ISRAEL
Hospitals demand payment
A health official on Sunday said that hospitals would stop treating Syrian patients in nonemergency cases beginning next week unless the government fully reimburses the hospitals for years of medical treatments to those wounded in the Syrian civil war. The Ministry of Health said that since 2013, four hospitals have treated 2,278 Syrians, many of whom had war wounds requiring significant surgery. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in December that he wanted to expand medical assistance to wounded Syrians, but Orly Weinstein, who heads the ministry’s division of government medical centers, told the prime minister’s office that the government had only partially reimbursed hospitals for the treatments and that the hospitals could no longer bear the financial burden.
UNITED STATES
Bill Paxton dies at 61
Actor Bill Paxton, best known for his roles in blockbusters such as Apollo 13 and Titanic, has died at the age of 61, a family representative said on Sunday. The versatile Texas-born actor was a familiar face on movie screens, with a string of memorable credits. “It is with heavy hearts we share the news that Bill Paxton has passed away due to complications from surgery,” a statement from a family representative said. “Bill began his career in Hollywood working on films in the art department and went on to have an illustrious career spanning four decades as a beloved and prolific actor and filmmaker.”
UNITED STATES
Navy nominee withdraws
President Donald Trump’s choice to be Navy secretary, businessman Philip Bilden, on Sunday said he was withdrawing from consideration for the post, citing concerns about privacy and separating himself from his business interests. Bilden’s withdrawal raises similar issues to that of Vincent Viola, Trump’s nominee for Army secretary who stepped aside earlier this month. Bilden was an intelligence officer in the Army Reserve from 1986 to 1996. He moved to Hong Kong to set up an Asian presence for private equity firm HarbourVest Partners, from which he recently retired after 25 years.
UNITED STATES
Hero happy to risk life
A Kansas man wounded when he intervened in a bar room shooting that killed an Indian engineer and injured another on Sunday said he was glad he risked his life in an incident authorities are investigating as a possible hate crime. Ian Grillot, 24, was struck in the hand and chest at the bar in Olathe, Kansas, when suspect Adam Purinton opened fire on Wednesday evening. Purinton, a 51-year-old white navy veteran, was to make an initial appearance in Johnson County District Court yesterday to face charges of murder and attempted murder. “I was more than happy to risk my life to save the lives of others. There was families, there was kids inside,” Grillot said in a video released by the University of Kansas Health System.
UNITED STATES
Aquarium to breed penguins
A Niagara Falls aquarium is expanding so it can breed and protect the threatened Humboldt penguin. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said work had begun on a US$3.3 million project to create a new penguin exhibit at the Aquarium of Niagara. The exhibit and gallery are to include a rock beach modeled after the coast of Peru and an interactive classroom for visitors. The aquarium is to seek accreditation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums to expand its penguin colony and restart a breeding program.
A new online voting system aimed at boosting turnout among the Philippines’ millions of overseas workers ahead of Monday’s mid-term elections has been marked by confusion and fears of disenfranchisement. Thousands of overseas Filipino workers have already cast their ballots in the race dominated by a bitter feud between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and his impeached vice president, Sara Duterte. While official turnout figures are not yet publicly available, data from the Philippine Commission on Elections (COMELEC) showed that at least 134,000 of the 1.22 million registered overseas voters have signed up for the new online system, which opened on April 13. However,
ALLIES: Calling Putin his ‘old friend,’ Xi said Beijing stood alongside Russia ‘in the face of the international counter-current of unilateralism and hegemonic bullying’ Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) yesterday was in Moscow for a state visit ahead of the Kremlin’s grand Victory Day celebrations, as Ukraine accused Russia’s army of launching air strikes just hours into a supposed truce. More than 20 foreign leaders were in Russia to attend a vast military parade today marking 80 years since the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, taking place three years into Russia’s offensive in Ukraine. Putin ordered troops into Ukraine in February 2022 and has marshaled the memory of Soviet victory against Nazi Germany to justify his campaign and rally society behind the offensive,
EUROPEAN FUTURE? Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama says only he could secure EU membership, but challenges remain in dealing with corruption and a brain drain Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama seeks to win an unprecedented fourth term, pledging to finally take the country into the EU and turn it into a hot tourist destination with some help from the Trump family. The artist-turned-politician has been pitching Albania as a trendy coastal destination, which has helped to drive up tourism arrivals to a record 11 million last year. US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, also joined in the rush, pledging to invest US$1.4 billion to turn a largely deserted island into a luxurious getaway. Rama is expected to win another term after yesterday’s vote. The vote would
CONFLICTING REPORTS: Beijing said it was ‘not familiar with the matter’ when asked if Chinese jets were used in the conflict, after Pakistan’s foreign minister said they were The Pakistan Army yesterday said it shot down 25 Indian drones, a day after the worst violence between the nuclear-armed rivals in two decades. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif vowed to retaliate after India launched deadly missile strikes on Wednesday morning, escalating days of gunfire along their border. At least 45 deaths were reported from both sides following Wednesday’s violence, including children. Pakistan’s military said in a statement yesterday that it had “so far shot down 25 Israeli-made Harop drones” at multiple location across the country. “Last night, India showed another act of aggression by sending drones to multiple locations,” Pakistan military spokesman Ahmed
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