FRANCE
Cormann is new OECD head
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development on Monday said that it had appointed former Australian minister for finance Mathias Cormann as its secretary-general. Cormann, who is to begin a five-year term on June 1 at the Paris-based organization, has faced criticism for opposing climate change initiatives in Australia. Cormann has voted against declaring a climate emergency, told climate striking youth to “stick to school” and consistently failed to take action in cutting emissions. Many climate groups have railed against his candidacy, including Greenpeace, which called it a “missed opportunity.” As the first secretary-general from the Asia-Pacific region, Cormann said that under his leadership, the OECD would work to promote “stronger, cleaner, fairer economic growth and to raise employment and living standards,” as the world seeks to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic.
CHINA
Chinese vaccines for visas
The nation is poised to ease border restrictions to allow some foreigners — including from the US, India and Pakistan — back in, provided they have taken a Chinese-made COVID-19 vaccine. Chinese embassies in several countries have issued notices saying the country would open visa applications to select people who have taken a China-made jab. The Chinese embassy in the US said in a statement dated Monday that it would begin to process “visa applicants inoculated with Chinese COVID-19 vaccines.” It would apply from this week to those visiting the Chinese mainland for work resumption, business travel, or for “humanitarian needs,” such as reuniting with family members.
UNITED STATES
China told Aussie ties vital
Bilateral relations with China will not improve until Beijing stops its economic coercion against Washington’s close regional ally, Australia, a senior aide to President Joe Biden told the Age newspaper. The administration has told the Chinese government that it was not going to leave Australia alone on the field, National Security Council Coordinator for the Indo-Pacific Kurt Campbell said in an interview. Other nations including Japan, the Philippines and Vietnam, have also been targeted by undeclared economic actions by Beijing, Campbell told the Melbourne-based newspaper. Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Zhao Lijian (趙立堅) sidestepped a question about Campbell’s comments at a regular news briefing in Beijing, saying only that Beijing and Washington were discussing topics for their planned meeting later this week in Alaska. The cause of tensions between China and Australia was actions by Canberra, Zhao said.
PHILIPPINES
Minors ordered indoors
Metro Manila is to widen a ban on minors leaving their residences to include youths of up to 18 years old for two weeks starting today, tightening COVID-19 restrictions in a bid to tackle a new surge of infections. Only those aged 18 to 65 are to be allowed out of their homes, the Metro Manila Development Authority said in a statement, citing an agreement among mayors. The Southeast Asian nation has seen a surge in COVID-19 cases this month, recording the largest daily increase since mid-August last year with 5,404 new infections on Monday. Nighttime curfews have been reimposed since Monday for two weeks in Metro Manila, the nation’s coronavirus hotspot that is home to more than 12 million people.
MINERAL DEPOSITS: The Pacific nation is looking for new foreign partners after its agreement with Canada’s Metals Co was terminated ‘mutually’ at the end of last year Pacific nation Kiribati says it is exploring a deep-sea mining partnership with China, dangling access to a vast patch of Pacific Ocean harboring coveted metals and minerals. Beijing has been ramping up efforts to court Pacific nations sitting on lucrative seafloor deposits of cobalt, nickel and copper — recently inking a cooperation deal with Cook Islands. Kiribati opened discussions with Chinese Ambassador Zhou Limin (周立民) after a longstanding agreement with leading deep-sea mining outfit The Metals Co fell through. “The talk provides an exciting opportunity to explore potential collaboration for the sustainable exploration of the deep-ocean resources in Kiribati,” the government said
The head of Shin Bet, Israel’s domestic intelligence agency, was sacked yesterday, days after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he no longer trusts him, and fallout from a report on the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack. “The Government unanimously approved Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s proposal to end ISA Director Ronen Bar’s term of office,” a statement said. He is to leave his post when his successor is appointed by April 10 at the latest, the statement said. Netanyahu on Sunday cited an “ongoing lack of trust” as the reason for moving to dismiss Bar, who joined the agency in 1993. Bar, meant to
Indonesia’s parliament yesterday amended a law to allow members of the military to hold more government roles, despite criticisms that it would expand the armed forces’ role in civilian affairs. The revision to the armed forces law, pushed mainly by Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto’s coalition, was aimed at expanding the military’s role beyond defense in a country long influenced by its armed forces. The amendment has sparked fears of a return to the era of former Indonesian president Suharto, who ex-general Prabowo once served and who used military figures to crack down on dissent. “Now it’s the time for us to ask the
The central Dutch city of Utrecht has installed a “fish doorbell” on a river lock that lets viewers of an online livestream alert authorities to fish being held up as they make their springtime migration to shallow spawning grounds. The idea is simple: An underwater camera at Utrecht’s Weerdsluis lock sends live footage to a Web site. When somebody watching the site sees a fish, they can click a button that sends a screenshot to organizers. When they see enough fish, they alert a water worker who opens the lock to let the fish swim through. Now in its fifth year, the
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