INDIA
Dragon fruit name changed
The government in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state of Gujarat on Tuesday changed the name of dragon fruit, saying that the original name is associated with China. “The Gujarat government has decided ... the name ‘dragon fruit’ is not appropriate and is associated with China. The fruit’s shape is like a lotus, and hence we have given it a new Sanskrit name, kamalam. There is nothing political about it,” Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani told reporters. The lotus, or kamal as it is called in Hindi, is the symbol of Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party.
JAPAN
Dual citizenship rejected
The Tokyo District Court yesterday upheld a ban on dual citizenship, rejecting a suit that challenged the measure’s constitutionality and sought damages for those affected. Under current rules, Japanese who acquire another passport are asked to relinquish their Japanese citizenship, but in 2018, eight plaintiffs started legal proceedings against the rule. One of them, Hitoshi Nogawa, told reporters that it was a “painful experience” to give up his nationality. “I obtained Swiss nationality because my job requires it, but I’m emotionally attached to Japan and this is the foundation of my identity,” the Asahi Shimbun quoted him as saying.
UNITED STATES
China sanctions officials
China imposed sanctions on nearly 30 former officials of the administration of former president Donald Trump moments after they left office on Wednesday. In a statement released just minutes after President Joe Biden was inaugurated, Beijing slapped travel bans and business restrictions on Trump’s secretary of state, Mike Pompeo; national security adviser, Robert O’Brien; UN ambassador, Kelly Craft; and health and human services secretary, Alex Azar. “Over the past few years, some anti-China politicians in the United States, out of their selfish political interests and prejudice and hatred against China, and showing no regard for the interests of the Chinese and American people, have planned, promoted and executed a series of crazy moves which have gravely interfered in China’s internal affairs, undermined China’s interests, offended the Chinese people, and seriously disrupted China-US relations,” the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
UNITED STATES
WeChat users sue Tencent
WeChat users in California sued its parent company, Tencent, on Wednesday, saying that the mobile app is used for spying on and censoring users for the Chinese government. US-based nonprofit Citizen Power Initiatives for China filed the suit in Silicon Valley, joined by six California residents in urging a state court to order Tencent to change its ways and pay damages.
UNITED STATES
Twitter locks PRC account
Twitter has locked the official account for the Chinese embassy to the US after a post that defended Beijing’s policies in Xinjiang. The post, which said that Uighur women were no longer “baby-making machines,” was originally shared on Jan. 7, but was not removed by Twitter until more than 24 hours later. It has been replaced by a label saying: “This tweet is no longer available.” Twitter requires account owners to manually delete posts that breach its rules to regain access to their account. The account is still locked, a Twitter spokesman said, meaning that the embassy has not deleted the tweet.
MONEY GRAB: People were rushing to collect bills scattered on the ground after the plane transporting money crashed, which an official said hindered rescue efforts A cargo plane carrying money on Friday crashed near Bolivia’s capital, damaging about a dozen vehicles on highway, scattering bills on the ground and leaving at least 15 people dead and others injured, an official said. Bolivian Minister of Defense Marcelo Salinas said the Hercules C-130 plane was transporting newly printed Bolivian currency when it “landed and veered off the runway” at an airport in El Alto, a city adjacent to La Paz, before ending up in a nearby field. Firefighters managed to put out the flames that engulfed the aircraft. Fire chief Pavel Tovar said at least 15 people died, but
LIKE FATHER, LIKE DAUGHTER: By showing Ju-ae’s ability to handle a weapon, the photos ‘suggest she is indeed receiving training as a successor,’ an academic said North Korea on Saturday released a rare image of leader Kim Jong-un’s teenage daughter firing a rifle at a shooting range, adding to speculation that she is being groomed as his successor. Kim’s daughter, Ju-ae, has long been seen as the next in line to rule the secretive, nuclear-armed state, and took part in a string of recent high-profile outings, including last week’s military parade marking the closing stages of North Korea’s key party congress. Pyongyang’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) released a photo of Ju-ae shooting a rifle at an outdoor shooting range, peering through a rifle scope
India and Canada yesterday reached a string of agreements, including on critical mineral cooperation and a “landmark” uranium supply deal for nuclear power, the countries’ leaders said in New Delhi. The pacts, which also covered technology and promoting the use of renewable energy, were announced after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney hailed a fresh start in the relationship between their nations. “Our ties have seen a new energy, mutual trust and positivity,” Modi said. Carney’s visit is a key step forward in ties that effectively collapsed in 2023 after Ottawa accused New Delhi
Gaza is rapidly running out of its limited fuel supply and stocks of food staples might become tight, officials said, after Israel blocked the entry of fuel and goods into the war-shattered territory, citing fighting with Iran. The Israeli military closed all Gaza border crossings on Saturday after announcing airstrikes on Iran carried out jointly with the US. Israeli authorities late on Monday night said that they would reopen the Kerem Shalom crossing from Israel to Gaza yesterday, for “gradual entry of humanitarian aid” into the strip, without saying how much. Israeli authorities previously said the crossings could not be operated safely during
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