UNITED STATES
Wendy Sherman to retire
Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman on Friday said she would retire at the end of next month, after three decades in Washington’s foreign policy establishment. Sherman is the first woman to serve in her current role, in which she has headed up Washington’s diplomacy with China and led unsuccessful talks with Russia to avert Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Secretary of State Antony Blinken credited Sherman with breaking barriers for women and working on “some of the toughest foreign policy challenges of our time.” Blinken said in a statement that the US “is safer and more secure, and our partnerships more robust, due to her leadership.”
EUROPEAN UNION
New China stance sought
The bloc’s foreign ministers on Friday agreed on the need to “recalibrate” their position on China, reducing dependencies and coaxing Beijing to take a tougher stance on Russia’s war in Ukraine. Brussels has urged the bloc’s 27 nations to get on the same page on how they deal with China, as a more assertive Beijing asserts its influence on the world stage. At a meeting hosted by Sweden, High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell unveiled a paper outlining the need to “define” and “recalibrate our position towards China.” Borrell said the bloc was sticking to its existing vision of China as simultaneously a partner, competitor and rival. He said it remained important to “engage” with Beijing at the same time as looking to cut the bloc’s reliance in the face of fundamentally different values and economic systems.
PAKISTAN
Former PM returns home
Former prime minister Imran Khan arrived at his Lahore residence yesterday, after being freed on bail following days of legal drama and nationwide riots over his arrest on corruption charges. Khan was arrested during a routine court appearance on Tuesday, triggering violent clashes in several cities. His detention came just hours after he was rebuked by the military, whom he accused of being involved in an assassination attempt against him last year. His arrest was on Thursday declared unlawful by the Supreme Court, which kept Khan in custody until Friday — when he was granted two weeks’ bail in the corruption case. The Islamabad High Court ordered Khan could not be arrested before Monday in any case. “The head of the country’s largest party was abducted, kidnapped from the high court, and in front of the entire nation,” Khan said. “They treated me like a terrorist.”
AUSTRALIA
Man feared killed by shark
Rescuers were scouring the waters off a remote beach in South Australia yesterday for traces of a surfer believed to have been killed in a shark attack. Emergency services were called to the beach near the town of Elliston, about 650km south of the state capital, Adelaide, following reports of the attack. “A man is believed to have died following a shark attack at Walkers Rocks Beach,” police said in a statement, adding that the 46-year-old was the only person thought to have been attacked. A team was searching the area by boat, a state emergency services spokesperson said. The attack followed the death in February of a girl mauled by a shark in a river in Western Australia.
OPTIMISTIC: A Philippine Air Force spokeswoman said the military believed the crew were safe and were hopeful that they and the jet would be recovered A Philippine Air Force FA-50 jet and its two-person crew are missing after flying in support of ground forces fighting communist rebels in the southern Mindanao region, a military official said yesterday. Philippine Air Force spokeswoman Colonel Consuelo Castillo said the jet was flying “over land” on the way to its target area when it went missing during a “tactical night operation in support of our ground troops.” While she declined to provide mission specifics, Philippine Army spokesman Colonel Louie Dema-ala confirmed that the missing FA-50 was part of a squadron sent “to provide air support” to troops fighting communist rebels in
PROBE: Last week, Romanian prosecutors launched a criminal investigation against presidential candidate Calin Georgescu accusing him of supporting fascist groups Tens of thousands of protesters gathered in Romania’s capital on Saturday in the latest anti-government demonstration by far-right groups after a top court canceled a presidential election in the EU country last year. Protesters converged in front of the government building in Bucharest, waving Romania’s tricolor flags and chanting slogans such as “down with the government” and “thieves.” Many expressed support for Calin Georgescu, who emerged as the frontrunner in December’s canceled election, and demanded they be resumed from the second round. George Simion, the leader of the far-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR), which organized the protest,
ECONOMIC DISTORTION? The US commerce secretary’s remarks echoed Elon Musk’s arguments that spending by the government does not create value for the economy US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on Sunday said that government spending could be separated from GDP reports, in response to questions about whether the spending cuts pushed by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency could possibly cause an economic downturn. “You know that governments historically have messed with GDP,” Lutnick said on Fox News Channel’s Sunday Morning Futures. “They count government spending as part of GDP. So I’m going to separate those two and make it transparent.” Doing so could potentially complicate or distort a fundamental measure of the US economy’s health. Government spending is traditionally included in the GDP because
Hundreds of people in rainbow colors gathered on Saturday in South Africa’s tourist magnet Cape Town to honor the world’s first openly gay imam, who was killed last month. Muhsin Hendricks, who ran a mosque for marginalized Muslims, was shot dead last month near the southern city of Gqeberha. “I was heartbroken. I think it’s sad especially how far we’ve come, considering how progressive South Africa has been,” attendee Keisha Jensen said. Led by motorcycle riders, the mostly young crowd walked through the streets of the coastal city, some waving placards emblazoned with Hendricks’s image and reading: “#JUSTICEFORMUHSIN.” No arrest
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