CHINA
Scientist protests eviction
The first scientist to publish a sequence of the COVID-19 virus in the nation was staging a sit-in protest after authorities locked him out of his lab. Virologist Zhang Yongzhen (張永振) wrote in a post on Weibo on Monday that he and his team were suddenly notified they were being evicted from their lab, the latest in a series of setbacks, demotions and ousters since he first published the sequence in early January 2020. The post was later deleted. Zhang wrote that he had been sitting outside his lab since Sunday despite pouring rain. When reached by phone yesterday, Zhang said it was “inconvenient” for him to speak, but a collaborator confirmed to the Associated Press on Monday the protest was taking place.
YEMEN
Houthi attack damages ship
A missile attack by Houthi rebels on Monday damaged a ship in the Red Sea, authorities said, the latest assault in their campaign against shipping in the crucial maritime route. The attack happened off the coast of Mokha, the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) center said. The ship was damaged in the attack, but its crew was safe and heading to its next port of call, it said, urging vessels to exercise caution in the area. The US military’s Central Command identified the ship damaged as the Cyclades, a Malta-flagged, Greece-owned bulk carrier. It added that it had shot down a drone on a flight path toward the USS Philippine Sea and USS Laboon. Houthi military spokesman Brigadier General Yahya Saree in a statement early yesterday claimed the attack on the Cyclades and targeting the US warships. Meanwhile, the Italian Ministry of Defense said its frigate Virgino Fasan shot down a Houthi drone on Monday morning near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
ESTONIA
Russia violating airspace
Accusing Russia of violating international airspace regulations by interfering with GPS signals, Minister of Foreign Affairs Margus Tsahkna said it would take up the matter with its NATO and EU partners. Finnair on Monday announced a temporary suspension of its flights to Tartu for a month due to ongoing GPS disturbances that prevented two aircraft from landing. The Finnish airline said it did not know where the interference originated, but in the past had reported similar problems near Russia’s Kaliningrad exclave and Finland’s eastern border with Russia. “GPS interference in Estonian airspace by RF [Russian Federation]) has affected civil aviation in our region. In doing so Russia violates international regulations,” Tsahkna wrote on X, without providing evidence to support the claim. Neither the Kremlin nor the Russian defense ministry immediately replied to requests for comment.
INDONESIA
Ruang volcano alert raised
Ruang volcano early yesterday spewed explosive incandescent lava into the night sky as lightning flashes lit up its crater, prompting authorities to raise the alert status and warn of a possible tsunami. The Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation warned residents living on Tagulandang Island, the island closest to the volcano, that a tsunami could be triggered by volcanic material collapsing into the ocean. The warning was issued yesterday morning, with center official Hetty Triastuty saying it remained in placed as of the afternoon. The agency raised the alert status of Ruang to the highest level, urging residents not to go near the volcano.
Romania’s electoral commission on Saturday excluded a second far-right hopeful, Diana Sosoaca, from May’s presidential election, amid rising tension in the run-up to the May rerun of the poll. Earlier this month, Romania’s Central Electoral Bureau barred Calin Georgescu, an independent who was polling at about 40 percent ahead of the rerun election. Georgescu, a fierce EU and NATO critic, shot to prominence in November last year when he unexpectedly topped a first round of presidential voting. However, Romania’s constitutional court annulled the election after claims of Russian interference and a “massive” social media promotion in his favor. On Saturday, an electoral commission statement
Chinese authorities increased pressure on CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd over its plan to sell its Panama ports stake by sharing a second newspaper commentary attacking the deal. The Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office on Saturday reposted a commentary originally published in Ta Kung Pao, saying the planned sale of the ports by the Hong Kong company had triggered deep concerns among Chinese people and questioned whether the deal was harming China and aiding evil. “Why were so many important ports transferred to ill-intentioned US forces so easily? What kind of political calculations are hidden in the so-called commercial behavior on the
‘DOWNSIZE’: The Trump administration has initiated sweeping cuts to US government-funded media outlets in a move critics said could undermine the US’ global influence US President Donald Trump’s administration on Saturday began making deep cuts to Voice of America (VOA) and other government-run, pro-democracy programming, with the organization’s director saying all VOA employees have been put on leave. On Friday night, shortly after the US Congress passed its latest funding bill, Trump directed his administration to reduce the functions of several agencies to the minimum required by law. That included the US Agency for Global Media, which houses Voice of America, Radio Free Europe and Asia and Radio Marti, which beams Spanish-language news into Cuba. On Saturday morning, Kari Lake, a former Arizona gubernatorial and US
Indonesia’s parliament yesterday amended a law to allow members of the military to hold more government roles, despite criticisms that it would expand the armed forces’ role in civilian affairs. The revision to the armed forces law, pushed mainly by Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto’s coalition, was aimed at expanding the military’s role beyond defense in a country long influenced by its armed forces. The amendment has sparked fears of a return to the era of former Indonesian president Suharto, who ex-general Prabowo once served and who used military figures to crack down on dissent. “Now it’s the time for us to ask the
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