CANADA
Kovrig visited second time
Diplomats have visited former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig for the second time since his arrest in China a month ago. Global Affairs Canada, the country’s foreign ministry, on Thursday provided no further details on how Kovrig was being treated. He and entrepreneur Michael Spavor were on Dec. 10 detained on allegations of “engaging in activities that endanger the national security” of China. The arrests came after Huawei Technologies chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou (孟晚舟) was on Dec. 1 arrested in Canada at the request of the US, which wants her extradited to face charges that she misled banks about the company’s business dealings in Iran. She is out on bail in Canada awaiting extradition proceedings. Canada said that it would continue to seek further access to Kovrig and Spavor.
CROATIA
Israeli plane deal flops
Plans to buy used F-16 jets from Israel failed over a lack of US approval for the sale, Minister of Defense Damir Krsticevic said on Thursday after talks with an Israeli delegation. Croatia in March agreed to buy 12 used F-16s from Israel to replace its Russian-made MiG-21s. However, Washington objected to the sale of the US-made jets because it wants the removal of electronic system upgrades that Israel added, in a rare defense dispute between the close allies, Croatian officials said. “Israel has officially informed the defense ministry that ... it unfortunately cannot get an adequate approval of the US to deliver F-16 planes,” Krsticevic told reporters. The agreement between Israel and Croatia was not signed and Zagreb would suffer no financial damages, he added.
UNITED KINGDOM
N Ireland funds marked
The government yesterday announced hundreds of millions of pounds in funding “to support peace in Northern Ireland” after Brexit, continuing for another seven years a shared initiative with Ireland and the EU. The government said that it would commit about ￡300 million (US$381.73 million) to the “Peace Plus” plan, which is to run from 2021 until 2027. The scheme to promote economic and social progress in Northern Ireland and the border region of Ireland started in 1995 and ends in 2020. “This funding will help deliver vital projects on both sides of the Irish border, supporting cooperation and reconciliation and ensuring that generations to come grown up in a more peaceful and stable society,” Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Karen Bradley said. The EU has set out its plan for ￡109 million of funding — subject to final budget approval — for the “Peace Plus” plan, Bradley’s office said.
MEXICO
Sea Shepherd ship attacked
The Sea Shepherd environmental group on Thursday published a video allegedly showing an attack by about two dozen small fishing boats on the vessel Farley Mowat in Mexico’s Gulf of California. Fishermen in the Gulf, also known as the Sea of Cortez, have long complained about environmentalists trying to protect the vaquita marina, the world’s smallest and most endangered porpoise. Sea Shepherd said that fishers Wednesday threw lead weights and tried to douse the Farley Mowat and waters around it with gasoline. The video shows that some of the fishing boats carried gill nets, even though they are banned within the reserve designed to protect the vaquita. The vaquita is nearing extinction due to gill nets set illegally to catch totoaba, a fish whose swim bladder is considered a delicacy in China.
POLAND
Huawei employee arrested
A Chinese employee of Huawei Technologies Co and a Polish cyberbusiness specialist have been arrested on allegations of spying, the Polish Press Agency (PAP) reported yesterday. Security services had searched the local offices of Huawei, as well as the Polish offices of telecoms firm Orange, public TV channel TVP said. “The Chinese national is a businessman working in a major electronics company... The Pole is a person known in circles associated with cyberbusiness,” special services deputy head Maciej Wasik told PAP. The pair are to be held for three months, PAP reported, citing the spokesperson for the head of special services. The Polish national was a former agent of the internal security agency, TVP said.
INDIA
Pollution program launched
A program to rein in dangerous pollution levels in more than 100 cities was launched on Thursday, but drew immediate criticism from environmentalists, who said it lacks a clear framework. The National Clean Air Program (NCAL) aims to cut pollution in the 102 worst affected cities by 20 to 30 percent by 2024. Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Harsh Vardhan said he believed it would substantially improve air quality. The plan aims to push through cuts in industrial emissions and vehicular exhaust fumes, introduce stringent rules for transport fuels and biomass burning, and reduce dust pollution. It would also upgrade and increase monitoring systems. Its launch, put back from last year due to bureaucratic delays, coincides with the annual peak of pollution levels in the north. Greenpeace senior campaigner Sunil Dahiya welcomed the program, but said it lacked focus and ambition. “We hoped that the NCAL would be much stronger, would provide sector-wise targets, specific targets for the cities and mention a strong legal backing to take action against non-implementation,” he said.
INDIA
Army gay sex ‘unacceptable’
Chief of Army Staff General Bipin Rawat on Thursday said that gay sex and adultery would not be tolerated in the army’s ranks, months after a Supreme Court ruling struck down colonial-era prohibitions against homosexuality and infidelity. “In the army, it is not acceptable,” Rawat told reporters when asked about the court verdicts. “The army is conservative. The army is a family.” The estimated million-strong army and other armed forces are governed by their own laws that restrict certain constitutional rights enjoyed by civilians. Under the Army Act, homosexuality and adultery are punishable offenses with jail terms of up to 10 years. There are no figures on homosexuality in the armed forces, but media reports show that the army is increasingly concerned with adultery.
Hungarian authorities temporarily detained seven Ukrainian citizens and seized two armored cars carrying tens of millions of euros in cash across Hungary on suspicion of money laundering, officials said on Friday. The Ukrainians were released on Friday, following their detention on Thursday, but Hungarian officials held onto the cash, prompting Ukraine to accuse Hungary’s Russia-friendly government of illegally seizing the money. “We will not tolerate this state banditism,” Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrii Sybiha said. The seven detained Ukrainians were employees of the Ukrainian state-owned Oschadbank, who were traveling in the two armored cars that were carrying the money between Austria and
Kosovar President Vjosa Osmani on Friday after dissolving the Kosovar parliament said a snap election should be held as soon as possible to avoid another prolonged political crisis in the Balkan country at a time of global turmoil. Osmani said it is important for Kosovo to wrap up the upcoming election process and form functional institutions for political stability as the war rages in the Middle East. “Precisely because the geopolitical situation is that complex, it is important to finish this electoral process which is coming up,” she said. “It is very hard now to imagine what will happen next.” Kosovo, which declared
Australians were downloading virtual private networks (VPNs) in droves, while one of the world’s largest porn distributors said it was blocking users from its platforms as the country yesterday rolled out sweeping online age restriction. Australia in December became the first country to impose a nationwide ban on teenagers using social media. A separate law now requires artificial intelligence (AI)-powered chatbot services to keep certain content — including pornography, extreme violence and self-harm and eating disorder material — from minors or face fines of up to A$49.5 million (US$34.6 million). The country also joined Britain, France and dozens of US states requiring
MORE BANS: Australia last year required sites to remove accounts held by under-16s, with a few countries pushing for similar action at an EU level and India considering its own ban Indonesia on Friday said it would ban social media access for children under 16, citing threats from online pornography, cyberbullying, online fraud and Internet addiction. “Accounts belonging to children under 16 on high-risk platforms will start to be deactivated, beginning with YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, Bigo Live and Roblox,” Indonesian Minister of Communications and Digital Meutya Hafid said. “The government is stepping in so that parents no longer have to fight alone against the giants of the algorithm. Implementation will begin on March 28, 2026,” she said. The social media ban would be introduced in stages “until all platforms fulfill their
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