PHILIPPINES
Bill seeks same-sex unions
A bill seeking to allow same-sex couples to enter into civil unions has been filed at the Senate of the the predominantly Catholic nation. The measure proposes to give same-sex couples the right to obtain a license for a civil union, and to be afforded inheritance and adoption rights. The bill was put forward by Senator Robin Padilla. However, public sentiment for same-sex civil unions has been negative, with a 2018 Social Weather Stations survey showing that 61 percent of Filipinos opposed expanding marriage rights.
NEW ZEALAND
Volunteers save 7 dolphins
Volunteers yesterday saved seven of nine stranded dolphins, carrying buckets of water and wrapping the animals in towels to keep them hydrated until the tide on a remote beach rose sufficiently to float them back to sea. There was at least one calf among the nine animals stranded on Waiheke Island, said Project Jonah, an animal rescue group. “This was a huge combined effort from our medics, Department of Conservation staff, Iwi [a Maori social unit] and members of the public,” the nonprofit wrote on Facebook. The rising tide enabled rescuers to refloat seven dolphins, the group added. Two of the animals had died earlier.
GERMANY
Ex-leader sues parliament
Former chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, who has become increasingly derided for his pro-Russian views, has filed a suit against the Bundestag that seeks to reinstate his privileges, Deutsche Presse-Agentur reported. Schroeder, 78, was stripped of his right to a publicly funded office in May, amid mounting dismay at his refusal to distance himself from Russian President Vladimir Putin following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. The court filing said the closure of Schroeder’s office and reallocation of its remaining staff was “rather reminiscent of an absolutist princely state in terms of the way they were made.”
UNITED STATES
Charges brought in Iran plot
A man arrested in New York last month near the home of an Iranian opposition figure has been indicted on a weapons count. The indictment charges Khalid Mehdiyev with one count of possessing a firearm, a Chinese-made AK-47-style assault rifle, with an obliterated serial number. Police arrested Mehdiyev after he was allegedly lurking near the Brooklyn home of Masih Alinejad, looking in the window and trying to open the front door. Mehdiyev initially said he was in the neighborhood looking for a room to rent, but later said he had been “looking for someone.” Alinejad became a US citizen in 2019 after working for years as a journalist in Iran. She fled Iran after its disputed 2009 presidential election and has become a prominent figure on Iranian-language satellite channels critical of Tehran. Last year, an Iranian intelligence officer was charged with attempting to kidnap Alinejad and take her back to Iran.
UNITED STATES
State rebrands invasive carp
Illinois is rebranding invasive carp species in the hopes of encouraging people to eat them and solving a decades-old issue threatening the ecosystem of local waterways. “We’ve launched a new name, ‘copi,’ to help people consume this delicious fish and help us do our work in keeping them out of the waterways,” said Kevin Irons, assistant head of fisheries at the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. The move targets four species collectively referred to as Asian carp, whose populations have increased in the Mississippi River over the past few years.
SEEKING CHANGE: A hospital worker said she did not vote in previous elections, but ‘now I can see that maybe my vote can change the system and the country’ Voting closed yesterday across the Solomon Islands in the south Pacific nation’s first general election since the government switched diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing and struck a secret security pact that has raised fears of the Chinese navy gaining a foothold in the region. The Solomon Islands’ closer relationship with China and a troubled domestic economy weighed on voters’ minds as they cast their ballots. As many as 420,000 registered voters had their say across 50 national seats. For the first time, the national vote also coincided with elections for eight of the 10 local governments. Esther Maeluma cast her vote in 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
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was