CAMBODIA
Ex-PM returns to spotlight
Officials yesterday voted in a Senate election, setting the stage for former prime minister Hun Sen to officially return to politics after he stepped down last year. Following nearly four decades of rule, Hun Sen handed power to his eldest son, Hun Manet. The 71-year-old lawmaker and chief of the ruling party cast his ballot near his home in Takhmao yesterday morning for a seat in the Senate. He has said that he intends to become president of the Senate, allowing him to act as head of state when the king is overseas.
ARGENTINA
Provinces to withhold oil
The country’s main oil-producing provinces have threatened to cut supplies to the rest of the country over funding reductions ordered by President Javier Milei. “Not a drop of oil will come out on Wednesday if they don’t respect the provinces once and for all and take their foot off our back,” Chubut Governor Ignacio Torres told television channel C5N on Saturday. He and counterparts from five other Patagonian provinces on Friday announced that “if the Economy Ministry does not deliver its [financial] resources to Chubut, then Chubut will not deliver its oil and gas.”
FRANCE
Macron heckled at farm fair
President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday spent the entire day at the annual agricultural fair, as angry farmers heckled him and scuffled with police. Riot police kept the protesters at a safe distance as Macron toured the fair, but as he entered the livestock area in the morning, hundreds of protesters crashed the gates and clashed with police. In the ensuing confusion, the fair was repeatedly closed and then reopened to the public. In a separate incident, farmers poured manure on the stand of dairy giant Lactalis, which they accuse of not paying enough for its milk. Macron finally left at about 9pm — 13 hours after he arrived.
CARIBBEAN
US couple missing
Police are investigating the possible murder of two people believed to be US citizens who owned a catamaran that was hijacked by three fugitives in waters off Grenada. The yacht’s alleged owners, Kathy Brandel and Ralph Hendry, were last seen on Feb. 18, when three men escaped from the custody of Grenadian authorities. Police in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines captured the men on Wednesday. The Royal Grenada Police Force said in a statement on Friday that preliminary information suggests the escaped prisoners had traveled from Grenada to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines on a yacht. Investigators are working on leads “that suggest that the two occupants of the yacht may have been killed in the process,” it said.
UNITED KINGDOM
WWII-era bomb detonated
A World War II-era bomb, the discovery of which prompted one of the largest peacetime evacuations in British history, has been detonated at sea, the Ministry of Defence said on Saturday. The 500kg explosive was discovered on Tuesday in the backyard of a home in Plymouth, England. More than 10,000 residents were evacuated to ensure their safety as a military convoy transported the unexploded bomb through a densely populated residential area to a ferry slipway, from which it was taken out to sea. “I think it is fair to say that the last few days will go down in history for Plymouth,” Plymouth City Council leader Tudor Evans said. The city, home to major naval bases for centuries, was one of the most heavily bombed in the UK during WWII.
VIOLENT STANDOFFS: The government said 215 students have been injured since the start of the movement last month, including a teenager who lost a hand on Monday Thousands of demonstrators yesterday massed under heavy police surveillance in Paris and cities across France, as unions and teachers joined high-school students who for days have been demanding better conditions in protests punctuated by violent clashes. Students have blocked the entrances to hundreds of high schools for 15-to-17-year-olds since late last month, complaining of missing teachers, overloaded schedules, dilapidated classrooms and buildings that cannot cope with rising temperatures. In the Paris suburb of Creteil, where the protests started last month, students piled barriers outside the Saint-Exupery high school. “We are here to make our voice heard, all too often forgotten,” student Abderrahmane Abdelkader
DIFFICULT TIMES: While promoting dialogue, the prime minister said Japan would also firmly assert the country’s position and call for responsible behavior Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi yesterday called China an “important neighbor” and pledged to build a stable relationship between the rival nations in a policy address. Diplomatic relations between the Asian economic giants have been at rock bottom since Takaichi suggested in November that Tokyo might intervene in any attack on Taiwan. “China is an important neighbor, and despite difficulties, we have built up a long-standing relationship over the years,” she said during an extraordinary session of the lower house of parliament. “We will work to ensure communication on shared challenges, promote dialogue to safeguard our national interests, and build a constructive
A Tuvalu government adviser yesterday said it felt like Australia had “taken over” the tiny country’s sovereignty during a visit by leaders to the Pacific island. The official — a senior government adviser who asked to remain anonymous because they were not authorized to speak to the media — said they were disappointed in Australia’s handling of the visit. The comments came during a visit by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and other leaders to Tuvalu, which has become a symbol of the existential threat posed by rising seas and is a key partner in Canberra’s Pacific strategy. “Just because we signed the
As shark attack survivor Mel Ismail fought the predator that severed his leg, he noticed something odd. “I saw its eye ... a big black eye,” Ismail said. “But it was winking back at me — I was trying to get my fingers in its eye and just pushing its eye as I was being dragged.” When the shark swam off, he managed to struggle back to shore, the surfer and professional firefighter said in an Australian Broadcasting Corp interview broadcast on Thursday. He was surfing at Glenfield Beach near Geraldton on Australia’s west coast when he was attacked on Sept. 14. He
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