RUSSIA
No new nuclear pact: report
Moscow will not sign a new treaty with the US to replace the agreement limiting each side’s strategic nuclear weapons that expires on Feb. 5, 2026, the Izvestia newspaper reported yesterday, citing an unidentified senior Russian source. The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, or New START, is the last remnant of efforts to slow the nuclear arms race between the former Cold War superpowers and increase transparency by imposing verifiable limits on the number of weapons. President Vladimir Putin last year suspended Russian participation in the treaty due to US support for Ukraine, although Moscow has kept to the warhead, missile and bomber limits imposed by the agreement, as has the US. The source said that the US was supporting Kyiv and so there could be no new treaty.
INDIA
Climate activist detained
An environmental activist was detained by police outside New Delhi at the end of a month-long climate protest march on foot from the Himalayas, his colleague said yesterday. Sonam Wangchuk, 58, and about 100 of his supporters were taken into custody on Monday night when they were intercepted by police on a major highway leading into the city. The group had walked nearly 1,000km to demand more attention to climate change issues in their mountainous home region of Ladakh, on India’s frontier with China, and more political autonomy for the territory. They had planned to hold a peaceful rally today coinciding with the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi until they were prevented from entering the capital. “We have been detained at the police station and we are not being allowed to meet our lawyers,” group spokesman P. Namgial said. Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi condemned the detentions as an “unacceptable” breach of the protesters’ rights.
YEMEN
25 feared dead in bus fire
A bus carrying young students with their teachers yesterday caught fire in suburban Bangkok, with 25 of those on board feared dead, officials and rescuers said. The bus was carrying 44 passengers from Uthai Thani province to Ayutthaya for a school trip when the fire started at about noon in Pathum Thani province, Minister of Transport Suriya Jungrungruengkit told reporters at the scene. Minister of the Interior Anutin Charnvirakul said officials could not yet confirm the number of fatalities, as they have not finished investigating the scene, but based on the number of survivors, he said 25 people were feared dead. He added that the bus was still too hot for them to get inside safely. Bodies were still inside the bus hours after the fire.
SOUTH KOREA
Ms Universe aspirant fails
An 81-year-old model fell short in her bid to become the oldest Miss Universe contestant after competing in the South Korean pageant against much younger rivals. Dressed in a beaded white gown, the silver-haired Choi Soon-hwa on Monday strutted across the stage and performed in a singing contest at the Miss Universe Korea pageant at a hotel in Seoul. She missed out on the crown, but did take home the “best dresser” award. Han Ariel, a 22-year-old fashion school student, won the contest and is to head to Mexico City for the Miss Universe pageant in November. Hours before the pageant, Choi, a former hospital care worker who began her modeling career in her 70s, said: “I want people to look at me and realize that you can live healthier and find joy in life when you find things you want to do and challenge yourself to achieve that dream.”
Heavy rain and strong winds yesterday disrupted flights, trains and ferries, forcing the closure of roads across large parts of New Zealand’s North Island, while snapping power links to tens of thousands. Domestic media reported a few flights had resumed operating by afternoon from the airport in Wellington, the capital, although cancelations were still widespread after airport authorities said most morning flights were disrupted. Air New Zealand said it hoped to resume services when conditions ease later yesterday, after it paused operations at Wellington, Napier and Palmerston North airports. Online images showed flooded semi-rural neighborhoods, inundated homes, trees fallen on vehicles and collapsed
FRAYED: Strains between the US-European ties have ruptured allies’ trust in Washington, but with time, that could be rebuilt, the Michigan governor said China is providing crucial support for Russia’s aggression in Ukraine and could end the war with a phone call, US Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker said. “China could call [Russian President] Vladimir Putin and end this war tomorrow and cut off his dual-purpose technologies that they’re selling,” Whitaker said during a Friday panel at the Munich Security Conference. “China could stop buying Russian oil and gas.” “You know, this war is being completely enabled by China,” the US envoy added. Beijing and Moscow have forged an even tighter partnership since the start of the war, and Russia relies on China for critical parts
Two sitting Philippine senators have been identified as “coperpetrators” in former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte’s crimes against humanity trial at the International Criminal Court (ICC), documents released by prosecutors showed. Philippine senators Ronald Dela Rosa and Christopher Go are among eight current and former officials named in a document dated Feb. 13 and posted to the court’s Web site. ICC prosecutors have charged Duterte with three counts of crimes against humanity, alleging his involvement in at least 76 murders as part of his “war on drugs.” “Duterte and his coperpetrators shared a common plan or agreement to ‘neutralize’ alleged criminals in the Philippines
In a softly lit Shanghai bar, graduate student Helen Zhao stretched out both wrists to have her pulse taken — the first step to ordering the house special, a bespoke “health” cocktail based on traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). “TCM bars” have popped up in several cities across China, epitomizing what the country’s stressed-out, time-poor youth refer to as “punk wellness,” or “wrecking yourself while saving yourself.” At Shanghai’s Niang Qing, a TCM doctor in a white coat diagnoses customers’ physical conditions based on the pulse readings, before a mixologist crafts custom drinks incorporating the herbs and roots prescribed for their ailments.
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