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.
Indonesia and Malaysia have become the first countries to block Grok, the artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot developed by Elon Musk’s xAI, after authorities said it was being misused to generate sexually explicit and nonconsensual images. The moves reflect growing global concern over generative AI tools that can produce realistic images, sound and text, while existing safeguards fail to prevent their abuse. The Grok chatbot, which is accessed through Musk’s social media platform X, has been criticized for generating manipulated images, including depictions of women in bikinis or sexually explicit poses, as well as images involving children. Regulators in the two Southeast Asian
Yemen’s separatist leader has vowed to keep working for an independent state in the country’s south, in his first social media post since he disappeared earlier this month after his group briefly seized swathes of territory. Aidarous al-Zubaidi’s United Arab Emirates (UAE)-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) forces last month captured two Yemeni provinces in an offensive that was rolled back by Saudi strikes and Riyadh’s allied forces on the ground. Al-Zubaidi then disappeared after he failed to board a flight to Riyadh for talks earlier this month, with Saudi Arabia accusing him of fleeing to Abu Dhabi, while supporters insisted he was
COMMUNIST ALIGNMENT: To Lam wants to combine party chief and state presidency roles, with the decision resting on the election of 200 new party delegates next week Communist Party of Vietnam General Secretary To Lam is seeking to combine his party role with the state presidency, officials said, in a move that would align Vietnam’s political structure more closely to China’s, where President Xi Jinping (習近平) heads the party and state. Next week about 1,600 delegates are to gather in Hanoi to commence a week-long communist party congress, held every five years to select new leaders and set policy goals for the single-party state. Lam, 68, bade for both top positions at a party meeting last month, seeking initial party approval ahead of the congress, three people briefed by
The Chinese Embassy in Manila yesterday said it has filed a diplomatic protest against a Philippine Coast Guard spokesman over a social media post that included cartoonish images of Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). Philippine Coast Guard spokesman Jay Tarriela and an embassy official had been trading barbs since last week over issues concerning the disputed South China Sea. The crucial waterway, which Beijing claims historic rights to despite an international ruling that its assertion has no legal basis, has been the site of repeated clashes between Chinese and Philippine vessels. Tarriela’s Facebook post on Wednesday included a photo of him giving a
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