CHINA
Air force holds Pacific drills
The air force has held another round of drills in the disputed South China Sea and the Western Pacific after passing though Japan’s southern islands, it said yesterday, calling such exercises the best preparation for war. H-6K bombers, and Su-30 and Su-35 fighters, among other aircraft, carried out combat patrols over the South China Sea and exercises in the Western Pacific after passing over the Miyako Strait, it said in a statement, although it did not say when the exercises took place and did not specify the parts of the South China Sea or the Western Pacific. The more exercises the air force performs far from its shores, the better it will be positioned as “an important force for managing and controlling crises, containing war and winning battles,” it added.
EGYPT
Car bomb kills two police
A bomb placed under a car on Saturday exploded in Alexandria as the city’s top security official’ convoy passed by, killing two policemen and wounding four others, the Ministry of the Interior said. Local media reports said that Major General Mostafa al-Nimr survived the explosion and he was seen on a local TV channel in good condition while inspecting the area of the blast shortly after it took place. Ministry of Health spokesman Khaled Megahed said two policemen were killed and four others wounded in the explosion, adding that one civilian was also wounded.
CHINA
Beijing issues orange alert
Beijing declared its third major smog alert of the year and the second this month, just a day after being named the top performer among 28 Chinese cities that took special measures to rein in pollution. Saturday’s orange alert, the second-highest in a four-level system after red, is to run from today through Wednesday, the Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau said in a post on its official Sina Weibo account. The central part of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region is forecast to see medium to heavy pollution over the three days, it added. An orange alert requires factories that make furniture, cement and other heavy industry to limit output by 30 to 50 percent.
AFGHANISTAN
Russia denies aiding Taliban
Russia has rejected allegations by NATO’s top commander in the nation that it has been supporting and even supplying weapons to the Taliban. In an interview with the BBC last week, US Forces Afghanistan Commander General John Nicholson said that Russia had been acting to undermine US efforts, despite shared interests in fighting terrorism and narcotics, with indications that Moscow was providing financial support and even arms. “We’ve had weapons brought to this headquarters and given to us by Afghan leaders and said this was given by the Russians to the Taliban,” he said. A statement from the Russian embassy in Kabul dismissed the comments as “idle gossip,” reiterating previous denials by Russian officials.
INDIA
Former chief minister jailed
Former Bihar chief minister Lalu Prasad Yadav was on Saturday sentenced to 14 years in prison for embezzling 37 million rupees (US$569,060) from the state treasury while he was the its top elected official. Yadav, 69, was convicted of embezzling the money to buy fictitious medicines and cattle fodder while he was chief minister from 1990 to 1997. Eighteen former Bihar state officials, contractors and suppliers were sentenced in the case to jail terms ranging from three-and-a-half to five years.
UAE
Briton convicted of murder
A British newspaper editor in Dubai was yesterday found guilty of bludgeoning his wife to death with a hammer and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Francis Matthew, the former editor of the English-language Gulf News, had faced the possibility of the death penalty in the killing of Jane Matthew, his wife of more than 30 years, in July last year. Neither Matthew nor his lawyer were present in the Dubai Court of First Instance for the verdict read by Judge Fahad al-Shamsi. Matthew’s lawyer, Ali al-Shamsi, said he would appeal the sentence. A brother of Matthew’s wife, who was in court for the verdict, expressed disappointment. “Our family has been saddened by the sentence given to Francis Matthew, Jane’s killer. We believe the facts clearly demonstrate that this crime was a deliberate act,” Peter Manning said in a written statement.
ITALY
New speakers chosen
Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni formally resigned on Saturday following the election of new parliament speakers, but was immediately asked by the president to stay on while political factions try to form a new government. The March 4 election produced no majority in parliament. Lawmakers voted to give the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement the leadership of one chamber of parliament and former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi’s right-wing Forza Italia leadership of the other. Forza Italia Senator Maria Elisabetta Alberti Casellati became the first woman to be elected Senate president. The 5-Stars’ Roberto Fico was elected president of the lower Chamber of Deputies.
