PHILIPPINES
Rappler allowed to continue
A news site cofounded by 2021 Nobel Peace laureate Maria Ressa can continue operating after the Court of Appeals yesterday overturned a shutdown order. Ressa and Rappler have been fighting multiple court cases filed during former president Rodrigo Duterte’s administration. Ressa was a vocal critic of Duterte and the deadly drug war he launched in 2016. That triggered what media advocates say was a grinding series of criminal charges, probes and online attacks against her and Rappler. The latest ruling, issued on July 23, but only released to the media yesterday, reversed a previous ruling by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that had ordered the shutdown of Rappler. The SEC order had been a “grave abuse of discretion” and contravened “established procedures, jurisprudential and legal instructions, and clear intent of the Constitution,” the court said.
SPAIN
Puigdemont leaves country
Catalan separatist leader Carles Puigdemont was on his way back to Belgium yesterday, having appeared at a rally in central Barcelona, despite an outstanding warrant for his arrest, his party’s general secretary said yesterday. Jordi Turull told RAC1 radio that he did not know whether Puigdemont had already reached his home in Waterloo, where he has lived for seven years in self-imposed exile since leading a failed bid for Catalonia’s secession in 2017. He is wanted on suspicion of embezzlement related to a 2017 independence referendum, ruled illegal by the Spanish courts. Puigdemont says the vote was legal and therefore the charges linked to it have no basis. “He did not come to be arrested in Spain, but to exercise his political rights,” Turull said.
UNITED KINGDOM
New Banksy artwork ‘stolen’
A new Banksy artwork depicting a wolf on a satellite dish in London was removed, possibly stolen, less than an hour after it was unveiled by the elusive street artist on Thursday. The piece was the fourth animal-themed artwork that Banksy had installed in various parts of the capital this week. The street artist confirmed on Instagram that the works were his. The wolf silhouette was located on the roof of an empty shop in Peckham. Photographs from the scene carried by local media show a person climbing up a ladder to retrieve the satellite dish while another holds the ladder for them. Further images show an individual in shorts walking off with the piece of art. “We were called to reports of a stolen satellite dish containing artwork at 1:52 pm on Thursday,” London’s Metropolitan Police force said in a statement. “There have been no arrests. Inquiries continue.”
UNITED STATES
Columbia deans resign
Three Columbia University deans, who engaged in what the school’s administration called troubling text message exchanges that touched on “ancient antisemitic tropes,” have resigned, a university spokesperson said late on Thursday. Cristen Kromm, former dean of undergraduate student life; Matthew Patashnick, former associate dean for student and family support; and Susan Chang-Kim, former vice dean and chief administrative officer, were earlier placed on leave as an investigation proceeded. The message exchanges took place during an event on campus titled “Jewish Life on Campus: Past, Present, and Future” and followed weeks of protests at Columbia and other campuses across the nation over the war in Gaza. The three deans who resigned could not be contacted.
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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