TUVALU
NZ is doing its part: Ardern
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has declared that “Australia has to answer to the Pacific” on climate change, saying that her nation is doing what it can to limit global emissions to 1.5oC and expects other nations to do the same. Ardern stopped short of saying that New Zealand would throw its weight behind the smaller Pacific nations who are urging Australia to commit to a rapid transition from a coal-based economy at this year’s Pacific Islands Forum. “Issues around Australia’s domestic policy are issues for Australia,” she said, when asked about Australia’s coal use. “We will continue to say that New Zealand will do our bit and we have an expectation that everyone else will as well — we have to,” she added.
AUSTRALIA
Pig semen smugglers jailed
Two pig farmers in Perth are to be jailed after being convicted of illegally importing Danish pig semen concealed in shampoo bottles. Torben Soerensen has been sentenced to three years in prison, while Henning Laue faces a two-year sentence after pleading guilty to breaching quarantine and biosecurity laws. The semen was used in GD Pork’s artificial breeding program.
VIETNAM
Chinese survey ship returns
A Chinese survey vessel has re-entered disputed waters in the South China Sea, according to ship tracking analysis, after a tense month-long standoff in the same area that inflamed tensions between Hanoi and Beijing. Last month, Chinese geological survey ship Haiyang Dizhi 8 entered waters surrounding the Spratly Islands (Nansha Islands, 南沙群島), which are claimed by Taiwan, China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Brunei and Indonesia. The ship remained for several weeks with a number of Chinese Coast Guard ships. Las week, Hanoi said the ship had left, but on Tuesday it had returned, the US-based Center for Advanced Defense Studies said. The ship and at least two Chinese coast guard vessels remained in the area early yesterday, center senior analyst Devin Thorne said.
MALAYSIA
UK teen autopsy conducted
Doctors are conducting an autopsy to determine the cause of death of a 15-year-old British teen whose naked body was found nine days after she disappeared from a nature resort. Nora Anne Quinn’s body was discovered on Tuesday beside a small stream about 2.5km from the Dusun eco-resort in Negeri Sembilan state, where she went missing on Sunday last week. The body was airlifted to a hospital, where she was positively identified by her parents. In a statement yesterday, her family thanked the rescue team, adding that their hearts are broken and that “the cruelty of her being taken away is unbearable.”
RUSSIA
Village evacuation canceled
The military on Tuesday told residents of a village near a navy testing range to evacuate, but canceled the order hours later, adding to the confusion caused by a missile explosion at the range on Thursday last week that led to a brief spike in radiation that frightened residents and raised questions about the military’s weapons program. The initial notice from the military told residents of Nyonoksa to move out temporarily, citing unspecified activities at the range, but a few hours later, the military said that the planned activities were canceled and rescinded the request to leave, said Ksenia Yudina, a spokeswoman for the Severodvinsk regional administration.
CHAGOS ISLANDS: Recently elected Mauritian Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam told lawmakers that the contents of negotiations are ‘unknown’ to the government Mauritius’ new prime minister ordered an independent review of a deal with the UK involving a strategically important US-UK military base in the Indian Ocean, placing the agreement under fresh scrutiny. Under a pact signed last month, the UK ceded sovereignty of the Chagos archipelago to Mauritius, while retaining control of Diego Garcia — the island where the base is situated. The deal was signed by then-Mauritian prime minister Pravind Jugnauth and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Oct. 3 — a month before elections in Mauritius in which Navin Ramgoolam became premier. “I have asked for an independent review of the
France on Friday showed off to the world the gleaming restored interior of Notre-Dame cathedral, a week before the 850-year-old medieval edifice reopens following painstaking restoration after the devastating 2019 fire. French President Emmanuel Macron conducted an inspection of the restoration, broadcast live on television, saying workers had done the “impossible” by healing a “national wound” after the fire on April 19, 2019. While every effort has been made to remain faithful to the original look of the cathedral, an international team of designers and architects have created a luminous space that has an immediate impact on the visitor. The floor shimmers and
THIRD IN A ROW? An expert said if the report of a probe into the defense official is true, people would naturally ask if it would erode morale in the military Chinese Minister of National Defense Dong Jun (董軍) has been placed under investigation for corruption, a report said yesterday, the latest official implicated in a crackdown on graft in the country’s military. Citing current and former US officials familiar with the situation, British newspaper the Financial Times said that the investigation into Dong was part of a broader probe into military corruption. Neither the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs nor the Chinese embassy in Washington replied to a request for confirmation yesterday. If confirmed, Dong would be the third Chinese defense minister in a row to fall under investigation for corruption. A former navy
‘VIOLATIONS OF DISCIPLINE’: Miao Hua has come up through the political department in the military and he was already fairly senior before Xi Jinping came to power in 2012 A member of China’s powerful Central Military Commission has been suspended and put under investigation, the Chinese Ministry of National Defense said on Thursday. Miao Hua (苗華) was director of the political work department on the commission, which oversees the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), the world’s largest standing military. He was one of five members of the commission in addition to its leader, Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). Ministry spokesman Colonel Wu Qian (吳謙) said Miao is under investigation for “serious violations of discipline,” which usually alludes to corruption. It is the third recent major shakeup for China’s defense establishment. China in June
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