CAMBODIA
Loss of citizenship passed
Lawmakers yesterday passed a law that would allow people convicted of treason to be stripped of their citizenship, a new measure that comes amid a sustained crackdown on opponents of the long-ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP). The law, approved by 120 of the 125 members of the CPP-dominated National Assembly, would allow the state to revoke the citizenship of anyone convicted of conspiring with foreign countries or plotting against national interests. Many prominent political figures have fled the country to avoid arrest amid intensified efforts to stifle the CPP’s opposition in the wake of the Supreme Court’s 2017 banning of the Cambodian National Rescue Party ahead of an election the following year. The nation has since held mass trials involving more than 100 opposition figures, with many jailed in absentia on treason and incitement charges.
FRANCE
Chikungunya vaccine halted
US health authorities have suspended the license for the Ixchiq vaccine against the chikungunya virus following reports of “serious adverse events,” the drug’s French maker said yesterday. Ixchiq is one of just two vaccines approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the mosquito-spread virus. French company Valneva obtained US approval for the vaccine in 2023, but reports of side effects have prompted reviews, in particular over its use in older patients, including by the European Medicines Agency this year. “The suspension of the license is effective immediately,” Valneva said of the FDA order issued on Friday, citing four additional cases of serious side effects, three of which involved people aged 70 to 82.
FINLAND
Cable suspects on trial
The Georgian captain and two Indian officers of a Cook Islands-registered oil tanker accused of severing five undersea power and telecom cables when their vessel left Russia and sailed through the Gulf of Finland late last year were to stand trial yesterday. Investigators have concluded that the Eagle S dragged its anchor along the seabed, severing the Estlink 2 power cable connecting Finland and Estonia, and four Internet lines, leading Finnish security forces to interrupt the vessel’s journey and board it from helicopters after ordering it to move into Finnish territorial waters. The three defendants have denied all charges, and the captain told Finnish public broadcaster YLE the incident was “a marine accident.” NATO allies around the Baltic Sea went on high alert following the incident, one of a string of suspicious cable and gas pipeline outages in the region since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
VIETNAM
Thousands flee typhoon
Tens of thousands of residents from coastal areas were yesterday evacuated ahead of the arrival of Typhoon Kajiki, which is expected to lash the country’s central belt with gales of about 140kph. As of press time yesterday, the typhoon — the fifth to affect the nation this year — was at sea, roiling the Gulf of Tonkin with waves of up to 9.5m. More than 325,500 residents in five coastal provinces were slated for evacuation to schools and public buildings converted into temporary shelters, authorities said. The waterfront city of Vinh was deluged overnight, its streets largely deserted by morning with most shops and restaurants closed as residents and business owners sandbagged their property entrances. Two domestic airports were shut and all fishing boats in the typhoon’s path had been called back to harbor.
ELECTION DISTRACTION? When attention shifted away from the fight against the militants to politics, losses and setbacks in the battlefield increased, an analyst said Recent clashes in Somalia’s semi-autonomous Jubaland region are alarming experts, exposing cracks in the country’s federal system and creating an opening for militant group al-Shabaab to gain ground. Following years of conflict, Somalia is a loose federation of five semi-autonomous member states — Puntland, Jubaland, Galmudug, Hirshabelle and South West — that maintain often fractious relations with the central government in the capital, Mogadishu. However, ahead of elections next year, Somalia has sought to assert control over its member states, which security analysts said has created gaps for al-Shabaab infiltration. Last week, two Somalian soldiers were killed in clashes between pro-government forces and
Ten cheetah cubs held in captivity since birth and destined for international wildlife trade markets have been rescued in Somaliland, a breakaway region of Somalia. They were all in stable condition despite all of them having been undernourished and limping due to being tied in captivity for months, said Laurie Marker, founder of the Cheetah Conservation Fund, which is caring for the cubs. One eight-month-old cub was unable to walk after been tied up for six months, while a five-month-old was “very malnourished [a bag of bones], with sores all over her body and full of botfly maggots which are under the
BRUSHED OFF: An ambassador to Australia previously said that Beijing does not see a reason to apologize for its naval exercises and military maneuvers in international areas China set off alarm bells in New Zealand when it dispatched powerful warships on unprecedented missions in the South Pacific without explanation, military documents showed. Beijing has spent years expanding its reach in the southern Pacific Ocean, courting island nations with new hospitals, freshly paved roads and generous offers of climate aid. However, these diplomatic efforts have increasingly been accompanied by more overt displays of military power. Three Chinese warships sailed the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand in February, the first time such a task group had been sighted in those waters. “We have never seen vessels with this capability
‘NO INTEGRITY’: The chief judge expressed concern over how the sentence would be perceived given that military detention is believed to be easier than civilian prison A military court yesterday sentenced a New Zealand soldier to two years’ detention for attempting to spy for a foreign power. The soldier, whose name has been suppressed, admitted to attempted espionage, accessing a computer system for a dishonest purpose and knowingly possessing an objectionable publication. He was ordered into military detention at Burnham Military Camp near Christchurch and would be dismissed from the New Zealand Defence Force at the end of his sentence. His admission and its acceptance by the court marked the first spying conviction in New Zealand’s history. The soldier would be paid at half his previous rate until his dismissal
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