NEW ZEALAND
Swim with dolphins banned
The government has banned tourists from swimming with bottlenose dolphins in an attempt to save the struggling species. According to the Department of Conservation, research has shown that humans were “loving the dolphins too much” and human interaction was “having a significant impact on the populations resting and feeding behavior.” The ban applies to tour operators in the North Island’s Bay of Islands region.
CHINA
US port visits denied again
Beijing has denied a request for a US Navy warship to visit Qingdao, a US Department of Defense official said on Tuesday. This marks at least the second time this month that the governement has denied a request by the US, having earlier rejected a request for two US Navy ships to visit Hong Kong. The defense official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the destroyer was supposed to visit on Sunday, but Beijing denied the request prior to that.
IRAN
Cleric killer hanged
The government yesterday hanged in public a man convicted of murdering the leader of main weekly prayers in Kazeroun, the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) said. Hamid Reza Derakhshandeh was executed at the scene where he killed the cleric on May 29, IRNA quoted Fars Province Chief Justice Kazem Mousavi as saying. Mohammad Khorsand suffered fatal injuries when attacked while returning from a Ramadan ceremony, IRNA said. The death sentence was upheld by the Supreme Court and carried out after the cleric’s family decided not to spare the life of the killer, who refused to express regret, Fars news agency reported. Under the country’s laws, a murder victim’s family can spare a convict’s life by accepting blood money.
MALI
Protests strand 1,000 trucks
More than 1,000 trucks loaded with merchandise were blocked on Tuesday at the entrance to the capital on the fourth day of protests against the poor state of the country’s roads. Witnesses reported a line of trucks snaking about a dozen kilometers along the road that leads from the Kati toll station, about 15km outside Bamako. “Improving the state of transport infrastructure is among the government’s priorities,” Prime Minister Boubou Cisse’s office said in a statement, but protester Ben Sangare said on Tuesday: “The government gives the money, and the people in charge of constructing the roads botch the work and divert the money.”
UNITED STATES
Site draws Palestinian ire
The Department of State’s removal of the “Palestinian Territories” from the list of countries and areas on its Web site has triggered protests from Palestinian leaders. A State Department official played down the shift when asked on Tuesday. “The Web site is being updated. There has been no change to our policy,” she said. She did not say if the Web site would again include a separate entry for the territories. The Palestinian Authority’s Cabinet, after a meeting on Monday, said the move “confirms the American bias toward Israel.” The Palestinian Authority has said that it no longer considers the US an honest broker and has refused US President Donald Trump’s peace initiatives.
BACKLASH: The National Party quit its decades-long partnership with the Liberal Party after their election loss to center-left Labor, which won a historic third term Australia’s National Party has split from its conservative coalition partner of more than 60 years, the Liberal Party, citing policy differences over renewable energy and after a resounding loss at a national election this month. “Its time to have a break,” Nationals leader David Littleproud told reporters yesterday. The split shows the pressure on Australia’s conservative parties after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s center-left Labor party won a historic second term in the May 3 election, powered by a voter backlash against US President Donald Trump’s policies. Under the long-standing partnership in state and federal politics, the Liberal and National coalition had shared power
NO EXCUSES: Marcos said his administration was acting on voters’ demands, but an academic said the move was emotionally motivated after a poor midterm showing Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr yesterday sought the resignation of all his Cabinet secretaries, in a move seen as an attempt to reset the political agenda and assert his authority over the second half of his single six-year term. The order came after the president’s allies failed to win a majority of Senate seats contested in the 12 polls on Monday last week, leaving Marcos facing a divided political and legislative landscape that could thwart his attempts to have an ally succeed him in 2028. “He’s talking to the people, trying to salvage whatever political capital he has left. I think it’s
CONTROVERSY: During the performance of Israel’s entrant Yuval Raphael’s song ‘New Day Will Rise,’ loud whistles were heard and two people tried to get on stage Austria’s JJ yesterday won the Eurovision Song Contest, with his operatic song Wasted Love triumphing at the world’s biggest live music television event. After votes from national juries around Europe and viewers from across the continent and beyond, JJ gave Austria its first victory since bearded drag performer Conchita Wurst’s 2014 triumph. After the nail-biting drama as the votes were revealed running into yesterday morning, Austria finished with 436 points, ahead of Israel — whose participation drew protests — on 357 and Estonia on 356. “Thank you to you, Europe, for making my dreams come true,” 24-year-old countertenor JJ, whose
UNSCHEDULED VISIT: ‘It’s a very bulky new neighbor, but it will soon go away,’ said Johan Helberg of the 135m container ship that run aground near his house A man in Norway awoke early on Thursday to discover a huge container ship had run aground a stone’s throw from his fjord-side house — and he had slept through the commotion. For an as-yet unknown reason, the 135m NCL Salten sailed up onto shore just meters from Johan Helberg’s house in a fjord near Trondheim in central Norway. Helberg only discovered the unexpected visitor when a panicked neighbor who had rung his doorbell repeatedly to no avail gave up and called him on the phone. “The doorbell rang at a time of day when I don’t like to open,” Helberg told television
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