AUSTRALIA
Hundreds flee bushfires
Out-of-control bushfires yesterday forced hundreds of residents and tourists to flee towns in the nation’s rural southeast, amid extreme temperatures. People in four towns in Victoria state’s Gippsland, a region of national parks and wineries popular with tourists, were told to evacuate immediately, while residents of three other towns and surrounding areas were told to prepare to leave. Among those who escaped was Briagolong resident Rob Saunders, who saw the flames reach his house. “I watched the main water tank, the plastic tanks melt away,” he told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. “I looked to the side of my house, it’s a mud brick, raw timber house, one of my verandah posts was on fire … it was time for me to go.” Further north in Sydney, temperatures reached 35.5°C — the warmest October day since 2019.
MALDIVES
Opposition wins election
President-elect Mohamed Muizzu said he wants to unite the Indian Ocean archipelago after divisive polls that saw the pro-Beijing leader vow to rebalance relations with New Delhi. “No matter their political affiliation, they are all Maldivian citizens in front of me,” Muizzu told supporters after his win late on Saturday. “They are entitled to the same rights. They are entitled to equality in everything.” There was no immediate reaction from China to his win, but Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Muizzu yesterday. New Delhi is “committed to strengthening the time-tested India-Maldives bilateral relationship,” Modi wrote on social media platform X. Muizzu, 45, won 54 percent of the vote in the run-off contest, prompting incumbent President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih to concede defeat shortly before midnight on Saturday. Muizzu is to be inaugurated on Nov. 17.
MALI
Rebels claim to kill 81
Tuareg-dominated separatist groups on Saturday said that they had inflicted heavy losses on the military in an attack in the center of the troubled West African country. The rebels initially said they had counted 98 dead soldiers, but later revised the figure to 81. The claim came in statements from the Permanent Strategic Framework, which is dominated by the Coordination of Azawad Movements, an alliance of predominantly Tuareg groups — seeking autonomy or independence from the state. The rebels also said they had wounded dozens of soldiers, taken five prisoner, while losing seven of their own fighters. The claims made by rebels, and all sides involved in the fighting, are difficult to verify because of the remoteness of the affected areas.
TURKEY
Police hurt in bomb attack
A “terrorist attack” yesterday took place near the parliament in Ankara, leaving two police officers injured, the Ministry of the Interior said. Two attackers arrived in a commercial vehicle at about 9:30am “in front of the entrance gate of the General Directorate of Security of our Ministry of the Interior, and carried out a bomb attack,” it said. “One of the terrorists blew himself up and the other was neutralized,” the ministry added on social media, saying that two officers had “minor injuries.” The targeted district is home to several other ministries and the parliament, which was due to reopen today with an address from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, local media reported. Nobody immediately claimed the attack.
A beauty queen who pulled out of the Miss South Africa competition when her nationality was questioned has said she wants to relocate to Nigeria, after coming second in the Miss Universe pageant while representing the West African country. Chidimma Adetshina, whose father is Nigerian, was crowned Miss Universe Africa and Oceania and was runner-up to Denmark’s Victoria Kjar Theilvig in Mexico on Saturday night. The 23-year-old law student withdrew from the Miss South Africa competition in August, saying that she needed to protect herself and her family after the government alleged that her mother had stolen the identity of a South
BELT-TIGHTENING: Chinese investments in Cambodia are projected to drop to US$35 million in 2026 from more than US$420 million in 2021 At a ceremony in August, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet knelt to receive blessings from saffron-robed monks as fireworks and balloons heralded the breaking of ground for a canal he hoped would transform his country’s economic fortunes. Addressing hundreds of people waving the Cambodian flag, Hun Manet said China would contribute 49 percent to the funding of the Funan Techo Canal that would link the Mekong River to the Gulf of Thailand and reduce Cambodia’s shipping reliance on Vietnam. Cambodia’s government estimates the strategic, if contentious, infrastructure project would cost US$1.7 billion, nearly 4 percent of the nation’s annual GDP. However, months later,
Texas’ education board on Friday voted to allow Bible-infused teachings in elementary schools, joining other Republican-led US states that pushed this year to give religion a larger presence in public classrooms. The curriculum adopted by the Texas State Board of Education, which is controlled by elected Republicans, is optional for schools to adopt, but they would receive additional funding if they do so. The materials could appear in classrooms as early as next school year. Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott has voiced support for the lesson plans, which were provided by the state’s education agency that oversees the more than
The Philippine Department of Justice yesterday labeled Vice President Sara Duterte the “mastermind” of a plot to assassinate the nation’s president, giving her five days to respond to a subpoena. Duterte is being asked to explain herself in the wake of a blistering weekend press conference where she said she had instructed that Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr be killed should an alleged plot to kill her succeed. “The government is taking action to protect our duly elected president,” Philippine Undersecretary of Justice Jesse Andres said at yesterday’s press briefing. “The premeditated plot to assassinate the president as declared by the self-confessed mastermind
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