UNITED STATES
Russian tit-for-tat slammed
Moscow’s request that 10 US diplomats leave the country in retaliation for Washington’s expulsion of the same number of Russian diplomats over alleged malign activity was “escalatory and regrettable,” a US Department of State spokesperson said on Friday. “It is not in our interest to get into an escalatory cycle, but we reserve the right to respond to any Russian retaliation against the United States,” the spokesperson said.
PHILLIPINES
Alleged militants killed
The military killed an Egyptian who was allegedly planning a suicide attack and two local militants of Abu Sayyaf, an Islamic State-linked group, military officials said yesterday. Troops on Friday gunned them down in a 10-minute firefight in southern Sulu Province and recovered three assault rifles, they said. Military officials did not indicate how the three were tracked down, but suggested that troops were helped by intelligence provided by villagers. “The support of the public in our peace and security operations is much, much needed,” military commander Lieutenant General Cirilito Sobejana told reporters. The Egyptian, who was identified only as Yusop, was the son of an Egyptian militant, Siti Aisyah, who died in 2019 when she detonated a bomb and was shot by troops in Sulu’s Indanan town. Abu Sayyaf has been blacklisted by the US for ransom kidnappings, beheadings of hostages and deadly bombings.
INDIA
COVID-19 cases soar
Health authorities reported a record daily increase of 234,692 COVID-19 infections over 24 hours, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare data showed yesterday. It was the eighth record daily increase in the past nine days. Total cases reached nearly 14.5 million, second only to the US, which has reported more than 32 million infections. India’s deaths from COVID-19 rose by 1,341 to reach a total of 175,649, the data showed.
CHINA
Icelander sanctioned
Beijing has sanctioned an individual from Iceland, the embassy in Reykjavik said on Friday, after the island nation sanctioned Chinese officials over alleged human rights abuses in Xinjiang. Iceland’s move, which follows sanctions imposed on Chinese officials last month by the EU, US, UK and Canada, was based on “nothing but lies and disinformation,” the embassy said in a statement. Western governments are seeking to hold Beijing accountable for mass detentions of Muslim Uighurs in northwestern China, where the US says China is committing genocide. China denies all accusations of abuse. The embassy said that Beijing would sanction an unnamed Icelandic person “who seriously harms China’s sovereignty and interests by maliciously spreading lies and disinformation.” The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also summoned Iceland’s ambassador to Beijing over the case, the embassy said.
MALAYSIA
Agriculture secret cracked
After more than a decade of experimenting, a trio of Malaysian farmers say that they have found the right concoction of nutrients and treatments to successfully grow Japanese muskmelons, one of the world’s most expensive fruits. The farmers, who work for agricultural brand Mono Premium Melon, regularly rub the melons with a soft cloth or glove, a practice called tama fuki in Japanese, which is said to enhance their flavor, and play classical music over speakers in the greenhouses, which is believed to stimulate growth.
‘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
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
RIVER TRAGEDY: Local fishers and residents helped rescue people after the vessel capsized, while motorbike taxis evacuated some of the injured At least 58 people going to a funeral died after their overloaded river boat capsized in the Central African Republic’s (CAR) capital, Bangui, the head of civil protection said on Saturday. “We were able to extract 58 lifeless bodies,” Thomas Djimasse told Radio Guira. “We don’t know the total number of people who are underwater. According to witnesses and videos on social media, the wooden boat was carrying more than 300 people — some standing and others perched on wooden structures — when it sank on the Mpoko River on Friday. The vessel was heading to the funeral of a village chief in