FRANCE
Labor action disrupts flights
About 40 percent of flights were canceled Friday at all Paris airports, and tens of thousands of passengers were rearranging plans at the height of the summer travel season because of a strike by French air traffic controllers seeking better working conditions. Disruptions at airports around France began on Thursday and intensified yesterday. One of the two unions leading the strike, UNSA-ICNA, said in a statement that there are not enough employees to handle surging air travel and that inflation is eating away at salaries. The unions are also protesting new reform measures aiming to more tightly monitor their work, prompted by a near-collision at the Bordeaux airport.
AFGHANISTAN
Russia recognizes Taliban
Afghanistan’s government on Thursday said that Russia had become the first country to officially recognize its rule, calling it a “brave decision.” The Taliban swept back to power in 2021 after ousting the foreign-backed government and have imposed an austere version of Islamic law. The announcement was made after Afghan Minister of Foreign Affairs Amir Khan Muttaqi met with Russian Ambassador to Afghanistan Dmitry Zhirnov, in Kabul. “This brave decision will be an example for others ... Now that the process of recognition has started, Russia was ahead of everyone,” Muttaqi said in a video of the meeting on X. Only Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates recognized the Taliban during their first stint in power from 1996 to 2001. This time, multiple other states, including China and Pakistan, have accepted Taliban ambassadors in their capitals, but have not officially recognized the Islamic Emirate.
PAKISTAN
Czech dies on Nanga Parbat
A Czech mountaineer fell to her death on the world’s ninth-highest peak, Pakistan officials said yesterday, becoming the first casualty of the summer climbing season in the country. Klara Kolouchova, 46, the first Czech woman to summit the world’s two highest mountains, died on Thursday after falling on the lower slopes of Nanga Parbat. The 8,125m mountain is one of the world’s most dangerous climbs with a reported one-in-five fatality rate. “Her feet slipped from a slope and she fell into a ravine,” said Nizam-ud-Din, a senior local government official in Diamer district, adding that one of her team members reported the death. “The exact location of her body will first be traced. Once confirmed, appropriate rescue operations will be initiated to retrieve the body by using a helicopter service.” Five of the globe’s 14 mountains higher than 8,000m are in Pakistan, including the world’s second-highest mountain, K2.
United Kingdom
Macron to address commons
French President Emmanuel Macron would address the House of Commons during his UK state visit next week, when he would receive a royal welcome and attend a summit on deepening bilateral ties. Macron is the first French president to make a state visit since then-French president Nicolas Sarkozy in 2008 and would follow in the footsteps of his predecessors Charles de Gaulle and Francois Mitterrand, who formally addressed the British parliament. “The president and Mrs Macron will visit the Palace of Westminster, where the president will address parliamentarians” on Tuesday, the Buckingham Palace office of King Charles III said yesterday. The king invited the French leader and his wife, Brigitte, for the three-day visit, which starts on Tuesday.
Pakistani police yesterday said a father shot dead his daughter after she refused to delete her TikTok account. In the Muslim-majority country, women can be subjected to violence by family members for not following strict rules on how to behave in public, including in online spaces. “The girl’s father had asked her to delete her TikTok account. On refusal, he killed her,” a police spokesperson said. Investigators said the father killed his 16-year-old daughter on Tuesday “for honor,” the police report said. The man was subsequently arrested. The girl’s family initially tried to “portray the murder as a suicide” said police in
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
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