INDIA
Bureaucrat couple split
The Ministry of Home Affairs on Thursday ordered the transfer of a bureaucrat couple to opposite ends of the country, following public outcry over a media report alleging they forced a sports stadium in Delhi to shut early to walk their dog. The ministry transferred Indian Administrative Service officers Sanjeev Khirwar to Arunachal Pradesh state in the distant northeast and Rinku Dugga, his wife, to Ladakh in the far north, an official order said. At the eastern and western ends of the Himalayan mountain range, their new postings are about 3,200km apart. A report by the Indian Express, published with a photograph of Khirwar and Dugga walking their dog on the stadium track, said athletes had alleged that they had been forced to wrap up training early to make way for the couple’s evening stroll.
INDONESIA
Elephant death investigated
A pregnant Sumatran elephant was found dead of suspected poisoning near a palm plantation in Riau province on Sumatra, officials said yesterday. Sumatran elephants are a critically endangered species and fewer than 700 remain on the island. Local authorities are investigating the cause of death of the elephant, which was discovered in a joint patrol by local conservation groups on Wednesday, but they strongly suspect it was poisoned. “From the sign of changes in the shape of its internal organs, such as the lung, it looks like it is burning, black and oozing from the blood,” said Zulhusni Syukri, program director of Rimba Satwa Foundation, one of the groups that found the elephant. The authorities also found pineapple in the elephant’s stomach, even though the fruit is not grown in that area, further leading them to suspect poisoning, Syukri said.
UNITED KINGDOM
Depeche Mode member dies
Andrew Fletcher, a founding member of the British electronic band Depeche Mode, has died aged 60, the band announced on Thursday. “We are shocked and filled with overwhelming sadness with the untimely passing of our dear friend, family member, and bandmate Andy ‘Fletch’ Fletcher,” they wrote on Twitter. “Fletch had a true heart of gold and was always there when you needed support, a lively conversation, a good laugh, or a cold pint.” Born in 1961 in Nottingham, Fletcher was a keyboardist and one of the founders of electronic pioneers Depeche Mode. The band have sold more than 100 million albums since they started in 1980, winning over a global audience with hits like Personal Jesus or Just Can’t Get Enough.
IRAQ
Israeli ties criminalized
Lawmakers on Thursday passed a bill criminalizing normalization of ties and any relations, including business ties, with Israel. The legislation says that contravention of the law is punishable with the death sentence or life imprisonment. The law was approved with 275 lawmakers voting in favor of it in the 329-seat assembly. A parliament statement said the legislation is “a true reflection of the will of the people.” Influential Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, whose party won the largest number of seats in Iraq’s parliamentary elections last year, called for Iraqis to take to the streets to celebrate this “”great achievement.” Hundreds later gathered in central Baghdad, chanting anti-Israel slogans. It was unclear how the law will be implemented, as Iraq has not recognized Israel since the country’s formation in 1948; the two nations have no diplomatic relations.
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is constructing a new counter-stealth radar system on a disputed reef in the South China Sea that would significantly expand its surveillance capabilities in the region, satellite imagery suggests. Analysis by London-based think tank Chatham House suggests China is upgrading its outpost on Triton Island (Jhongjian Island, 中建島) on the southwest corner of the Paracel Islands (Xisha Islands, 西沙群島), building what might be a launching point for an anti-ship missile battery and sophisticated radar system. “By constraining the US ability to operate stealth aircraft, and threaten stealth aircraft, these capabilities in the South China Sea send
HAVANA: Repeated blackouts have left residents of the Cuban capital concerned about food, water supply and the nation’s future, but so far, there have been few protests Maria Elena Cardenas, 76, lives in a municipal shelter on Amargura Street in Havana’s colonial old town. The building has an elegant past, but for the last few days Maria has been cooking with sticks she had found on the street. “You know, we Cubans manage the best we can,” she said. She lives in the shelter because her home collapsed, a regular occurrence in the poorest, oldest parts of the beautiful city. Cuba’s government has spent the last days attempting to get the island’s national grid functioning after repeated island-wide blackouts. Without power, sleep becomes difficult in the heat, food
Botswana is this week holding a presidential election energized by a campaign by one previous head-of-state to unseat his handpicked successor whose first term has seen rising discontent amid a downturn in the diamond-dependent economy. The charismatic Ian Khama dramatically returned from self-exile six weeks ago determined to undo what he has called a “mistake” in handing over in 2018 to Botswanan President Mokgweetsi Masisi, who seeks re-election tomorrow. While he cannot run as president again having served two terms, Khama has worked his influence and standing to support the opposition in the southern African country of 2.6 million people. “The return of
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has rejected a plan for the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to visit Kyiv due to Guterres’ attendance at this week’s BRICS summit in Russia, a Ukrainian official said on Friday. Kyiv was enraged by Guterres’ appearance at the event in the city of Kazan on Thursday and his handshake with its host, Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose forces invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022. Guterres, who called for a “just peace” in Ukraine at the BRICS event and has repeatedly condemned the invasion, discussed a visit to Ukraine with Zelenskiy when they met in New York