SAMOA
UN warns on climate
Some Pacific territories face “annihilation” from climate-induced cyclones, ocean heat waves and rising sea levels, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in Apia yesterday. The fate of Pacific islands depends on limiting global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, he said. “High and rising sea levels pose an enormous threat to Samoa, to the Pacific and to other small island developing states, and these challenges demand resolute international action,” Guterres said.
AUSTRALIA
Passenger walks on wing
A passenger was arrested at an airport yesterday after he left a stationary airliner through an emergency exit, walked along a wing and then climbed down a jet engine to the tarmac, officials said. Jetstar Flight JQ507 had arrived at Melbourne Airport from Sydney and had parked at a terminal gate when the man left the plane by the right-side exit, officials said. Opening the exit automatically deployed a slide from the back of the wing at the fuselage to the ground, a Jetstar statement said. However, the man instead walked along the wing and climbed down one of the Airbus A320’s two engines, an official said.
RUSSIA
Putin meet’s China’s Li
President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday met with Chinese Premier Li Qiang (李強) in Moscow. “Our trade relations are developing, developing successfully... The attention that the governments of the two countries on both sides are paying to trade and economic ties is yielding results,” Putin said at the meeting in the Kremlin. Moscow and Beijing have developed “large-scale plans” for economic and other projects, he said.
BOTSWANA
Large diamond found
One of the world’s largest diamonds ever unearthed — a rough 2,492-carat stone — has been found by a Canadian mining company. The diamond was found in the Karowe Diamond Mine, about 430km from the capital, Gaborone, Lucara Diamond Corp said in a statement yesterday. It did not give a value for the find or mention its quality. In terms of carats, the stone appears to be not far behind the largest gem-quality diamond ever mined, the 3,016.75-carat Cullinan Diamond discovered in South Africa in 1905. The find was “one of the largest rough diamonds ever unearthed” and detected using the company’s Mega Diamond Recovery X-ray technology, the firm said.
UNITED STATES
Lionsgate recalls trailer
Lionsgate on Wednesday recalled its new trailer for Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis as critics’ quotes in it were fabricated. “Lionsgate is immediately recalling our trailer for Megalopolis,” a Lionsgate spokesperson said in a statement. “We offer our sincere apologies to the critics involved and to Francis Ford Coppola and American Zoetrope for this inexcusable error in our vetting process. We screwed up. We are sorry.” The trailer, released earlier on Wednesday, included quotes from critics such as Pauline Kael and Roger Ebert of other Coppola films that did not actually appear in their reviews. The intent was apparently to highlight the critical divisiveness of now-classics such as The Godfather and Apocalypse Now, leaning into some of the more negative reactions to Megalopolis, a self-financed US$120 million epic that is to open next month.
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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