AUSTRALIA
Kiwi citizenship path eased
The government yesterday announced that it would make it easier for hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders to become citizens, removing a long-festering thorn in ties between the traditionally friendly rivals. Under the new rules starting on July 1, New Zealanders can apply directly for citizenship if they arrived after 2001 and have lived there for at least four years — affecting about 380,000 people, local media said. “We know many New Zealanders are here on a special category visa while raising families, working and building their lives in Australia. So I am proud to offer the benefits that citizenship provides,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in a statement.
THAILAND
Extreme heat notices issued
Authorities yesterday warned residents across large swathes of the country, including the capital, Bangkok, to avoid going outdoors due to extreme heat. In Bangkok, temperatures reached a record high of 54°C in Bang Na District yesterday, the Meteorological Department said. “Sometimes, I take refuge in the 7-Eleven convenience store ... to escape the heat,” said Amporn Supasert, 67, a grilled chicken vendor in Bangkok. Temperatures yesterday were to exceed 40°C in at least 28 provinces, the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation said.
SPAIN
Flambe fire kills two
Two people died and 10 were injured in a fire sparked when a waiter at a Madrid restaurant on Friday flambeed a dish, accidentally setting decorations ablaze, authorities and local media reported yesterday. Madrid’s SAMUR emergency services “treated 12 people in this disaster,” two of whom died, Montse Marcos, a manager at the organization, told journalists. Witnesses told El Pais daily that the waiter at the Italian restaurant poured alcohol over the dish and set it alight. The waiter “had the plate in flames in one hand, and the blowtorch in the other. He passed by a column of plants and in a matter of seconds it burned everything,” said a diner, who gave her name only as Ruth.
COLOMBIA
Mine blast death toll rises
The death toll from an explosion in a coal mine rose to seven Friday with the discovery of four more bodies, Cundinamarca Fire Department head Alvaro Farfan said. The blast ripped through the mine overnight on Wednesday into Thursday in Cucunuba, about 90km north of the capital, Bogota. Authorities said they suspect pockets of gas trapped in the mine detonated. Rescue teams initially found three bodies and four workers were missing. These bodies were finally spotted on Friday.
SWITZERLAND
Prisoners rapidly aging: ICRC
Inmates who have been held for years in the US’ Guantanamo Bay detention facility in Cuba are showing signs of “accelerated aging,” a senior official of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said on Friday. “We’re calling on the US administration and Congress to work together to find adequate and sustainable solutions to address these issues,” said Patrick Hamilton, the ICRC’s head of delegation for the US and Canada. “Action should be taken as a matter of priority.” His comments follow a visit to the facility last month, after a 20-year hiatus. He said he was “struck by how those who are still detained today are experiencing the symptoms of accelerated aging, worsened by the cumulative effects of their experiences and years spent in detention.”
A fire caused by a burst gas pipe yesterday spread to several homes and sent a fireball soaring into the sky outside Malaysia’s largest city, injuring more than 100 people. The towering inferno near a gas station in Putra Heights outside Kuala Lumpur was visible for kilometers and lasted for several hours. It happened during a public holiday as Muslims, who are the majority in Malaysia, celebrate the second day of Eid al-Fitr. National oil company Petronas said the fire started at one of its gas pipelines at 8:10am and the affected pipeline was later isolated. Disaster management officials said shutting the
US Vice President J.D. Vance on Friday accused Denmark of not having done enough to protect Greenland, when he visited the strategically placed and resource-rich Danish territory coveted by US President Donald Trump. Vance made his comment during a trip to the Pituffik Space Base in northwestern Greenland, a visit viewed by Copenhagen and Nuuk as a provocation. “Our message to Denmark is very simple: You have not done a good job by the people of Greenland,” Vance told a news conference. “You have under-invested in the people of Greenland, and you have under-invested in the security architecture of this
Japan unveiled a plan on Thursday to evacuate around 120,000 residents and tourists from its southern islets near Taiwan within six days in the event of an “emergency”. The plan was put together as “the security situation surrounding our nation grows severe” and with an “emergency” in mind, the government’s crisis management office said. Exactly what that emergency might be was left unspecified in the plan but it envisages the evacuation of around 120,000 people in five Japanese islets close to Taiwan. China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has stepped up military pressure in recent years, including
UNREST: The authorities in Turkey arrested 13 Turkish journalists in five days, deported a BBC correspondent and on Thursday arrested a reporter from Sweden Waving flags and chanting slogans, many hundreds of thousands of anti-government demonstrators on Saturday rallied in Istanbul, Turkey, in defence of democracy after the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu which sparked Turkey’s worst street unrest in more than a decade. Under a cloudless blue sky, vast crowds gathered in Maltepe on the Asian side of Turkey’s biggest city on the eve of the Eid al-Fitr celebration which started yesterday, marking the end of Ramadan. Ozgur Ozel, chairman of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), which organized the rally, said there were 2.2 million people in the crowd, but
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