process that got under way on Saturday to select candidates for upcoming elections. “I told the residents recently, that tomorrow they should dress properly, decently in line with our culture to show respect,” Prince Mashila of Maphalaleni, a chiefdom about 20km from the capital Mbabane. “That’s all I asked for — just respect for the chief’s residence,” he said. Another chief has also banned short skirts at his homestead in the tiny kingdom. However, Timothy Mtetwa, the governor at the residence of King Mswati III, Africa’s last absolute monarch, struck a more conciliatory tone. “True we want chiefs’ residences to be respected, it is our culture, but, because of modernization, we can’t wish pants and miniskirts away. At some point we have to embrace and accommodate them,” he said. The two day process will nominate candidates for parliament and other local posts.
KENYA
Crash widow left ‘destitute’
A mother, pregnant with her fourth child, said on Saturday that she cannot support her family after her husband was killed in a road crash involving a US diplomat who has since left the country. Haji Hassan Ali Lukindo, 43, was killed in a car crash in Nairobi on July 11, when the minibus he was travelling in was involved in a crash with the car of a diplomat at the US embassy. “We have been left destitute since Haji was killed,” Latifah Naiman, 38, said. “I have no means to support our three children, and have to depend entirely on a well wisher for rent, food, school fees and daily living expenses.” Police confirmed that US diplomat Joshua Walde had been involved in a crash, and that he had given a statement to them, but had diplomatic immunity. “He has left Kenya ... he is a diplomat so had immunity and was free to go,” a senior police officer said, who was not authorized to speak to the media. Naiman said she was worried about how she could support her children, especially the baby soon to be born. “I am desperate for communication from the American authorities here,” she said. There was no immediate response from the US embassy.
CUBA
Russian warships pay visit
Three Russian warships led by the missile cruiser Moskva arrived on Saturday on the first such visit in four years. The ships were greeted by an artillery salute, a naval band and a few hundred onlookers as they arrived in the Bay of Havana. The government has said the ships are on a “friendly visit.” Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev visited Havana in February when he met President Raul Castro and his brother, former president Fidel Castro.
Former Nicaraguan president Violeta Chamorro, who brought peace to Nicaragua after years of war and was the first woman elected president in the Americas, died on Saturday at the age of 95, her family said. Chamorro, who ruled the poor Central American country from 1990 to 1997, “died in peace, surrounded by the affection and love of her children,” said a statement issued by her four children. As president, Chamorro ended a civil war that had raged for much of the 1980s as US-backed rebels known as the “Contras” fought the leftist Sandinista government. That conflict made Nicaragua one of
COMPETITION: The US and Russia make up about 90 percent of the world stockpile and are adding new versions, while China’s nuclear force is steadily rising, SIPRI said Most of the world’s nuclear-armed states continued to modernize their arsenals last year, setting the stage for a new nuclear arms race, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said yesterday. Nuclear powers including the US and Russia — which account for about 90 percent of the world’s stockpile — had spent time last year “upgrading existing weapons and adding newer versions,” researchers said. Since the end of the Cold War, old warheads have generally been dismantled quicker than new ones have been deployed, resulting in a decrease in the overall number of warheads. However, SIPRI said that the trend was likely
BOMBARDMENT: Moscow sent more than 440 drones and 32 missiles, Volodymyr Zelenskiy said, in ‘one of the most terrifying strikes’ on the capital in recent months A nighttime Russian missile and drone bombardment of Ukraine killed at least 15 people and injured 116 while they slept in their homes, local officials said yesterday, with the main barrage centering on the capital, Kyiv. Kyiv City Military Administration head Tymur Tkachenko said 14 people were killed and 99 were injured as explosions echoed across the city for hours during the night. The bombardment demolished a nine-story residential building, destroying dozens of apartments. Emergency workers were at the scene to rescue people from under the rubble. Russia flung more than 440 drones and 32 missiles at Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is to visit Canada next week, his first since relations plummeted after the assassination of a Canadian Sikh separatist in Vancouver, triggering diplomatic expulsions and hitting trade. Analysts hope it is a step toward repairing ties that soured in 2023, after then-Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau pointed the finger at New Delhi’s involvement in murdering Hardeep Singh Nijjar, claims India furiously denied. An invitation extended by new Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to Modi to attend the G7 leaders summit in Canada offers a chance to “reset” relations, former Indian diplomat Harsh Vardhan Shringla said. “This is a
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