MYANMAR
China urged to cease support
An alliance of China-backed ethnic rebels on Thursday called for Beijing’s help to diffuse a post-coup crisis that is ravaging the country. China is a major ally and arms supplier of the internationally isolated junta and has refused to denounce the 2021 putsch, which ousted a Aung San Suu Kyi-led elected administration. However, Beijing also backs and arms several ethnic rebel groups along its border with the country, some of which have clashed repeatedly with the military in the aftermath of the coup. The Federal Political Negotiation and Consultative Committee groups seven ethnic outfits, which together can call on tens of thousands of well-armed and well-trained fighters, analysts say. “We welcome and support China’s involvement to end domestic conflicts happening in Myanmar,” the alliance said following a meeting in an autonomous enclave run by the United Wa State Party.
LIBYA
Uranium gone missing: UN
About 2.5 tonnes of natural uranium stored in a site in the war-torn country have gone missing, the UN nuclear watchdog said on Thursday, raising safety and proliferation concerns. However, forces allied to a warlord battling the central government later in the day said that his fighters recovered the material. UN inspectors said they were trying to confirm that. Natural uranium cannot immediately be used for energy production or bomb fuel, as the enrichment process typically requires the metal to be converted into a gas and spun in centrifuges to reach the levels needed. However, each tonne of natural uranium — if obtained by a group with the technological means and resources — can be refined to 5.6kg of weapons-grade material, experts say.
FRANCE
Macron forces pension reform
President Emmanuel Macron’s administration on Thursday rammed a controversial pension reform bill through parliament without a vote, risking more turbulence and street protests after a day of high political drama. The move to use a special constitutional power enabling the government to pass legislation without a vote amounted to an admission that the government lacked a majority to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64. The Senate had adopted the bill earlier in the day, but reluctance by right-wing opposition lawmakers in the National Assembly to side with Macron meant his administration faced defeat in the lower house. “We can’t take the risk of seeing 175 hours of parliamentary debate come to nothing,” Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne told lawmakers as she announced the move amid jeers and boos from the opposition.
AUSTRALIA
Surfer sets endurance record
Former pro surfer Blake Johnston yesterday shredded the world record for the longest surfing session, saying he felt “pretty cooked” after catching waves for more than 30 exhausting hours. The 40-year-old broke down in tears after beating South African Josh Enslin’s previous record of 30 hours 11 minutes. In front of hundreds of cheering supporters at Sydney’s Cronulla Beach, Johnston braved swarms of jellyfish and pitch-black seas that are home to many species of shark. Johnston briefly thanked the crowd lining the beach during one of the short food and water breaks he was allowed to take, before paddling back out to try to push the record to 40 hours. “I’ve still got a job to do. I said 40 so I’ll go and give it a crack,” he told reporters. “I’m pretty cooked, yeah, but we’ll push through.”
THE ‘MONSTER’: The Philippines on Saturday sent a vessel to confront a 12,000-tonne Chinese ship that had entered its exclusive economic zone The Philippines yesterday said it deployed a coast guard ship to challenge Chinese patrol boats attempting to “alter the existing status quo” of the disputed South China Sea. Philippine Coast Guard spokesman Commodore Jay Tarriela said Chinese patrol ships had this year come as close as 60 nautical miles (111km) west of the main Philippine island of Luzon. “Their goal is to normalize such deployments, and if these actions go unnoticed and unchallenged, it will enable them to alter the existing status quo,” he said in a statement. He later told reporters that Manila had deployed a coast guard ship to the area
HOLLYWOOD IN TURMOIL: Mandy Moore, Paris Hilton and Cary Elwes lost properties to the flames, while awards events planned for this week have been delayed Fires burning in and around Los Angeles have claimed the homes of numerous celebrities, including Billy Crystal, Mandy Moore and Paris Hilton, and led to sweeping disruptions of entertainment events, while at least five people have died. Three awards ceremonies planned for this weekend have been postponed. Next week’s Oscar nominations have been delayed, while tens of thousands of city residents had been displaced and were awaiting word on whether their homes survived the flames — some of them the city’s most famous denizens. More than 1,900 structures had been destroyed and the number was expected to increase. More than 130,000 people
A group of Uyghur men who were detained in Thailand more than one decade ago said that the Thai government is preparing to deport them to China, alarming activists and family members who say the men are at risk of abuse and torture if they are sent back. Forty-three Uyghur men held in Bangkok made a public appeal to halt what they called an imminent threat of deportation. “We could be imprisoned and we might even lose our lives,” the letter said. “We urgently appeal to all international organizations and countries concerned with human rights to intervene immediately to save us from
Some things might go without saying, but just in case... Belgium’s food agency issued a public health warning as the festive season wrapped up on Tuesday: Do not eat your Christmas tree. The unusual message came after the city of Ghent, an environmentalist stronghold in the country’s East Flanders region, raised eyebrows by posting tips for recycling the conifers on the dinner table. Pointing with enthusiasm to examples from Scandinavia, the town Web site suggested needles could be stripped, blanched and dried — for use in making flavored butter, for instance. Asked what they thought of the idea, the reply
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