AUSTRALIA
Rain to help control fire
Firefighters battling a devastating bushfire that has destroyed 86 homes on the outskirts of Perth in Western Australia hope heavy rain forecast over the weekend would help douse the flames, state authorities said yesterday. Thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes in Perth, complicating a five-day lockdown imposed on Monday after Western Australia detected its first COVID-19 infection in 10 months. State Fire and Emergency Services Commissioner Darren Klemm said the fire had been contained, but is still burning. “We expect light rain to commence early this afternoon, but the really heavy rain that will really help us with the fire won’t occur until later this evening and into tomorrow,” Klemm told a news conference.
CHINA
Probe sends image of Mars
The Tianwen-1 probe has sent back its first image of Mars, the national space agency said on Friday, as the mission prepares to touch down on the Red Planet later this year. The spacecraft, launched in July around the same time as a rival US mission, is expected to enter Mars orbit on Wednesday. The black-and-white photograph released by the China National Space Administration showed geological features including the Schiaparelli crater and the Valles Marineris, a vast stretch of canyons on the Martian surface.
GUATEMALA
US halts asylum pact
The US government is ending an arrangement that sent asylum seekers who reached US borders to Guatemala with an opportunity to seek protection there instead, the Central American nation said on Friday. “The Guatemalan government welcomes the statements of [US] President Joe Biden regarding his administration’s commitment to our country and the region,” the government said in a statement. As of December, only 20 of 939 Hondurans and Salvadoreans who have been turned back from the US and flown to Guatemala decided to seek asylum there, and none of those have gained final approval.
INDIA
Kashmir Internet ban lifted
Authorities on Friday ended an 18-month-long ban on high-speed Internet services on mobile devices in the disputed Kashmir region, where opposition to New Delhi has surged after it revoked the region’s autonomy. The order late on Friday lifted the ban on 4G mobile data services, but also requested police officials to “closely monitor the impact of lifting of restrictions.” A blanket Internet ban, the longest in a democracy which rights activists dubbed as “digital apartheid” and “collective punishment,” came into effect on August 2019, when India stripped Kashmir of its statehood, which gave its residents special rights in land ownership and jobs.
UNITED STATES
Fox News drops Lou Dobbs
Fox News on Friday canceled the show of Lou Dobbs, a right-wing presenter with a history of airing baseless conspiracy theories and one of the most ardent supporters of former US president Donald Trump among US broadcasters. The decision came a day after the network and Dobbs were sued for defamation by voting technology firm Smartmatic, which is claiming US$2.7 billion in losses from the network for promoting false claims that the company was involved in fraud in last year’s presidential election. A Fox News spokesperson said the cancelation was part of regular programming changes.
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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