NEW ZEALAND
Whale rights proposed
The Maori king yesterday said that whales should be granted the same legal rights as people in a bid to protect them. Kiingi Tuheitia Potatau te Wherowhero VII said that marine mammals should be given inherent human rights, such as having a healthy environment, to allow the restoration of their populations. “The sound of our ancestors’ song has grown weaker and her habitat is under threat, which is why we must act now,” King Tuheitia said in a public statement.
THAILAND
Red Shirt detained
Red Shirt dissident Jakrapob Penkair yesterday returned to the kingdom after 15 years of self-imposed exile and was immediately detained by police, his lawyer said. Penkair was a government spokesman for former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, and then a prominent member of the Red Shirt movement that supported him after he was ousted by a coup in 2006. Facing multiple charges, Jakrapob fled in 2009 to live in self-imposed exile. He landed at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport yesterday morning and was immediately held by police. “He will enter the legal process, and we will see what we can do,” lawyer Chokchai Angkaew told reporters.
TOGO
Opposition calls for protests
Opposition leaders on Wednesday called for protests to stop the president from signing off on a new constitution that would scrap presidential elections. The constitution, which was passed by lawmakers earlier this week and awaits President Faure Gnassingbe’s final approval, grants parliament the power to choose the president, doing away with direct elections.
ECUADOR
Prison inmates riot
Authorities on Wednesday were working to quell a prison revolt in Guayaquil. The “internal revolt” was started by a group of inmates, the SNAI prisons service wrote on X, adding that authorities had regained control of more than 80 percent of the jail. Journalists heard gunshots coming from the prison, which is part of a vast penitentiary complex in southwestern Guayaquil.
COLOMBIA
Argentine envoys expelled
Bogota on Wednesday said that it had ordered the expulsion of Argentine diplomats after Argentine President Javier Milei called President Gustavo Petro a “terrorist” and “murderer.” The Ministry of Foreign Affairs cited Milei’s “denigrating” remarks, which were made in an interview with CNN that had not been aired in full at the time. “The Argentine president’s comments have deteriorated the trust of our nation, in addition to offending the dignity of President Petro, who was democratically elected,” the ministry said in a statement.
UNITED STATES
Joe Lieberman dies
Former senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, who nearly won the vice presidency on the Democratic ticket with Al Gore and who almost became Republican John McCain’s running mate eight years later, has died, a statement issued by his family said. He was 82. Lieberman died in New York City on Wednesday due to complications from a fall, the statement said. Lieberman’s independent streak rankled many Democrats. “In an era of political carbon copies, Joe Lieberman was a singularity. One of one,” Senator Chris Murphy said. “He fought and won for what he believed was right and for the state he adored.”
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
A colossal explosion in the sky, unleashing energy hundreds of times greater than the Hiroshima bomb. A blinding flash nearly as bright as the sun. Shockwaves powerful enough to flatten everything for miles. It might sound apocalyptic, but a newly detected asteroid nearly the size of a football field now has a greater than 1 percent chance of colliding with Earth in about eight years. Such an impact has the potential for city-level devastation, depending on where it strikes. Scientists are not panicking yet, but they are watching closely. “At this point, it’s: ‘Let’s pay a lot of attention, let’s
‘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 —
CHEER ON: Students were greeted by citizens who honked their car horns or offered them food and drinks, while taxi drivers said they would give marchers a lift home Hundreds of students protesting graft they blame for 15 deaths in a building collapse on Friday marched through Serbia to the northern city of Novi Sad, where they plan to block three Danube River bridges this weekend. They received a hero’s welcome from fellow students and thousands of local residents in Novi Said after arriving on foot in their two-day, 80km journey from Belgrade. A small red carpet was placed on one of the bridges across the Danube that the students crossed as they entered the city. The bridge blockade planned for yesterday is to mark three months since a huge concrete construction
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