UNITED KINGDOM
Britain rejoins EU program
The kingdom is rejoining the EU’s science-sharing program Horizon Europe, the two sides announced yesterday, more than two years after membership became a casualty of Brexit. British scientists expressed relief at the decision, the latest sign of thawing relations between the EU and its former member. After months of negotiations, the government said the kingdom was becoming a “fully associated member” of the research collaboration body. Starting yesterday, UK-based scientists can bid for Horizon funding and would be able to lead Horizon-backed science projects from next year. The kingdom is also rejoining Copernicus, the EU space program’s Earth observation component. ”
CHINA
90 nations to join BRI meet
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday said that 90 countries have confirmed attendance for its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) conference next month. Several foreign leaders are expected to attend, including Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Argentine President Alberto Fernandez, state media reported. Russian President Vladimir Putin also has a scheduled visit to China next month, when the country hosts the One Belt One Road forum, Russian state news agency TASS quoted Putin’s aide, Yuri Ushakov, as saying recently. Beijing has signed Belt and Road cooperation documents with more than 150 countries and over 30 international organizations, Xinhua news agency cited the ministry as saying.
AUSTRALIA
More Qatar flights rejected
Canberra yesterday cited Qatar’s “invasive” searches of female air passengers three years ago as a factor in its decision to block extra flights by the nation’s airline. Female passengers on a series of Qatar Airways flights from Doha — including one bound for Sydney — were subjected to gynecological examinations in October 2020, as the authorities searched for the mother of a newborn baby found in an airport bathroom. The women had been escorted at gunpoint from their planes for “invasive searches” in ambulances on the tarmac, Minister for Transport Catherine King reminded reporters as she explained her decision to reject the carrier’s request for 21 extra international flights into Australia. King said she decided on July 10 to refuse Qatar Airways’ request for more flights to Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane in the “national interest.”
FIJI
Cult members to be ejected
High-ranking members of South Korea’s “Grace Road Cult” are to be kicked out of the nation, immigration authorities said yesterday. Grace Road Church founder Shin Ok-ju prophesied that South Korea would be doomed by famine and disaster, persuading hundreds of followers in 2014 to start a new life in Fiji. The movement quickly established political and commercial clout in its new home, snapping up swathes of agricultural land and building a sprawling network of successful companies. However, it was also dogged by claims of bizarre and violent rituals, with Shin being imprisoned by South Korean authorities in 2019 on a string of criminal charges. Minister for Home Affairs and Immigration Pio Tikoduadua said Interpol had urged the previous government to arrest senior members of the “Grace Road Cult,” but the request had been ignored for years. Tikoduadua said seven Grace Road members, including Shin’s son Daniel Kim, had been declared “prohibited immigrants” and would be deported to South Korea. Two fugitive members had evaded police and “remain at large,” he added.
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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