GERMANY
Thai king reprimanded
Minister for Foreign Affairs Heiko Maas said that Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn should not be conducting politics from the European nation, where he spends much of his time. “We have made it clear that politics concerning Thailand should not be conducted from German soil,” Maas told parliament. “If there are guests in our country that conduct their state business from our soil we would always want to act to counteract that.”
EUROPE
Emissions targets queried
Lawmakers have called for the EU to step up its targets for cutting greenhouse gas emissions in response to climate change. Lawmakers voted to press the bloc to slash emissions by at least 60 percent by 2030 — a bigger cut than had been proposed by the European Commission. Lawmakers also demanded an interim target be set for 2040 to ensure the bloc meets its plan to be climate neutral by 2050. The calls form part of parliament’s negotiating platform for talks with member states to agree the final form of an EU climate law, which would be binding.
CHINA
Iranian minister visits
Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Javad Zarif began a two-day visit to the nation yesterday, a day after the US boycotted virtually all of Iran’s financial sector. In a brief statement, the government said that Zarif was visiting at the invitation of Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅). China is a staunch Iranian ally and remains a party to the 2015 nuclear agreement from which the US withdrew, before unilaterally reinstituting sanctions. Zarif reacted angrily to the boycott, calling it a “crime against humanity” at a time of global crisis.
UNITED STATES
Trump urges legal action
President Donald Trump on Thursday urged members of his Cabinet to take action over alleged wrongdoing by the administration of former president Barack Obama. In a telephone interview with Fox News, Trump linked Obama and former vice president Joe Biden to alleged actions to thwart his 2016 presidential campaign and subsequent presidency, including with a probe into Russia’s involvement in election manipulation. Trump said that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Attorney General Bill Barr should take action, including a release of e-mails from former secretary of state Hillary Rodham Clinton, the 2016 Democratic presidential candidate, who intelligence agencies have said “approved a campaign plan to stir up a scandal against” Trump. “They’re in the State Department, but Mike Pompeo has been unable to get them out, which is very sad, actually,” Trump said. “I’m not happy about him for that reason. He’s running the State Department — you get them out.” Trump also criticized Barr. “To be honest, Bill Barr is either going to go down as the greatest attorney general in the history of the country or he’s going to go down as a very sad situation,” Trump said. “I mean, I’ll be honest with you, he’s got all the information he needs,” Trump said of potential indictments.
AUSTRALIA
Drone spots lurking shark
A great white shark circled to within inches of pro surfer Matt Wilkinson’s board before darting away in a chilling encounter captured by a drone that is part of a shark warning system. The 1.5m shark might have been deterred from attacking Wilkinson by the unfamiliar touch of a leg rope on its snout or the overhead noise of the drone, officials said on Thursday. The 32-year-old surfer from Sydney said he never saw the shark while he was paddling his board, but heard a fin or tail break the water’s surface during the recreational surf on Wednesday off the tourist town of Ballina. “I heard, like, the sound of its tail and I kinda looked back and I was like: ‘No, there’s nothing there,’ and I had some weird vibes and just convinced myself that it was all good, as you always do when you’re out in the surf,” Wilkinson told Nine Network television. Moments later, Wilkinson heard the overhead drone broadcast a recorded warning that a dangerous shark was nearby and everyone must leave the water. Wilkinson first saw the shark when he watched the drone footage on the beach. “My heart just sank” when he realized how close the shark had come, he said. “It actually, like, went to have a bite and then my stinking little toe must’ve made it change its mind,” Wilkinson joked. Drone operator Beau Monks said that the shark might have turned away because it bumped into Wilkinson’s leg rope or was wary of the drone.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of
A prominent Christian leader has allegedly been stabbed at the altar during a Mass yesterday in southwest Sydney. Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was saying Mass at Christ The Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley just after 7pm when a man approached him at the altar and allegedly stabbed toward his head multiple times. A live stream of the Mass shows the congregation swarm forward toward Emmanuel before it was cut off. The church leader gained prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic, amassing a large online following, Officers attached to Fairfield City police area command attended a location on Welcome Street, Wakeley following reports a number