SINGAPORE
Hoax bomb call reported
The air force mobilized two fighter jets late on Tuesday in response to a bomb threat on an Air India Express flight bound for the city-state, the defense minister said. Two air force F-15SG jets scrambled and escorted Air India flight AXB684 away from populated areas after the airline received an e-mail that there was a bomb on board its plane, Minister of Defense Ng Eng Hen (黃永宏) said in a Facebook post. Ng said the plane was escorted and landed safely at Changi Airport at 10:04pm on Tuesday, adding that ground-based air defence systems and explosive disposal team were also activated. The police said that “no threat items were found” on board the plane after completing security checks, adding that investigations were ongoing. “Air India notes that it, and other local airlines, have been subject to a number of threats in recent days. Though all have subsequently been found to be hoaxes, as a responsible airline operator all threats are taken seriously,” the airline said on social media.
UNITED STATES
Pandas arrive in Washington
A pair of giant pandas arrived in Washington from China on Tuesday to move into their new home at the National Zoo, which has been without the black-and-white bears, one of its most popular attractions, for about a year. China sent the pandas as part of an agreement announced earlier this year by US and Chinese government officials intended to warm relations between the two superpowers. The zoo returned three other giant pandas — two adults and their cub — which had been on loan from China. The new male and female pandas, named Bao Li (寶力) and Qing Bao (青寶), arrived at Dulles International Airport on a FedEx plane, transported in large white crates with breathing holes along the side, and were driven by truck to the zoo. Bao Li and Qing Bao are to stay inside the National Zoo’s panda house for 30 days under quarantine, the zoo said.
AUSTRALIA
‘Mysterious’ objects seen
Hundreds of mysterious black tar-like balls have washed up on two popular Sydney beaches, prompting lifeguards to close the strands to swimmers. “Mysterious, black, ball-shaped debris” began appearing on Coogee Beach on Tuesday afternoon, the local mayor said, leaving flummoxed authorities scrambling to find out what they might be, and where they might have come from. Hundreds of golf-to-cricket-ball-sized spheres could be seen littering the coast, which is usually thronged with Sydneysiders and tourists. “At this stage, it is unknown what the material is,” Randwick Mayor Dylan Parker said in a social media post. “However, they may be ‘tar balls’ which are formed when oil comes in to contact with debris and water, typically the result of oil spills or seepage.”
EGYPT
Museum starts trial run
The Grand Egyptian Museum is to open 12 halls with exhibits about ancient Egypt in its main galleries starting this week in a trial run ahead of the still-unannounced official opening, officials said on Tuesday. The museum, a mega-project near the famed Giza Pyramids which has cost well over US$1 billion so far, was to open the halls for 4,000 visitors per day starting yesterday, Assistant Minister of Tourism and Antiquities al-Tayeb Abbas said. The museum has been under construction for more than a decade, and an overall opening date has not yet been set, having been repeatedly delayed for various reasons.
DIALOGUE: US president-elect Donald Trump on his Truth Social platform confirmed that he had spoken with Xi, saying ‘the call was a very good one’ for the US and China US president-elect Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) discussed Taiwan, trade, fentanyl and TikTok in a phone call on Friday, just days before Trump heads back to the White House with vows to impose tariffs and other measures on the US’ biggest rival. Despite that, Xi congratulated Trump on his second term and pushed for improved ties, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The call came the same day that the US Supreme Court backed a law banning TikTok unless it is sold by its China-based parent company. “We both attach great importance to interaction, hope for
‘GREAT OPPRTUNITY’: The Paraguayan president made the remarks following Donald Trump’s tapping of several figures with deep Latin America expertise for his Cabinet Paraguay President Santiago Pena called US president-elect Donald Trump’s incoming foreign policy team a “dream come true” as his nation stands to become more relevant in the next US administration. “It’s a great opportunity for us to advance very, very fast in the bilateral agenda on trade, security, rule of law and make Paraguay a much closer ally” to the US, Pena said in an interview in Washington ahead of Trump’s inauguration today. “One of the biggest challenges for Paraguay was that image of an island surrounded by land, a country that was isolated and not many people know about it,”
‘FIGHT TO THE END’: Attacking a court is ‘unprecedented’ in South Korea and those involved would likely face jail time, a South Korean political pundit said Supporters of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol yesterday stormed a Seoul court after a judge extended the impeached leader’s detention over his ill-fated attempt to impose martial law. Tens of thousands of people had gathered outside the Seoul Western District Court on Saturday in a show of support for Yoon, who became South Korea’s first sitting head of state to be arrested in a dawn raid last week. After the court extended his detention on Saturday, the president’s supporters smashed windows and doors as they rushed inside the building. Hundreds of police officers charged into the court, arresting dozens and denouncing an
CYBERSCAM: Anne, an interior decorator with mental health problems, spent a year and a half believing she was communicating with Brad Pitt and lost US$855,259 A French woman who revealed on TV how she had lost her life savings to scammers posing as Brad Pitt has faced a wave of online harassment and mockery, leading the interview to be withdrawn on Tuesday. The woman, named as Anne, told the Seven to Eight program on the TF1 channel how she had believed she was in a romantic relationship with the Hollywood star, leading her to divorce her husband and transfer 830,000 euros (US$855,259). The scammers used fake social media and WhatsApp accounts, as well as artificial intelligence image-creating technology to send Anne selfies and other messages
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