VIETNAM
Flash flooding kills five
Flash flooding killed five people, damaged hundreds of homes and destroyed crops, disaster authorities said yesterday, after Tropical Storm Trami dumped heavy rain across the country. Trami made landfall on Sunday after tearing through the Philippines, where it killed more than 100 people. Five people died in Quang Binh Province and five others were injured, the Ministry of Agriculture said in an online report. More than 300 houses and nearly 1,300 hectares of crops were damaged, the ministry added.
PAPUA NEW GUINEA
COP29 boycott announced
Port Moresby yesterday said that it would boycott this month’s UN climate summit, branding the negotiations a “waste of time,” full of empty promises from big polluters. While many have criticized the annual COP summit, it is rare for any government to so totally dismiss the UN’s premier climate talks. “There’s no point going if we are falling asleep because of jet lag because we’re not getting anything done,” Minister of Foreign Affairs Justin Tkatchenko told reporters ahead of this month’s COP29 summit in Azerbaijan. “All the big polluters of the world promise and commit millions to assist in climate relief and support. And I can tell you now it’s all going to consultants. COP is a total waste of time,” Tkatchenko said. “We are sick of the rhetoric as well as the merry-go-round of getting absolutely nothing done over the last three years. We are the third-biggest rainforest nation in the world. We are sucking up the pollutants of these major countries. And they are getting away with it scot-free.”
UNITED STATES
Snow falls in Hawaii
Snow fell on Hawaii’s tallest peak this week. The summit area of Mauna Kea, which is 4,207m above sea level, on Big Island got about 5cm of white powder. Temperatures there can drop below freezing year-round, creating the potential for snow during any month.
UNITED STATES
Police seek ballot arsonist
A man suspected of setting fires in election ballot drop boxes in Oregon and Washington state is an experienced metalworker and might be planning additional attacks, authorities said on Wednesday. Investigators believe the man who set the incendiary devices at ballot boxes in Portland, Oregon, and nearby Vancouver, Washington, had a “wealth of experience” in metal fabrication and welding, Portland Police Bureau spokesman Mike Benner said. The way the devices were constructed and the way they were attached to the metal drop boxes showed that expertise, Benner said. Authorities described the suspect as a white man, aged 30 to 40, who was driving a black or dark-colored Volvo S-60. The incendiary devices were marked with the message “Free Gaza,” a law enforcement official said on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss an ongoing investigation.
MEXICO
Top judges to resign
Eight of the 11 Supreme Court judges have submitted their resignations following judicial reforms, the top court said on Wednesday. In a move that has sparked diplomatic tensions and opposition street protests, the nation is set to become the only one in the world to allow voters to choose all judges, at every level, starting next year. The eight justices declined to stand for election in June next year, the court said in a statement.
‘SHARP COMPETITION’: Australia is to partner with US-based Lockheed Martin to make guided multiple launch rocket systems, an Australian defense official said Australia is to ramp up missile manufacturing under a plan unveiled yesterday by a top defense official, who said bolstering weapons stockpiles would help keep would-be foes at bay. Australian Minister for Defence Industry Pat Conroy said the nation would establish a homegrown industry to produce long-range guided missiles and other much-needed munitions. “Why do we need more missiles? Strategic competition between the United States and China is a primary feature of Australia’s security environment,” Conroy said in a speech. “That competition is at its sharpest in our region, the Indo-Pacific.” Australia is to partner with US-based weapons giant Lockheed Martin to make
BEYOND WASHINGTON: Although historically the US has been the partner of choice for military exercises, Jakarta has been trying to diversify its partners, an analyst said Indonesia’s first joint military drills with Russia this week signal that new Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto would seek a bigger role for Jakarta on the world stage as part of a significant foreign policy shift, analysts said. Indonesia has long maintained a neutral foreign policy and refuses to take sides in the Russia-Ukraine conflict or US-China rivalry, but Prabowo has called for stronger ties with Moscow despite Western pressure on Jakarta. “It is part of a broader agenda to elevate ties with whomever it may be, regardless of their geopolitical bloc, as long as there is a benefit for Indonesia,” said Pieter
TIGHT CAMPAIGN: Although Harris got a boost from an Iowa poll, neither candidate had a margin greater than three points in any of the US’ seven battleground states US Vice President Kamala Harris made a surprise appearance on Saturday Night Live (SNL) in the final days before the election, as she and former US president and Republican presidential nominees make a frantic last push to win over voters in a historically close campaign. The first lines Harris spoke as she sat across from Maya Rudolph, their outfits identical, was drowned out by cheers from the audience. “It is nice to see you Kamala,” Harris told Rudolph with a broad grin she kept throughout the sketch. “And I’m just here to remind you, you got this.” In sync, the two said supporters
Pets are not forgotten during Mexico’s Day of the Dead celebrations, when even Fido and Tiger get a place at the altars Mexican families set up to honor their deceased loved ones, complete with flowers, candles and photographs. Although the human dead usually get their favorite food or drink placed on altars, the nature of pet food can make things a little different. The holiday has roots in Mexican pre-Hispanic customs, as does the reverence for animals. The small, hairless dogs that Mexicans kept before the Spanish conquest were believed to help guide their owners to the afterlife, and were sometimes given
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