CHINA
Astronauts finish space walk
Two astronauts on board the Tiangong space station successfully completed a six-hour spacewalk yesterday, the Manned Space Agency said. Astronauts Chen Dong (陳冬) and Liu Yang (劉洋) returned to their cabin module in the morning, the agency said, declaring the first space walk of the six-month Shenzhou-14 mission a “complete success.” The heavily promoted space program has already sent a rover to Mars and probes to the moon. State media images showed the pair opening the hatch of the module and using a robotic arm to move equipment with the rotating Earth in the background. “Hello, everyone. I’m out of the module. I’m feeling good,” Chen, a former military pilot, said in a video.
UKRAINE
IAEA probe continues
Some International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors yesterday remained to study the state of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant after IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi and other members of their team left. The state-run company that manages the plant said five of about a dozen inspectors in Grossi’s mission are expected to stay on until at least today. Grossi said that his agency is “here to stay and will maintain a continued presence.” Russia and Ukraine traded blame on shelling in the nearby Energodar area, underscoring international concern about the risk of a nuclear disaster at the plant Russia seized in March.
PAKISTAN
Aid arrives amid flooding
Planes carrying fresh supplies are surging across a humanitarian air bridge to flood-ravaged parts of the country as the death toll surged past 1,200, officials said yesterday, with families and children at special risk of disease and homelessness. Pakistan blames climate change for this year’s heavy monsoon rains that triggered floods. The ninth flight from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the first from Uzbekistan were the latest to land in Islamabad overnight as a military-backed rescue operation reached more of the 3 million people affected by the disaster. Two more planes from the UAE and Qatar with aid were arrive in Pakistan later yesterday. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who earlier this week called on the world to stop “sleepwalking” through the deadly crisis, is to visit the country next week to tour flood-hit areas.
UNITED STATES
Biden lashes out at Trump
President Joe Biden on Thursday took fierce aim at his predecessor and his “extremist” supporters, labeling them enemies of democracy in a prime time address that sought to fire up voters ahead of key midterm elections. Biden launched an extraordinary assault on those Republicans who embrace former US president Donald Trump’s “make America great again [MAGA]” ideology and urged his own supporters to fight back. “Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans represent an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our republic. They embrace anger. They thrive on chaos. They live not in the light of truth but in the shadow of lies,” Biden said. Trump hit back at Biden on his Truth Social social network, saying the president is unfit for office. “If he doesn’t want to Make America Great Again, which through words, action, and thought, he doesn’t, then he certainly should not be representing the United States of America!” Trump wrote.
Hundreds of protesters marched through the Mexican capital on Friday denouncing gentrification caused by foreigners, with some vandalizing businesses and shouting “gringos out!” The demonstration in the capital’s central area turned violent when hooded individuals smashed windows, damaged restaurant furniture and looted a clothing store. Mexico City Government Secretary Cesar Cravioto said 15 businesses and public facilities were damaged in what he called “xenophobic expressions” similar to what Mexican migrants have suffered in other countries. “We are a city of open arms... there are always ways to negotiate, to sit at the table,” Cravioto told Milenio television. Neighborhoods like Roma-Condesa
‘CONTINUE TO SERVE’: The 90-year-old Dalai Lama said he hoped to be able to continue serving ‘sentient beings and the Buddha Dharma’ for decades to come The Dalai Lama yesterday said he dreamed of living for decades more, as the Buddhist spiritual leader prayed with thousands of exiled Tibetans on the eve of his 90th birthday. Thumping drums and deep horns reverberated from the Indian hilltop temple, as a chanting chorus of red-robed monks and nuns offered long-life prayers for Tenzin Gyatso, who followers believe is the 14th reincarnation of the Dalai Lama. Looking in good health, dressed in traditional maroon monk robes and a flowing yellow wrap, he led prayers — days after confirming that the 600-year-old Tibetan Buddhist institution would continue after his death. Many exiled Tibetans
Dozens of residents have evacuated remote islands in southern Japan that have been shaken by nearly 1,600 earthquakes in recent weeks, the local mayor said yesterday. There has been no major physical damage on hardest-hit Akuseki island, even after a magnitude 5.1 quake that struck overnight, said Toshima Mayor Genichiro Kubo, who is based on another island. However, the almost nonstop jolts since June 21 have caused severe stress to area residents, many of whom have been deprived of sleep. Of the 89 residents of Akuseki, 44 had evacuated to the regional hub of Kagoshima by Sunday, while 15 others also left another
CEREMONY EXPECTED: Abdullah Ocalan said he believes in the power of politics and social peace, not weapons, and called on the group to put that into practice The jailed leader of a Kurdish militant group yesterday renewed a call for his fighters to lay down their arms, days before a symbolic disarmament ceremony is expected to take place as a first concrete step in a peace process with the Turkish state. In a seven-minute video message broadcast on pro-Kurdish Medya Haber’s YouTube channel, Abdullah Ocalan, the leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), said that the peace initiative had reached a stage that required practical steps. “It should be considered natural for you to publicly ensure the disarmament of the relevant groups in a way that addresses the expectations
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