INDIA
Pride to be preserved
The nation would not let its “pride be hurt” in its latest border flare-ups with China, but is determined to settle the dispute through talks, Minister of Defense Rajnath Singh said in a television interview late on Saturday. “Situations arise with China. It has happened before,” Singh said, adding that the government was striving to make sure “tension does not escalate.” The government has turned down US President Donald Trump’s offer to mediate, he said.
IRAN
Speaker says talks futile
Newly elected Parliament Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf yesterday said that any negotiations with the US would be “futile.” The nation’s new parliament “considers negotiations with and appeasement of America, as the axis of global arrogance, to be futile and harmful,” he said in a televised address in which he also vowed to avenge the death of a top Iranian general in a US drone attack in January. The former commander of the Revolutionary Guards’ air force was elected speaker on Thursday.
UNITED KINGDOM
Amazon removes images
An Amazon.com spokeswoman yesterday said the firm was removing certain images after messages using extremely strong racist abuse appeared on some listings on its local Web site when users searched for Apple’s AirPods and similar products. The message sparked outrage on Twitter. “We are removing the images in question and have taken action on the bad actor,” the spokeswoman said, without elaborating on the “bad actor.”
BULGARIA
Minister held in trash probe
Deputy Minister of the Environment and Water Krassimir Zhivkov has been arrested and charged for his alleged role in illegally importing harmful waste from Italy and burning it, prosecutors said on Saturday. Zhivkov “pressured his subordinates to authorize the illegal trafficking of waste,” they said, adding that they had asked for him to be held in custody. Authorities in the two nations have been investigating two Bulgarian brothers who own a recycling business and deal with dangerous waste. During a raid on the men’s home in the town of Rousse on Friday, the police found a list of names of media bosses and entrepreneurs who were assassinated in the 1990s, along with sums running into millions of dollars entered against some of the names.
UNITED STATES
‘Forbes’ and Jenner spar
Forbes, which in March last year declared Kylie Jenner a billionaire, says she no longer deserves the title, but Jenner is pushing back. The magazine on Friday said that an examination of financial filings after Jenner sold a majority share in her cosmetics firm to Coty in a deal valued at US$1.2 billion showed that her worth was inflated. “Kylie’s business is significantly smaller, and less profitable, than the family has spent years leading the cosmetics industry and media outlets, including Forbes, to believe,” it said. It was “likely” that the “business was never that big to begin with, and the Jenners have lied about it every year since 2016 — including having their accountant draft tax returns with false numbers — to help juice Forbes’ estimates of Kylie’s earnings and net worth,” the magazine said. Jenner responded in a series of tweets, saying “i thought this was a reputable site.. all i see are a number of inaccurate statements and unproven assumptions lol. i’ve never asked for any title or tried to lie my way there EVER. period.”
JAPAN
Entry permits considered
Tokyo is considering easing entry restrictions on people from Thailand, Vietnam, Australia and New Zealand because of signs that novel coronavirus infections are declining in those countries, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported yesterday, citing government officials. The government might relax the limits from as early as summer, the newspaper said. The visitors would be required to carry documentation showing that they had tested negative for the virus before leaving their countries, and would need to be retested when they arrive in Japan, it said.
CHINA
Two new cases confirmed
The government yesterday announced two new confirmed cases of coronavirus and four new asymptomatic cases, including one person without symptoms of COVID-19 on a chartered flight from Germany. The two confirmed cases in Shandong Province on Saturday compared with four cases the day before, National Health Commission data showed. The agency confirmed three new asymptomatic cases on Saturday. Tianjin yesterday confirmed one asymptomatic passenger arriving from Frankfurt on Lufthansa Flight LH342. The flight carried about 200 passengers, mostly German business executives. The number of confirmed cases in the country as of Saturday stood at 83,001, agency data showed.
EGYPT
Hotels reopen amid rules
Hotels operating with a new reduced occupancy rate of 25 percent to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus have almost reached full capacity, a tourism ministry official told reporters yesterday. Although airports remain closed to all but domestic and repatriation flights, hotels were allowed to reopen at one-quarter of their usual capacity if they met strict health and safety protocols. About 78 hotels, mostly along the Red Sea coast, met the rules and are operating with an occupancy rate of 20 to 22 percent, said a government official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
LIBERIA
President sings against virus
President George Weah, a former international soccer legend, has released a song to be used by the UN to spread awareness about the novel coronavirus, his office said on Saturday. Weah hopes to appeal to music lovers across the West African nation of about 4.5 million people to ensure COVID-19 does not spread further. It is not the first time Weah has used his singing skills. During the 2014 Ebola crisis, when he was a senator, he released an awareness song.
VATICAN
Pope urges fairer society
“Everything will be different” after the COVID-19 pandemic, Pope Francis said on Saturday, calling for a fairer society and action to “end the pandemic of poverty in the world.” Speaking in Spanish in a video message to mark the feast of Pentecost, the pontiff said there was a duty to build a new reality, particularly for the poorest. “Once we emerge from this pandemic, we will not be able to keep doing what we were doing, and as we were doing it. No, everything will be different,” he said. “From the great trials of humanity — among them this pandemic — one emerges better or worse. You don’t emerge the same. I ask this of you: How do you want to come out of it? Better or worse?” the 83-year-old Argentinian said. The pope led a prayer in the Vatican gardens for all those affected by the pandemic.
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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