IRAN
Minister rebukes Saudi royal
The minister of defense has lashed back at Saudi Arabia, slamming the kingdom’s deputy crown prince over comments last week underscoring the deep rivalries between the Sunni and Shiite power. Prince Mohammed bin Salman had said there is no space for dialogue with rival Iran due to its Shiite ambitions “to control the Islamic world.” He said the Saudis would not sit and wait for war, but would “work so that it becomes a battle for them in Iran and not in Saudi Arabia.” Minister of Defense General Hossein Dehghan said that Iran would advise against “such a stupidity” because in that case, nothing would be “left in Saudi Arabia except Mecca and Medina,” the two holy cities.
CHINA
Gas leak kills 18 miners
A gas leak in a coal mine in Hunan Province has killed 18 people, local authorities said yesterday. The leak happened on Sunday morning when miners were working in the shaft of the mine in Youxian County, according to a statement from the propaganda department of Zhuzhou’s Chinese Communist Party Committee, which administers the area. Rescuers managed to bring to safety 37 miners who are receiving hospital treatment, it said. Xinhua news agency said that police had detained unspecified people pending an investigation.
SOUTH SUDAN
Million kids have fled: UN
Two UN agencies yesterday said that more than 1 million children have fled South Sudan’s civil war, contributing to the world’s fastest growing refugee crisis. The UN’s High Commissioner for Refugees and International Children’s Emergency Fund yesterday said in a statement that another 1 million South Sudanese children are displaced within the country, having fled their homes due to the civil war. According to the UN statement, about 62 percent of refugees from South Sudan are children and more than 75,000 children are alone or without their families.
SWEDEN
Man in restricted area held
Security guards detained a man trying to enter a restricted area in Stockholm yesterday, a police spokeswoman said. Security personnel yesterday drew their weapons and wrestled the man to the ground after he tried to enter the Cabinet office building in central Stockholm, tabloid Expressen reported. “Security personnel have detained a man and police have since taken over,” police spokeswoman Eva Nilsson told reporters. “The man is suspected of violence against a security officer and for entering a restricted area.” she said.
BACKLASH: The National Party quit its decades-long partnership with the Liberal Party after their election loss to center-left Labor, which won a historic third term Australia’s National Party has split from its conservative coalition partner of more than 60 years, the Liberal Party, citing policy differences over renewable energy and after a resounding loss at a national election this month. “Its time to have a break,” Nationals leader David Littleproud told reporters yesterday. The split shows the pressure on Australia’s conservative parties after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s center-left Labor party won a historic second term in the May 3 election, powered by a voter backlash against US President Donald Trump’s policies. Under the long-standing partnership in state and federal politics, the Liberal and National coalition had shared power
A Croatian town has come up with a novel solution to solve the issue of working parents when there are no public childcare spaces available: pay grandparents to do it. Samobor, near the capital, Zagreb, has become the first in the country to run a “Grandmother-Grandfather Service,” which pays 360 euros (US$400) a month per child. The scheme allows grandparents to top up their pension, but the authorities also hope it will boost family ties and tackle social isolation as the population ages. “The benefits are multiple,” Samobor Mayor Petra Skrobot told reporters. “Pensions are rather low and for parents it is sometimes
CONTROVERSY: During the performance of Israel’s entrant Yuval Raphael’s song ‘New Day Will Rise,’ loud whistles were heard and two people tried to get on stage Austria’s JJ yesterday won the Eurovision Song Contest, with his operatic song Wasted Love triumphing at the world’s biggest live music television event. After votes from national juries around Europe and viewers from across the continent and beyond, JJ gave Austria its first victory since bearded drag performer Conchita Wurst’s 2014 triumph. After the nail-biting drama as the votes were revealed running into yesterday morning, Austria finished with 436 points, ahead of Israel — whose participation drew protests — on 357 and Estonia on 356. “Thank you to you, Europe, for making my dreams come true,” 24-year-old countertenor JJ, whose
Two people died and 19 others were injured after a Mexican Navy training ship hit the Brooklyn Bridge, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said yesterday. The ship snapped all three of its masts as it collided with the New York City landmark late on Saturday, while onlookers enjoying the balmy spring evening watched in horror. “At this time, of the 277 on board, 19 sustained injuries, 2 of which remain in critical condition, and 2 more have sadly passed away from their injuries,” Adams posted on X. Footage shared online showed the Mexican Navy ship Cuauhtemoc, its sails furled
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