JAPAN
Chinese incursion protested
Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato yesterday said Tokyo had protested after two Chinese coast guard ships entered waters off the Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台), which are also claimed by Taiwan and Japan, on Saturday and Sunday. “We made a strong protest through diplomatic routes both in Tokyo and Beijing, strongly demanding that they immediately stop their moves to try to approach Japanese fishing vessels, and that they swiftly leave the territorial waters,” Kato said. He said Japan’s coast guard ships “repeatedly demanded they leave, while ensuring safety of fishing vessels.” “Japan can never tolerate” such moves, Kato said. Last year, Chinese ships were confirmed in the contiguous zone of the islets for a total of 333 days, an all-time high.
SOMALIA
Opposition shuns president
The country’s opposition leaders have announced that they no longer recognize President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, after his term expired without a political agreement on a path toward elections to replace him. “Starting from 8th February 2021, the council of opposition candidates does not recognize Farmajo as president. The council will not accept any form of mandate extension through pressure,” the opposition leaders said in a statement issued late on Sunday, referring to the president by his nickname.
PAKISTAN
Climbers feared dead
Military helicopters yesterday searched for three missing climbers on the world’s second-highest mountain, K2, as hope of their survival faded rapidly. Muhammad Ali Sadpara, 45, of Pakistan, John Snorri, 47, of Iceland, and Juan Pablo Mohr, 33, of Chile, were last seen on Friday at about noon at what is considered the most difficult part of the climb: the Bottleneck, a steep and narrow gully just 300m shy of the 8,611m-high K2. The spot is just above the ceiling of helicopters, which have been searching for three days now.
SAUDI ARABIA
Death sentences commuted
Three young men from the minority Shiite community on Sunday had their death sentences commuted to 10 years in prison, officials said, as the kingdom seeks to improve its human rights record. Ali al-Nimr, Dawood al-Marhoon and Abdullah al-Zaher were arrested as minors in 2012 on terrorism-related charges after they took part in anti-government protests during the Arab Spring uprisings. “It feels odd to talk about progress when a young man has spent nearly a decade on death row for attending a peaceful demonstration, but today’s ruling is clearly a positive step,” said Maya Foa, director of the UK-based campaign group Reprieve.
CANADA
New virus strains detected
Health authorities in Toronto on Sunday announced that they had discovered the first two known cases of the Brazilian and South African variants of COVID-19 in the city. A patient diagnosed with the Brazilian variant has been hospitalized, Toronto Public Health said in a statement. He had recently arrived from Brazil, it said. The resident with the South African strain had no recent travel history and no known contact with any recently returned travelers, it added. “Scientists and medical professionals are concerned that these variants are more transmissible than the original coronavirus,” it said. The Brazilian variant has been blamed for a disastrous surge in infections in the Brazilian city of Manaus.
FRAUD ALLEGED: The leader of an opposition alliance made allegations of electoral irregularities and called for a protest in Tirana as European leaders are to meet Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama’s Socialist Party scored a large victory in parliamentary elections, securing him his fourth term, official results showed late on Tuesday. The Socialist Party won 52.1 percent of the vote on Sunday compared with 34.2 percent for an alliance of opposition parties led by his main rival Sali Berisha, according to results released by the Albanian Central Election Commission. Diaspora votes have yet to be counted, but according to initial results, Rama was also leading there. According to projections, the Socialist Party could have more lawmakers than in 2021 elections. At the time, it won 74 seats in the
A Croatian town has come up with a novel solution to solve the issue of working parents when there are no public childcare spaces available: pay grandparents to do it. Samobor, near the capital, Zagreb, has become the first in the country to run a “Grandmother-Grandfather Service,” which pays 360 euros (US$400) a month per child. The scheme allows grandparents to top up their pension, but the authorities also hope it will boost family ties and tackle social isolation as the population ages. “The benefits are multiple,” Samobor Mayor Petra Skrobot told reporters. “Pensions are rather low and for parents it is sometimes
CONTROVERSY: During the performance of Israel’s entrant Yuval Raphael’s song ‘New Day Will Rise,’ loud whistles were heard and two people tried to get on stage Austria’s JJ yesterday won the Eurovision Song Contest, with his operatic song Wasted Love triumphing at the world’s biggest live music television event. After votes from national juries around Europe and viewers from across the continent and beyond, JJ gave Austria its first victory since bearded drag performer Conchita Wurst’s 2014 triumph. After the nail-biting drama as the votes were revealed running into yesterday morning, Austria finished with 436 points, ahead of Israel — whose participation drew protests — on 357 and Estonia on 356. “Thank you to you, Europe, for making my dreams come true,” 24-year-old countertenor JJ, whose
CANCER: Jose Mujica earned the moniker ‘world’s poorest president’ for giving away much of his salary and living a simple life on his farm, with his wife and dog Tributes poured in on Tuesday from across Latin America following the death of former Uruguayan president Jose “Pepe” Mujica, an ex-guerrilla fighter revered by the left for his humility and progressive politics. He was 89. Mujica, who spent a dozen years behind bars for revolutionary activity, lost his battle against cancer after announcing in January that the disease had spread and he would stop treatment. “With deep sorrow, we announce the passing of our comrade Pepe Mujica. President, activist, guide and leader. We will miss you greatly, old friend,” Uruguayan President Yamandu Orsi wrote on X. “Pepe, eternal,” a cyclist shouted out minutes later,
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