CHINA
New missile type tested
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday said it had carried out a ground-based mid-course missile interception test in an apparent sign of progress in its ability to bring down weapons incoming from space. The test was carried out late Friday night within Chinese territory and achieved “the desired test objective,” it said, adding that the test was “defensive in nature and not targeted against any country.” Such systems, which consist of ground-based interceptor missiles and a huge array of radars and control systems, aim to bring down missiles, including intercontinental ballistic missiles carrying nuclear warheads, while they are flying far from their target.
NEPAL
Everest deaths confirmed
Rescuers have called off the search for three local climbers missing on Mount Everest, officials said yesterday, acknowledging the first fatalities on the world’s highest mountain this climbing season. The trio were crossing the Khumbu Icefall on Wednesday as part of a supply mission when a block of ice fell and swept them into a crevasse. “After several search-and-rescue attempts, the operation has been called off. They are buried too deep and it does not seem possible to retrieve the bodies,” Department of Tourism spokesman Bigyan Koirala said. The Khumbu Icefall is an ever-shifting expanse of glacial ice that requires climbers to navigate crevasses over rickety ladders on the route to Everest’s 8,849m peak.
GERMANY
Last nuclear plants go offline
Authorities were yesterday to switch off the last three nuclear reactors, as the country is exiting atomic power even as it seeks to wean itself off fossil fuels. While many Western countries are upping their investments in atomic energy to reduce their emissions, Europe’s largest economy has been looking to leave behind nuclear power since 2002, but the phase-out was accelerated by former chancellor Angela Merkel in 2011 after the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan.
FRANCE
Pension bill becomes law
President Emmanuel Macron yesterday signed a controversial pension reform into law, defying three months of protests and pleas from unions not to implement it. The bill became law after the text was published overnight in the government’s official journal. This followed Friday’s approval by the Constitutional Council of the essence of the legislation, including raising the retirement age from 62 to 64. Unions said they were calling for mass Labor Day protests on May 1, and sometimes violent demonstrations erupted in several cities overnight. Macron has faced widespread popular opposition to the changes, as well as sliding personal popularity.
NICARAGUA
Chinese official arrives
Chinese International Development Cooperation Agency Director Luo Zhaohui (羅照輝) arrived in Managua on Friday to launch a subsidized housing project, Vice President Rosario Murillo said. Murillo did not give details of what would be built, but China in April last year committed US$60 million to finance subsidized housing. “Comrade Luo Zhaohui ... is visiting us and will be here to inaugurate on Sunday ... the National Program of New Victories Housing, which we are implementing with the support of the [Chinese] government and people,” said Murillo, wife of President Daniel Ortega. Managua and Beijing established diplomatic ties in 2021 after the Ortega administration severed ties with Taiwan.
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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