GERMANY
Airline sorry for stranding
TAP Air Portugal has apologized for keeping more than 100 passengers stranded at Stuttgart Airport for two nights after one of its flights was canceled last-minute because of a drunken copilot. Shortly before the TAP Air Portugal flight was to takeoff for Lisbon on Friday night, an airport employee noticed the copilot walking unsteadily and smelling of alcohol. He notified airport authorities, which decided to ground the plane. The 106 passengers were put up at hotels overnight. TAP tweeted on Saturday that the passengers would only be able to fly to Lisbon today, “which is, at the moment, the first day with seats available.”
UNITED KINGDOM
Bahrain court criticized
Sayed Ahmed AlWadaei, a prominent Bahraini rights campaigner exiled in London, on Saturday said that a Bahraini court had sentenced his wife to two months in jail in absentia last week and that his mother-in-law had begun a hunger strike in a Bahraini jail. AlWadaei, director of the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy, alleges the government’s treatment of his family was aimed at silencing his activism. “Their escalation against both of my family members was no coincidence,” said AlWadaei, who has lived in exile since 2012. Asked if Bahraini authorities were trying to muzzle him, he replied: “Of course. My wife was beaten, mistreated and threatened that they are going after our family to punish me. Now all their threats were executed.” AlWadaei’s wife, Duaa, was detained and interrogated as she and their son departed Bahrain’s airport after a visit in 2016. When she complained that she was physically abused during questioning about his activities and movements — charges authorities have denied — she was charged with insulting state institutions and sentenced in absentia to two months in jail on Wednesday, AlWadaei said.
OPTIMISTIC: A Philippine Air Force spokeswoman said the military believed the crew were safe and were hopeful that they and the jet would be recovered A Philippine Air Force FA-50 jet and its two-person crew are missing after flying in support of ground forces fighting communist rebels in the southern Mindanao region, a military official said yesterday. Philippine Air Force spokeswoman Colonel Consuelo Castillo said the jet was flying “over land” on the way to its target area when it went missing during a “tactical night operation in support of our ground troops.” While she declined to provide mission specifics, Philippine Army spokesman Colonel Louie Dema-ala confirmed that the missing FA-50 was part of a squadron sent “to provide air support” to troops fighting communist rebels in
PROBE: Last week, Romanian prosecutors launched a criminal investigation against presidential candidate Calin Georgescu accusing him of supporting fascist groups Tens of thousands of protesters gathered in Romania’s capital on Saturday in the latest anti-government demonstration by far-right groups after a top court canceled a presidential election in the EU country last year. Protesters converged in front of the government building in Bucharest, waving Romania’s tricolor flags and chanting slogans such as “down with the government” and “thieves.” Many expressed support for Calin Georgescu, who emerged as the frontrunner in December’s canceled election, and demanded they be resumed from the second round. George Simion, the leader of the far-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR), which organized the protest,
ECONOMIC DISTORTION? The US commerce secretary’s remarks echoed Elon Musk’s arguments that spending by the government does not create value for the economy US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on Sunday said that government spending could be separated from GDP reports, in response to questions about whether the spending cuts pushed by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency could possibly cause an economic downturn. “You know that governments historically have messed with GDP,” Lutnick said on Fox News Channel’s Sunday Morning Futures. “They count government spending as part of GDP. So I’m going to separate those two and make it transparent.” Doing so could potentially complicate or distort a fundamental measure of the US economy’s health. Government spending is traditionally included in the GDP because
Hundreds of people in rainbow colors gathered on Saturday in South Africa’s tourist magnet Cape Town to honor the world’s first openly gay imam, who was killed last month. Muhsin Hendricks, who ran a mosque for marginalized Muslims, was shot dead last month near the southern city of Gqeberha. “I was heartbroken. I think it’s sad especially how far we’ve come, considering how progressive South Africa has been,” attendee Keisha Jensen said. Led by motorcycle riders, the mostly young crowd walked through the streets of the coastal city, some waving placards emblazoned with Hendricks’s image and reading: “#JUSTICEFORMUHSIN.” No arrest
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