CHINA
Palestinian leader visits
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas yesterday began a visit to China that comes as Beijing is seeking a larger role in Middle East politics and competing for energy resources. In announcing the visit, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Beijing was willing to help broker relations between the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli government that have deteriorated to the lowest level in recent years. The ministry did not say who Abbas would meet in Beijing or give other details of his four-day visit. Increased fighting over the past year between Israel and the Palestinians in the West Bank has resulted in the deadliest period of violence between the sides in years. The visit also comes after China hosted talks between Iran and Saudi Arabia that resulted in the two restoring diplomatic relations. That development was seen as representing a diplomatic victory for China as Gulf Arab states perceive the US slowly withdrawing from the region, but it remains to be seen how far the reconciliation efforts between Iran and Saudi Arabia would progress. The rivalry dates to the 1979 revolution that toppled Iran’s Western-backed monarchy, and the two nations have backed rival armed groups and political factions across the region. State broadcaster China Central Television quoted Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Qin Gang (秦剛) as saying that “China supports the resumption of peace talks between Palestine and Israel as soon as possible on the basis of the ‘two-state solution,’ and is willing to play an active role in this regard.”
SOUTH KOREA
Yoon pans Chinese envoy
President Yoon Suk-yeol yesterday said that he was doubtful whether China’s ambassador had an attitude of mutual respect after the envoy warned Seoul against making “wrong bets” in the Sino-US rivalry, Yonhap News Agency reported. Yoon made the comment during a Cabinet meeting, Yonhap reported, citing multiple people who attended the session. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs last week summoned Chinese Ambassador Xing Haiming (邢海明) after he blamed South Korea for worsening bilateral ties due to US influence and urged the nation to stop “decoupling” from China. “Looking at Ambassador Xing’s attitude, it’s doubtful if he has an attitude of mutual respect or promotion of friendship as a diplomat,” Yoon was quoted by Yonhap as telling the meeting. “Our people are displeased with his inappropriate behavior.” When asked about the situation, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Wang Wenbin (汪文斌) on Friday last week said that the challenges in China-South Korea relations were “not caused by China.”
CAMBODIA
Election law to be amended
Prime Minister Hun Sen has ordered that an election law be amended to penalize anyone who boycotts next month’s poll, which critics have said would be a sham because of the prime minister’s moves to stamp out all opposition. The revision is likely to be approved in the coming days by the rubber-stamp parliament and would bar those who do not cast votes from becoming candidates in future elections, the latest move by the long-serving leader to stifle dissent. The ruling Cambodian People’s Party is to run virtually unopposed next month, after the election commission disqualified the sole opposition Candlelight Party from running, citing improper paperwork. “Those who wish to stand for election must be responsible as good citizens of the nation in a democratic society, starting from the consistent exercise of the right to vote,” Hun Sen, 70, said on social media.
Kehinde Sanni spends his days smoothing out dents and repainting scratched bumpers in a modest autobody shop in Lagos. He has never left Nigeria, yet he speaks glowingly of Burkina Faso military leader Ibrahim Traore. “Nigeria needs someone like Ibrahim Traore of Burkina Faso. He is doing well for his country,” Sanni said. His admiration is shaped by a steady stream of viral videos, memes and social media posts — many misleading or outright false — portraying Traore as a fearless reformer who defied Western powers and reclaimed his country’s dignity. The Burkinabe strongman swept into power following a coup in September 2022
‘FRAGMENTING’: British politics have for a long time been dominated by the Labor Party and the Tories, but polls suggest that Reform now poses a significant challenge Hard-right upstarts Reform UK snatched a parliamentary seat from British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labor Party yesterday in local elections that dealt a blow to the UK’s two establishment parties. Reform, led by anti-immigrant firebrand Nigel Farage, won the by-election in Runcorn and Helsby in northwest England by just six votes, as it picked up gains in other localities, including one mayoralty. The group’s strong showing continues momentum it built up at last year’s general election and appears to confirm a trend that the UK is entering an era of multi-party politics. “For the movement, for the party it’s a very, very big
ENTERTAINMENT: Rio officials have a history of organizing massive concerts on Copacabana Beach, with Madonna’s show drawing about 1.6 million fans last year Lady Gaga on Saturday night gave a free concert in front of 2 million fans who poured onto Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro for the biggest show of her career. “Tonight, we’re making history... Thank you for making history with me,” Lady Gaga told a screaming crowd. The Mother Monster, as she is known, started the show at about 10:10pm local time with her 2011 song Bloody Mary. Cries of joy rose from the tightly packed fans who sang and danced shoulder-to-shoulder on the vast stretch of sand. Concert organizers said 2.1 million people attended the show. Lady Gaga
SUPPORT: The Australian prime minister promised to back Kyiv against Russia’s invasion, saying: ‘That’s my government’s position. It was yesterday. It still is’ Left-leaning Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese yesterday basked in his landslide election win, promising a “disciplined, orderly” government to confront cost-of-living pain and tariff turmoil. People clapped as the 62-year-old and his fiancee, Jodie Haydon, who visited his old inner Sydney haunt, Cafe Italia, surrounded by a crowd of jostling photographers and journalists. Albanese’s Labor Party is on course to win at least 83 seats in the 150-member parliament, partial results showed. Opposition leader Peter Dutton’s conservative Liberal-National coalition had just 38 seats, and other parties 12. Another 17 seats were still in doubt. “We will be a disciplined, orderly
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