UZBEKISTAN
Voters back term change
Voters in Uzbekistan have overwhelmingly backed constitutional changes in the Central Asian country that could allow President Shavkat Mirziyoyev to remain in power until 2040, preliminary results released yesterday showed. The elections commission said that about 90 percent of voters backed the reforms, with a turnout of about 85 percent in the former Soviet country where rights groups say the government’s authoritarian tendencies limit space for dissent. Mirziyoyev, 65, became president in 2016. He says the overhaul of the constitution would improve governance and quality of life in the country of 35 million people. The proposed changes would extend presidential terms from five to seven years, allowing him to serve two more terms.
JAPAN
Jack Ma to be a professor
Jack Ma, a cofounder of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group, is to be a visiting professor at Tokyo College, a research institute run by the prestigious University of Tokyo, the university said yesterday. Ma is to research sustainable agriculture and food production, it said in a statement. Ma, who also heads his own Jack Ma Foundation, a philanthropic organization, will “share his rich experience and pioneering knowledge on entrepreneurship, corporate management and innovation,” with students and faculty, it said. Chinese regulators singled out Alibaba for scrutiny in a recent crackdown on technology and Internet companies. That came after Ma had criticized China’s regulators and financial systems in a speech in Shanghai. Ma’s appointment began yesterday and runs through the end of October, the university said.
PHILIPPINES
China to talk fishing rights
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said China has agreed to discuss fishing rights in the South China Sea, as he pushed for a “direct communication line” with Beijing on maritime differences. China has agreed to “sit down” and talk about Filipinos’ fishing rights in the South China Sea, Marcos said, adding that he has asked the coast guard and Department of Foreign Affairs “to put together ... a map of these fishing grounds” that would be presented to Beijing. Speaking to reporters on board a plane to Washington, Marcos also said a Philippines-China “direct communication line” must be finally adopted, when asked about his thoughts on a recent maritime confrontation between the two countries. “The overall priority is to safeguard our maritime territory,” he said, in remarks issued by his office.
FIJI
Ex-attorney general charged
Former attorney general Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum has been charged with abuse of office, police said yesterday, in a fresh blow to former prime minister Frank Bainimarama who is due in court next week to face similar allegations. Sayed-Khaiyum faces a single charge relating to a report lodged by the acting supervisor of elections in February, police said in a statement. The former attorney general was to remain in custody overnight before appearing at the Suva Magistrate’s Court today. Sakeo Raikaci, chief of investigations and prosecutions, called for patience in the high-profile case of Sayed-Khaiyum, a key ally of Bainimarama who was voted out of office last year. “The complex nature of the reports determines the course of the investigations which have no pre-determined timeline,” Raikaci said in a statement. Bainimarama, 69, is due in court on Thursday next week, having pleaded not guilty to a charge of abuse of office.
ISRAEL
Teen dies in West Bank raid
Israeli forces fatally shot a Palestinian teenager in a raid yesterday in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry said. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military, which has been staging near-nightly raids in West Bank cities, towns and villages in what it says is an attempt to stamp out militancy. Dozens of Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire this year and 19 people have been killed in Palestinian attacks against Israelis during that time. The Palestinian ministry identified the teen as Jibril al-Laada, 17. It said three others were seriously wounded in the fighting, which took place in the Aqabat Jabr refugee camp near Jericho. The camp has been a frequent target of Israeli raids.
BRAZIL
Lula vows new wage policy
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Sunday pledged to introduce a new policy of real increases in the minimum wage and announced plans to raise the income tax exemption for low-income earners. The remarks, made during a radio and TV broadcast ahead of Workers’ Day, reinforce Lula’s strategy of boosting workers’ disposable income to help spur economic growth. Lula said the government would present a bill to congress to make the annual minimum wage adjustment above inflation a permanent rule. He also said that the income tax exemption would increase gradually through the end of his term in 2026 for workers earning up to 5,000 reais (US$1,002) a month. Currently, workers who earn up to 1,903.98 reais per month do not pay income tax, which has not been updated since 2015. At present, workers earning above 4,664.68 reais per month are already subject to the highest income tax rate.
