IRAN
Tehran denies attacking ship
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday “strongly” rejected accusations by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Tehran was behind an attack on the Israeli ship MV Helios Ray on Thursday on the Gulf of Oman. “We strongly deny this accusation,” spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh told a press conference, adding that Netanyahu is suffering from “an obsession with Iran.” The ship was traveling from the Saudi port of Dammam to Singapore when the blast occurred on Thursday, the London-based Dryad Global Maritime security group. It was not clear what caused the explosion, but it did not cause any casualties among the crew or damage to the engine.
TURKEY
Punish Saudi prince: critic
The fiancee of slain Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi yesterday called for Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman to be punished after a US intelligence report found he had approved the killing. Khashoggi, a Saudi dissident and Washington Post contributor, was killed and dismembered by a team linked to the crown prince in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. A US intelligence report on Friday found the prince had approved the killing, and Washington imposed sanctions on some of those involved — but not the prince. “It is essential that the crown prince ... should be punished without delay,” Hatice Cengiz said on Twitter. “If the crown prince is not punished, it will forever signal that the main culprit can get away with murder which will endanger us all and be a stain on our humanity.”
THAILAND
Rubber bullets hurt dozens
Dozens of Thai protesters and police were injured in violent clashes at an anti-government rally on Sunday, an emergency medical center said, as police yesterday acknowledged firing rubber bullets for the first time since protests started last year. Police also used tear gas and water cannon against protesters who marched on a military base in Bangkok, calling for King Maha Vajiralongkorn to give up direct command of the army unit housed there. Protesters threw bottles at police near barricades. “It was the first time rubber bullets were used,” Bangkok police chief Pakapong Pongpetra told reporters, claiming their use had been necessary to prevent the violence from escalating. The youth-led political movement is demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha and has broken taboos by calling for reform of the powerful monarchy.
CYPRUS
‘Satanic’ song upsets
A man has been charged with uttering threats and causing a disturbance after barging onto the grounds of Cyprus Broadcasting Corp (CyBC) to protest what he said was the country’s “blasphemous” entry into this year’s Eurovision song contest, police said on Sunday. The man, who has not been named, was released after being charged with four counts, including being verbally abusive. Police said witnesses to Saturday’s incident told investigators the man verbally accosted employees outside the CyBC’s news department. He was apparently upset that the broadcaster had selected the song El Diablo (The Devil) performed by Greek singer Elena Tsagrinou to represent Cyprus, since he said it was as an affront to Christianity. An association representing theologians who teach in high schools have also expressed their “disgust” over the song and called for it to be withdrawn because it “pledges life-long devotion and professes love for Satan,” Cyprus News Agency reported.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese