YEMEN
Council sacks PM
The nation’s internationally recognized presidential council on Monday sacked the prime minister in an unexpected move that comes at a time when a US-led coalition has been striking targets of the government’s rivals, the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels. A decree from the council appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs Ahmed Awad Bin Mubarak the new prime minister. Bin Mubarak, who is close to Saudi Arabia, replaced Maeen Abdulmalik Saeed, who was the prime minister since 2018. The council did not give a reason behind the reshuffle.
UNITED STATES
Haley requests protection
Former UN ambassador Nikki Haley has requested secret service protection after receiving a growing number of threats during her presidential campaign, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday. Haley told the paper while campaigning in South Carolina that she had made the request. “We’ve had multiple issues,” she said. “It’s not going to stop me from doing what I need to do.” Neither Haley’s campaign nor the Secret Service responded to requests for comment. President Joe Biden and former president Donald Trump receive Secret Service protection. The Secret Service is also authorized to provide protection to major party presidential candidates. Haley is the last major challenger to Trump in the Republican primary race.
THAILAND
Thaksin charged with insult
Police have charged former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra with lese majeste over comments he made almost a decade ago, officials said yesterday. The nation has some of the world’s strictest royal defamation laws protecting King Maha Vajiralongkorn and his close family, with each charge bringing a potential 15-year prison sentence. Thaksin, who was ousted in a 2006 coup, returned from self-exile in August last year and was immediately jailed on old graft and abuse-of-power charges. Prayuth Pecharakun, spokesman for the attorney general’s office, told reporters police filed lese majeste charges late last month against Thaksin, over comments he made in Seoul in 2015. Prosecutors will wait for police to complete their investigation before deciding whether to proceed with the case against Thaksin, Prayuth said, adding that Thaksin denies the charge and has written to the attorney general asking for fair treatment.
THAILAND
‘Elephant pants’ under eye
The government yesterday ordered its ports to keep a close watch out for rogue “elephant pants” being imported to the kingdom, as Bangkok trumpeted its copyright claim to the popular print. The thin cotton trousers have long been a staple of European backpackers traveling through Southeast Asia. In recent months, they have become an unexpected hit with young Thais, but a jumbo influx of cheap Chinese-made pants has sparked concern over foreign imports edging out local manufacturers, and caught officials’ attention. “We have ordered the surveillance of elephant pants in all ports,” Deputy Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai told reporters. Phumtham, who is also commerce minister, said the elephant design that stomps across the ubiquitous trousers was copyrighted. “If we allow foreign producers to produce it, it might impact the local Thai products,” he said, warning of the inferior quality of some imports. “Thai products are standardized. Some [imported] products are easily torn after using them a couple of times,” he said.
OPTIMISTIC: A Philippine Air Force spokeswoman said the military believed the crew were safe and were hopeful that they and the jet would be recovered A Philippine Air Force FA-50 jet and its two-person crew are missing after flying in support of ground forces fighting communist rebels in the southern Mindanao region, a military official said yesterday. Philippine Air Force spokeswoman Colonel Consuelo Castillo said the jet was flying “over land” on the way to its target area when it went missing during a “tactical night operation in support of our ground troops.” While she declined to provide mission specifics, Philippine Army spokesman Colonel Louie Dema-ala confirmed that the missing FA-50 was part of a squadron sent “to provide air support” to troops fighting communist rebels in
PROBE: Last week, Romanian prosecutors launched a criminal investigation against presidential candidate Calin Georgescu accusing him of supporting fascist groups Tens of thousands of protesters gathered in Romania’s capital on Saturday in the latest anti-government demonstration by far-right groups after a top court canceled a presidential election in the EU country last year. Protesters converged in front of the government building in Bucharest, waving Romania’s tricolor flags and chanting slogans such as “down with the government” and “thieves.” Many expressed support for Calin Georgescu, who emerged as the frontrunner in December’s canceled election, and demanded they be resumed from the second round. George Simion, the leader of the far-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR), which organized the protest,
ECONOMIC DISTORTION? The US commerce secretary’s remarks echoed Elon Musk’s arguments that spending by the government does not create value for the economy US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on Sunday said that government spending could be separated from GDP reports, in response to questions about whether the spending cuts pushed by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency could possibly cause an economic downturn. “You know that governments historically have messed with GDP,” Lutnick said on Fox News Channel’s Sunday Morning Futures. “They count government spending as part of GDP. So I’m going to separate those two and make it transparent.” Doing so could potentially complicate or distort a fundamental measure of the US economy’s health. Government spending is traditionally included in the GDP because
Hundreds of people in rainbow colors gathered on Saturday in South Africa’s tourist magnet Cape Town to honor the world’s first openly gay imam, who was killed last month. Muhsin Hendricks, who ran a mosque for marginalized Muslims, was shot dead last month near the southern city of Gqeberha. “I was heartbroken. I think it’s sad especially how far we’ve come, considering how progressive South Africa has been,” attendee Keisha Jensen said. Led by motorcycle riders, the mostly young crowd walked through the streets of the coastal city, some waving placards emblazoned with Hendricks’s image and reading: “#JUSTICEFORMUHSIN.” No arrest
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