UNITED KINGDOM
‘Brexit bill’ to be ready
The government is going to submit its proposals on how to settle its financial obligations to the EU before an EU Council meeting next month, Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond said yesterday. Prime Minister Theresa May was told on Friday that there was more work to be done to unlock Brexit talks, as the EU repeated a deadline of early next month for her to move on the divorce bill. “We will make our proposals to the European Union in time for the council,” Hammond told the BBC. She signaled again that she would increase an initial offer that is estimated at about 20 billion euros (US$24 billion), about a third of what Brussels wants.
CHILE
Pinera favored to win
Billionaire businessman and former president Sebastian Pinera is heavily favored to win yesterday’s election amid hopes that he can resuscitate a flagging economy, but polls suggest he will not get enough votes to avoid a runoff. The Harvard-educated entrepreneur is proposing to cut taxes on businesses to promote growth and promises to launch a US$14 billion, four-year spending plan that includes fresh investments in infrastructure. Pinera, 67, is expected to be aided by lower turnout, as voting was made voluntary rather than mandatory in 2012. Opinion polls give Pinera a wide margin over his nearest competitor, Senator Alejandro Guillier, but not enough for him to win outright. Six other candidates are also running for the presidency. The elections also choose 155 members of the lower House of Congress and 23 seats are up for grabs in the Senate.
EGYPT
Arab foreign ministers meet
The foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia and other Arab nations held an emergency meeting in Cairo for yesterday to discuss confronting Iran and its Lebanese Shiite ally Hezbollah, who they said are interfering in their internal affairs. The meeting was convened at the request of Saudi Arabia with support from the United Arab Emerites, Bahrain and Kuwait, the state-run Middle East News Agency said. The state-owned newspaper al-Ahram cited an Arab diplomatic source saying the meeting might refer the matter to the UN Security Council.
BRAZIL
Tycoon sentenced to prison
Prosecutors say the mining tycoon who founded a massive outdoor art park has been convicted of money laundering and sentenced to more than nine years in prison. Prosecutors alleged that US$98.5 million in donations and loans meant for the Inhotim art park Minas Gerais state were rerouted to pay expenses at mining and steel companies owned by Bernardo Paz. The park is one of the most important art centers in Latin America, and park officials said in a statement that it has no connection to Paz’s companies. A judge handed down the conviction earlier this year, but prosecutors only publicized it last week. Paz’s attorneys said they have already filed an appeal.
UNITED STATES
David Cassidy needs liver
Partridge Family star David Cassidy has been hospitalized in Florida with multiple organ failure. Publicist JoAnn Geffen said Cassidy was in a Fort Lauderdale-area hospital with liver and kidney failure, surrounded by family. Geffen says there is nothing “imminent” about his condition, and doctors are hoping to “keep him as well as they can until they can find another liver.” The 67-year-old former teen idol said earlier this year that he was struggling with memory loss and that he was ending his 50-year career.
CHINA
Building fire kills 19
A fire at a building advertising low-cost rental apartments in a southern Beijing suburb killed 19 people and injured eight others, Xinhua news agency reported yesterday. Firefighters put out the fire at Xinjian Village in Daxing District by 9pm on Saturday, three hours after it was reported, Xinhua said. Photographs released by Xinhua showed firefighters outside a two-story concrete building with a red signboard advertising units with attached bathrooms, hot water, kitchens, heating and other basic amenities. Such units are commonly rented cheaply to migrant workers.
CHINA
PLA launches informant site
The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) yesterday launched a Web site inviting the public to report leaks and fake news, as well as illegal online activities by military personnel, the latest step in a push to ensure Chinese Communist Party (CCP) control over the Internet. The new Web site is an effort to implement the guiding spirit of the CCP’s 19th National Congress and will help maintain a “clear internet space” surrounding the military, according to 81.cn, the military’s official news portal. Chinese are encouraged to use the platform to report online content that attacks the military’s absolute leadership and distorts the history of the military and the party, the Web site said.
AFGHANISTAN
Taliban prison raided
Local and foreign special forces yesterday raided a Taliban prison in Helmand Province and rescued at least 30 people, army and provincial officials said. Those rescued in the raid in Nawzad District included four children under the age of 12 and two policemen, the officials said. Twenty of the people had been arrested by the Taliban in connection with helping the government or were family members of the army and police.
JAPAN
US destroyer hit by tug boat
A US warship has been damaged after a tug boat drifted into the destroyer during a drill off Japan, the US Navy said. The guided-missile destroyer USS Benfold was participating in a scheduled towing exercise in Sagami Bay on Saturday when the Japanese tug lost propulsion, according to the US 7th Fleet. “No one was injured on either vessel and Benfold sustained minimal damage, including scrapes on its side, pending a full damage assessment,” a statement from the fleet said late on Saturday, adding that the warship remained at sea under its own power. “The Japanese commercial tug is being towed by another vessel to a port in Yokosuka,” southwest of Tokyo, it said.
SRI LANKA
Town put under lockdown
Troops yesterday patrolled a coastal town where nearly 90 homes were damaged and cars set alight in violence between the island’s Sinhalese and Muslim communities. A brawl over a traffic accident on Gintota, about 110km south of the capital, Colombo, on Thursday descended into clashes between mobs. The army and navy were deployed to reinforce local police as the situation spiraled over the weekend with at least five people hospitalized and close to 90 buildings damaged in the rioting. The town remained tense and under lockdown throughout Saturday evening, but at dawn a curfew imposed on previous days was lifted. “We have called for a complete report about damages and all the victims will be compensated by the state,” Home Minister Vajira Abeywardena told reporters.
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
FRAUD ALLEGED: The leader of an opposition alliance made allegations of electoral irregularities and called for a protest in Tirana as European leaders are to meet Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama’s Socialist Party scored a large victory in parliamentary elections, securing him his fourth term, official results showed late on Tuesday. The Socialist Party won 52.1 percent of the vote on Sunday compared with 34.2 percent for an alliance of opposition parties led by his main rival Sali Berisha, according to results released by the Albanian Central Election Commission. Diaspora votes have yet to be counted, but according to initial results, Rama was also leading there. According to projections, the Socialist Party could have more lawmakers than in 2021 elections. At the time, it won 74 seats in the
CANCER: Jose Mujica earned the moniker ‘world’s poorest president’ for giving away much of his salary and living a simple life on his farm, with his wife and dog Tributes poured in on Tuesday from across Latin America following the death of former Uruguayan president Jose “Pepe” Mujica, an ex-guerrilla fighter revered by the left for his humility and progressive politics. He was 89. Mujica, who spent a dozen years behind bars for revolutionary activity, lost his battle against cancer after announcing in January that the disease had spread and he would stop treatment. “With deep sorrow, we announce the passing of our comrade Pepe Mujica. President, activist, guide and leader. We will miss you greatly, old friend,” Uruguayan President Yamandu Orsi wrote on X. “Pepe, eternal,” a cyclist shouted out minutes later,
Myanmar’s junta chief met Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) for the first time since seizing power, state media reported yesterday, the highest-level meeting with a key ally for the internationally sanctioned military leader. Senior General Min Aung Hlaing led a military coup in 2021, overthrowing Myanmar’s brief experiment with democracy and plunging the nation into civil war. In the four years since, his armed forces have battled dozens of ethnic armed groups and rebel militias — some with close links to China — opposed to its rule. The conflict has seen Min Aung Hlaing draw condemnation from rights groups and pursued by the
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