TUVALU
PM insists on sovereignty
Tuvalu could be one of the first nations to sink beneath the sea as a result of climate change, but that does not mean its statehood is up for discussion, Prime Minister Kausea Natano said on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York on Thursday. There had been “unnecessary” conversations in academic and diplomatic circles centered on the definition of a country under international law, Natano said. “Our sovereignty is not negotiable,” he said, adding that his country would be working with the international community to “bring a close to these distractions.” If the Pacific nation’s land becomes uninhabitable, a provision of the Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States that says a state must have a permanent population would be undermined.
AUSTRALIA
Swiftposium announced
Melbourne University said it is to host an academic symposium on Taylor Swift, exploring her impact on gender, literature, the economy and the music industry. Academics are to gather at the university for Swiftposium 2024 from Feb. 11 to 13 to delve into a “broad range of academic disciplines” related to the 33-year-old pop icon. The university this week issued a call for academic papers to be submitted ahead of the meeting, which is being organized along with six other universities across Australia and New Zealand. “Swiftposium is a hybrid academic conference for scholars to engage in critical dialogue about Swift’s popularity and its profound implications for a range of issues,” it said.
UNITED STATES
Teens’ stunt goes wrong
A 19-year-old was rescued after a stunt went wrong and left him dangling by a rope from California’s tallest bridge, authorities said. Deputies responding on Monday to the Foresthill Bridge northeast of Sacramento determined that the teen and his 17-year-old friend had been shooting video of him swinging from the steel span, the Placer County Sheriff’s Office said. “The 19-year-old became stuck, hanging approximately 30 feet [9.1m] from the underside of the catwalk when his equipment failed. His friend called [emergency services] after they determined he was stuck and needed assistance,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement. Rising 223m above the North Fork American River, it is the tallest bridge in the state and third-tallest in the US. Cal Fire’s Technical Rescue Team assisted sheriff’s deputies in pulling the teen to safety. He was not injured. Both teens, who were not identified, were cited for trespassing, officials said.
UNITED STATES
Toddler rescued with dogs
A two-year-old girl who walked away from her home in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula alongside two family dogs was found in the woods hours later sleeping on the smaller dog like a furry pillow, state police said. “She laid down and used one of the dogs as a pillow, and the other dog laid right next to her and kept her safe,” Lieutenant Mark Giannunzio said on Thursday. “It’s a really remarkable story.” Troopers used drones and police dogs in the search while local police and people from Michigan and Wisconsin helped look for the girl in the remote wooded area. Troopers from Michigan State Police’s Iron Mountain post had been called to a home in the Faithorn area of Menominee County at about 8pm on Wednesday after the girl wandered away. At about midnight, a person on an ATV found the girl about 4.8km from her home, state police said.
The military is to begin conscripting civilians next year, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said yesterday, citing rising tensions with Thailand as the reason for activating a long-dormant mandatory enlistment law. The Cambodian parliament in 2006 approved a law that would require all Cambodians aged 18 to 30 to serve in the military for 18 months, although it has never been enforced. Relations with Thailand have been tense since May, when a long-standing territorial dispute boiled over into cross-border clashes, killing one Cambodian soldier. “This episode of confrontation is a lesson for us and is an opportunity for us to review, assess and
The Russian minister of foreign affairs warned the US, South Korea and Japan against forming a security partnership targeting North Korea as he visited the ally country for talks on further solidifying their booming military and other cooperation. Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov spoke on Saturday in Wonsan City, North Korea, where he met North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un and conveyed greetings from Russian President Vladimir Putin. Kim during the meeting reaffirmed his government’s commitment to “unconditionally support and encourage all measures” taken by Russia in its conflict with Ukraine. Pyongyang and Moscow share identical views on “all strategic issues in
‘FALSE NARRATIVE’: China and the Solomon Islands inked a secretive security pact in 2022, which is believed to be a prelude to building a Chinese base, which Beijing denied The Australian government yesterday said it expects China to spy on major military drills it is conducting with the US and other allies. It also renewed a charge — denounced by Beijing as a “false narrative” — that China wants to establish a military base in the South Pacific. The comments by a government minister came as Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese made a six-day visit to China to bolster recently repaired trade ties. More than 30,000 military personnel from 19 nations are set to join in the annual Talisman Sabre exercises from yesterday across Australia and Papua New Guinea. “The Chinese military have
The US Department of Education on Tuesday said it opened a foreign funding investigation into the University of Michigan (UM) while alleging it found “inaccurate and incomplete disclosures” in a review of the university’s foreign reports, after two Chinese scientists linked to the school were separately charged with smuggling biological materials into the US. As part of the investigation, the department asked the university to share, within 30 days, tax records related to foreign funding, a list of foreign gifts, grants and contracts with any foreign source, and other documents, the department said in a statement and in a letter to
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