AUSTRALIA
Warning over Russia travel
Canberra yesterday warned its citizens about the risk of “anti-Western sentiment or harassment” while traveling in Russia, as the diplomatic fallout builds over a nerve agent attack on a former Russian spy in Britain. The warning comes less than three months before Australian fans are expected to follow the Socceroos soccer team to the World Cup in Russia. “Due to heightened political tensions, you should be aware of the possibility of anti-Western sentiment or harassment,” the travel advisory from the Department of Foreign Affairs said.
INDIA
Crash topples building
Ten people have died after a car crashed into a dilapidated building on Saturday evening in the city of Indore and brought down the nearly century-old structure, burying them beneath rubble, police said yesterday. The driver lost control of his vehicle and struck a pillar holding up the structure, police Deputy Inspector General Harinarayanchari Mishra said. “The impact was such that the entire building collapsed,” he said. “Rescue workers pulled out 12 people from the rubble, 10 of them were already dead. The other two are being treated in hospital.”
INDIA
Fighting triggers protests
Officials say at least eight rebels have been killed in fighting with troops in disputed Kashmir, triggering an intense protests and clashes in several parts of southern Kashmir. A civilian was also killed and four soldiers injured. Police say the battles in southern Kashmir began after government forces raided two villages in Shopian and Anantnag districts following a tip that rebels were hiding there and came under fire. The fighting was still raging in the Shopian area yesterday.
SOUTH KOREA
Warship deployed off Ghana
The government has deployed an anti-piracy warship to the sea off Ghana after three sailors were kidnapped by pirates, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said late on Saturday. The Marine 711 with about 40 Ghanaian and three South Korean sailors was boarded by unidentified pirates on Monday last week. The pirates seized the three South Koreans and escaped in a speedboat, and their current whereabouts unknown. The Marine 711, registered in Ghana, later arrived at a port at Ghana where the rest of the crew disembarked, the Yonhap news agency said. “We are closely coordinating with local countries, including Ghana, Nigeria, Togo and Benin, as well as the US and the EU to locate our nationals and secure their release,” the ministry said.
CHINA
No colonization: Namibia
Namibian President Hage Geingob said Beijing is not colonizing Africa and that growing cooperation between the world’s No. 2 economy and Africa benefits both sides, Xinhua news agency reported on Saturday. Geingob, currently on a state visit to Beijing, said “comments smearing bilateral cooperation” are “doomed to fail... We are mature, we can choose our friends, we can choose what we want for, and what’s good for us.”
VENEZUELA
Five officials held over fire
Chief Prosecutor Tarek William Saab on Saturday said that five police officials are suspected of being responsible for a fire that killed 68 people on Wednesday. The five have been detained, Saab wrote on Twitter, without further details. The detained officials include the sub-director of the police station where the fire took place.
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,
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
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,
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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