UNITED STATES
Wendy Sherman to retire
Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman on Friday said she would retire at the end of next month, after three decades in Washington’s foreign policy establishment. Sherman is the first woman to serve in her current role, in which she has headed up Washington’s diplomacy with China and led unsuccessful talks with Russia to avert Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Secretary of State Antony Blinken credited Sherman with breaking barriers for women and working on “some of the toughest foreign policy challenges of our time.” Blinken said in a statement that the US “is safer and more secure, and our partnerships more robust, due to her leadership.”
EUROPEAN UNION
New China stance sought
The bloc’s foreign ministers on Friday agreed on the need to “recalibrate” their position on China, reducing dependencies and coaxing Beijing to take a tougher stance on Russia’s war in Ukraine. Brussels has urged the bloc’s 27 nations to get on the same page on how they deal with China, as a more assertive Beijing asserts its influence on the world stage. At a meeting hosted by Sweden, High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell unveiled a paper outlining the need to “define” and “recalibrate our position towards China.” Borrell said the bloc was sticking to its existing vision of China as simultaneously a partner, competitor and rival. He said it remained important to “engage” with Beijing at the same time as looking to cut the bloc’s reliance in the face of fundamentally different values and economic systems.
PAKISTAN
Former PM returns home
Former prime minister Imran Khan arrived at his Lahore residence yesterday, after being freed on bail following days of legal drama and nationwide riots over his arrest on corruption charges. Khan was arrested during a routine court appearance on Tuesday, triggering violent clashes in several cities. His detention came just hours after he was rebuked by the military, whom he accused of being involved in an assassination attempt against him last year. His arrest was on Thursday declared unlawful by the Supreme Court, which kept Khan in custody until Friday — when he was granted two weeks’ bail in the corruption case. The Islamabad High Court ordered Khan could not be arrested before Monday in any case. “The head of the country’s largest party was abducted, kidnapped from the high court, and in front of the entire nation,” Khan said. “They treated me like a terrorist.”
AUSTRALIA
Man feared killed by shark
Rescuers were scouring the waters off a remote beach in South Australia yesterday for traces of a surfer believed to have been killed in a shark attack. Emergency services were called to the beach near the town of Elliston, about 650km south of the state capital, Adelaide, following reports of the attack. “A man is believed to have died following a shark attack at Walkers Rocks Beach,” police said in a statement, adding that the 46-year-old was the only person thought to have been attacked. A team was searching the area by boat, a state emergency services spokesperson said. The attack followed the death in February of a girl mauled by a shark in a river in Western Australia.
Seven people sustained mostly minor injuries in an airplane fire in South Korea, authorities said yesterday, with local media suggesting the blaze might have been caused by a portable battery stored in the overhead bin. The Air Busan plane, an Airbus A321, was set to fly to Hong Kong from Gimhae International Airport in southeastern Busan, but caught fire in the rear section on Tuesday night, the South Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said. A total of 169 passengers and seven flight attendants and staff were evacuated down inflatable slides, it said. Authorities initially reported three injuries, but revised the number
‘BALD-FACED LIE’: The woman is accused of administering non-prescribed drugs to the one-year-old and filmed the toddler’s distress to solicit donations online A social media influencer accused of filming the torture of her baby to gain money allegedly manufactured symptoms causing the toddler to have brain surgery, a magistrate has heard. The 34-year-old Queensland woman is charged with torturing an infant and posting videos of the little girl online to build a social media following and solicit donations. A decision on her bail application in a Brisbane court was yesterday postponed after the magistrate opted to take more time before making a decision in an effort “not to be overwhelmed” by the nature of allegations “so offensive to right-thinking people.” The Sunshine Coast woman —
BORDER SERVICES: With the US-funded International Rescue Committee telling clinics to shut by tomorrow, Burmese refugees face sudden discharge from Thai hospitals Healthcare centers serving tens of thousands of refugees on the Thai-Myanmar border have been ordered shut after US President Donald Trump froze most foreign aid last week, forcing Thai officials to transport the sickest patients to other facilities. The International Rescue Committee (IRC), which funds the clinics with US support, told the facilities to shut by tomorrow, a local official and two camp committee members said. The IRC did not respond to a request for comment. Trump last week paused development assistance from the US Agency for International Development for 90 days to assess compatibility with his “America First” policy. The freeze has thrown
TESTING BAN: Satellite photos show a facility in the Chinese city of Mianyang that could aid nuclear weapons design and power generation, a US researcher said China appears to be building a large laser-ignited fusion research center in the southwestern city of Mianyang, experts at two analytical organizations said, a development that could aid nuclear weapons design and work exploring power generation. Satellite photos show four outlying “arms” that would house laser bays, and a central experiment bay that would hold a target chamber containing hydrogen isotopes the powerful lasers would fuse together, producing energy, said Decker Eveleth, a researcher at US-based independent research organization CNA Corp. It is a similar layout to the US$3.5 billion US National Ignition Facility (NIF) in northern California, which in 2022 generated
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