SAUDI ARABIA
S Khashoggi defends Riyadh
The son of murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who has denied a financial settlement with the government, yesterday spoke out in defense of the kingdom ahead of the first anniversary of the killing at the nation’s consulate in Istanbul, Turkey. Salah Khashoggi said he had “full confidence” in the nation’s judicial system and hit out at opponents he said were seeking to exploit the case. “A year has gone by since the passing of my beloved father. During this time, opponents and enemies in the East and West sought to exploit his case ... to undermine my country and leadership,” he said in a tweet. “I will not accept that his memory and case be taken advantage of to achieve that after his passing.”
NEPAL
Speaker quits over ‘rape’
Parliamentary Speaker Krishna Bahadur Mahara, one of the nation’s leading Communist Party leaders, yesterday resigned amid allegations that he raped a government worker at her home while he was intoxicated. His office has denied the allegation, saying it is a politically motivated character assassination attempt. News reports said the woman claimed Mahara entered her house on Sunday night while her husband was away and assaulted her. His office said he was at his official residence on Sunday evening.
RUSSIA
Alcohol use down 40%
A WHO report published yesterday showed alcohol consumption has dropped by 43 percent since 2003, which it attributed to measures brought in under President Vladimir Putin, including restrictions on alcohol sales and the promotion of healthy lifestyles. “The Russian Federation has long been considered one of the heaviest-drinking countries in the world. However, in recent years these trends have been reversed,” it said. The authors said this trend was a factor in increased life expectancies, which last year reached historic peaks of 78 years for women and 68 years for men.
NEW ZEALAND
Sick mothers miscarry
Two fetuses have died after their mothers contracted measles amid the worst outbreak of the illness in the nation in two decades. The deaths were announced yesterday by the Auckland regional public health service, which said that five pregnant women in the region had contracted the illness, and two had lost their unborn babies. Karen Bartholomew, director of health outcomes for the Waitemata and Auckland district health boards, told a news conference although it could not be certain the fetuses died due to the illness, their mothers were undergoing treatment after contracting measles.
AUSTRALIA
Boomerangs, pies on coins
The Royal Australian Mint and Australia Post have released an unusual commemorative set of 26 A$1 (US$0.67) coins featuring an A-Z of imagery — including a boomerang, a didgeridoo, a meat pie, the popular television soap opera Neighbours, the word “G’day” and a quokka, a diminutive marsupial native to Rottnest Island, the image of a yowie (a mythical creature said to inhabit the Outback), a lamington (a square sponge cake coated in chocolate and desiccated coconut) and a pair of thongs, or flip-flops. The coins are to be rolled out in batches throughout this month, but will only be available to customers who make a purchase using cash at a post office and receive A$1 coins in their change.
Pakistani police yesterday said a father shot dead his daughter after she refused to delete her TikTok account. In the Muslim-majority country, women can be subjected to violence by family members for not following strict rules on how to behave in public, including in online spaces. “The girl’s father had asked her to delete her TikTok account. On refusal, he killed her,” a police spokesperson said. Investigators said the father killed his 16-year-old daughter on Tuesday “for honor,” the police report said. The man was subsequently arrested. The girl’s family initially tried to “portray the murder as a suicide” said police in
The military is to begin conscripting civilians next year, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said yesterday, citing rising tensions with Thailand as the reason for activating a long-dormant mandatory enlistment law. The Cambodian parliament in 2006 approved a law that would require all Cambodians aged 18 to 30 to serve in the military for 18 months, although it has never been enforced. Relations with Thailand have been tense since May, when a long-standing territorial dispute boiled over into cross-border clashes, killing one Cambodian soldier. “This episode of confrontation is a lesson for us and is an opportunity for us to review, assess and
The Russian minister of foreign affairs warned the US, South Korea and Japan against forming a security partnership targeting North Korea as he visited the ally country for talks on further solidifying their booming military and other cooperation. Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov spoke on Saturday in Wonsan City, North Korea, where he met North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un and conveyed greetings from Russian President Vladimir Putin. Kim during the meeting reaffirmed his government’s commitment to “unconditionally support and encourage all measures” taken by Russia in its conflict with Ukraine. Pyongyang and Moscow share identical views on “all strategic issues in
‘FALSE NARRATIVE’: China and the Solomon Islands inked a secretive security pact in 2022, which is believed to be a prelude to building a Chinese base, which Beijing denied The Australian government yesterday said it expects China to spy on major military drills it is conducting with the US and other allies. It also renewed a charge — denounced by Beijing as a “false narrative” — that China wants to establish a military base in the South Pacific. The comments by a government minister came as Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese made a six-day visit to China to bolster recently repaired trade ties. More than 30,000 military personnel from 19 nations are set to join in the annual Talisman Sabre exercises from yesterday across Australia and Papua New Guinea. “The Chinese military have
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