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.
DITCH TACTICS: Kenyan officers were on their way to rescue Haitian police stuck in a ditch suspected to have been deliberately dug by Haitian gang members A Kenyan policeman deployed in Haiti has gone missing after violent gangs attacked a group of officers on a rescue mission, a UN-backed multinational security mission said in a statement yesterday. The Kenyan officers on Tuesday were on their way to rescue Haitian police stuck in a ditch “suspected to have been deliberately dug by gangs,” the statement said, adding that “specialized teams have been deployed” to search for the missing officer. Local media outlets in Haiti reported that the officer had been killed and videos of a lifeless man clothed in Kenyan uniform were shared on social media. Gang violence has left
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
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
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
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