THAILAND
Paetongtarn gives birth
An opposition frontrunner in the upcoming general elections has given birth two weeks before the polling day, her party confirmed yesterday. The kingdom is entering the final stretch before the May 14 election with reformist groups, including Pheu Thai and Move Forward, surging ahead of establishment parties. Paetongtarn Shinawatra, daughter of billionaire former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, is one of Pheu Thai’s prime ministerial candidates and has been polling strongly. A near-constant presence on the campaign trail, for the past week she has rallied virtually, appearing by video link at an event on Saturday in Si Sa Ket province. “She gave birth this morning,” Pheu Thai acting spokeswoman Rinthipond Varinvatchararoj said. It is unclear how long Paetongtarn will rest, she said, but Rinthipond was confident that she would be present at the party’s final rally in Bangkok on May 12.
AUSTRALIA
‘MasterChef’ host dies
MasterChef Australia host Jock Zonfrillo has died at the age of 46, his family said in a message yesterday. Zonfrillo, a Scottish-Australian father of four who was a judge on the popular TV cooking competition, was found dead by police in Melbourne in the early hours yesterday. “With completely shattered hearts and without knowing how we can possibly move through life without him, we are devastated to share that Jock passed away,” his family said in a statement on social media. “For those who crossed his path, became his mate, or were lucky enough to be his family, keep this proud Scot in your hearts when you have your next whisky.” No cause of death was given, but Victoria state police said the death was not being treated as suspicious. Police said they were preparing a report for the coroner.
‘GREAT OPPRTUNITY’: The Paraguayan president made the remarks following Donald Trump’s tapping of several figures with deep Latin America expertise for his Cabinet Paraguay President Santiago Pena called US president-elect Donald Trump’s incoming foreign policy team a “dream come true” as his nation stands to become more relevant in the next US administration. “It’s a great opportunity for us to advance very, very fast in the bilateral agenda on trade, security, rule of law and make Paraguay a much closer ally” to the US, Pena said in an interview in Washington ahead of Trump’s inauguration today. “One of the biggest challenges for Paraguay was that image of an island surrounded by land, a country that was isolated and not many people know about it,”
DIALOGUE: US president-elect Donald Trump on his Truth Social platform confirmed that he had spoken with Xi, saying ‘the call was a very good one’ for the US and China US president-elect Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) discussed Taiwan, trade, fentanyl and TikTok in a phone call on Friday, just days before Trump heads back to the White House with vows to impose tariffs and other measures on the US’ biggest rival. Despite that, Xi congratulated Trump on his second term and pushed for improved ties, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The call came the same day that the US Supreme Court backed a law banning TikTok unless it is sold by its China-based parent company. “We both attach great importance to interaction, hope for
‘FIGHT TO THE END’: Attacking a court is ‘unprecedented’ in South Korea and those involved would likely face jail time, a South Korean political pundit said Supporters of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol yesterday stormed a Seoul court after a judge extended the impeached leader’s detention over his ill-fated attempt to impose martial law. Tens of thousands of people had gathered outside the Seoul Western District Court on Saturday in a show of support for Yoon, who became South Korea’s first sitting head of state to be arrested in a dawn raid last week. After the court extended his detention on Saturday, the president’s supporters smashed windows and doors as they rushed inside the building. Hundreds of police officers charged into the court, arresting dozens and denouncing an
RELEASE: The move follows Washington’s removal of Havana from its list of terrorism sponsors. Most of the inmates were arrested for taking part in anti-government protests Cuba has freed 127 prisoners, including opposition leader Jose Daniel Ferrer, in a landmark deal with departing US President Joe Biden that has led to emotional reunions across the communist island. Ferrer, 54, is the most high-profile of the prisoners that Cuba began freeing on Wednesday after Biden agreed to remove the country from Washington’s list of terrorism sponsors — part of an eleventh-hour bid to cement his legacy before handing power on Monday to US president-elect Donald Trump. “Thank God we have him home,” Nelva Ortega said of her husband, Ferrer, who has been in and out of prison for the
RSS