Taiwan rejects Chinese officials entry permits for tourism expo - CNA

TAIPEI: Taiwan has rejected applications by Chinese tourism officials to enter the island for an international travel fair next month, authorities said on Thursday (Jun 29), citing the current "cross-strait situation" with China.

China views self-ruled Taiwan as part of its territory - to be seized one day, by force if necessary - and exchanges between the two sides had tapered off due to political tensions as well as pandemic-driven border closures.

Taiwan reopened its borders to most tourists in October, but those from China remain barred. The island also does not allow tour groups from its territory to enter China, though individual travellers are free to do so.

Organisers of the Taipei International Summer Travel Exposition had invited provincial tourism officials from China, but their applications were rejected "after taking into consideration the overall cross-strait situation", the National Immigration Agency said on Thursday.

"There are doubts over the necessity, urgency and irreplaceability of their participation, and therefore their applications are not approved," it said in a statement.

Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council - which handles cross-strait issues - said about 70 officials had their entry permits denied.

But "nearly 200 (tourism) operators and actors" from China were still attending the fair, said spokesman Jan Jyh-horng.

China's Taiwan Affairs Office had on Wednesday criticised Taipei for the travel restrictions on group tours from Taiwan to China.

"They should face up to the wishes and expectations of the majority of Taiwanese people and the tourism industry, and lift the unreasonable restrictions on group tours," said spokeswoman Zhu Fenglian.

She added that Taiwan should also "create conditions for cross-strait tourism industry exchanges".

But Jan on Thursday said there had been cases of Taiwanese people facing "all kinds of harassment, detention and unfriendly treatment" since Beijing reopened borders in January.

"Since the beginning of this year, there are people who have remained unaccounted for and have not been released or who were sent back on the same flights", he said, declining to elaborate on the number of cases.

He added that scholars and experts have increasingly voiced concern about travelling to China for seminars or meetings.

"We certainly hope that mainland China will improve their travel environment as soon as possible."

In April, Li Yanhe - a China-born publisher based in Taiwan whose printing house has released books critical of the Chinese Communist Party - was reported missing when he visited Shanghai.

Beijing later confirmed Li had been placed under investigation for "endangering national security".

Since 2016, Taiwan has experienced a sharp drop in tourism from China after President Tsai Ing-wen - who rejects China's claim over the island - took office.

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2023-06-29 13:59:38Z
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Passenger lost lower half of leg in travelator accident at Bangkok's Don Mueang Airport - CNA

BANGKOK: A female passenger lost the lower half of her left leg while using a travelator at Bangkok’s Don Mueang Airport on Thursday (Jun 29), according to local media.

The passenger was travelling from Bangkok to Nakhon Si Thammarat in southern Thailand when the incident occurred in the domestic terminal, the airport said in a statement, adding she was transferred to the hospital for medical treatment. 

Don Mueang Airport director Karant Thanakuljeerapat was quoted by local media as saying CCTV footage showed that the passenger had fallen down on the travelator at about 8.30am local time. Her left leg then went into the moving machinery of the walkway.

Thailand's incumbent Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha ordered related units to urgently conduct an investigation and provide assistance to the passenger.

Operation of the travelator has been temporarily suspended to allow engineers to conduct the investigation and safety checks, said the airport in a statement.

“Don Mueang Airport is deeply saddened by the incident and ready to fully accept the responsibility as well as take care of the medical expenses and compensation,” it added.

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2023-06-29 06:38:42Z
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'Presumed human remains' discovered in Titanic sub wreckage - CNA

WASHINGTON: Experts have recovered presumed human remains from what is left of the Titanic sub that imploded during a dive to the Titanic wreck, with the death of five people, the US Coast Guard said Wednesday (Jun 28).

"United States medical professionals will conduct a formal analysis of presumed human remains that have been carefully recovered," the agency said.

On board the Titan were British explorer Hamish Harding, French submarine expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet, Pakistani-British tycoon Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman, and Stockton Rush, CEO of the sub's operator OceanGate Expeditions.

They presumably died instantly when the Titan, about the size of an SUV car, imploded under the crushing pressure of the North Atlantic at a depth of more than two miles (3.2km).

Mangled debris recovered from the small submersible was offloaded earlier in the day in eastern Canada, bringing to an end a difficult search-and-recovery operation.

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2023-06-28 23:25:00Z
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Singapore makes breakthrough in global university rankings - Nikkei Asia

LONDON -- The National University of Singapore has moved up to No. 8 in the QS World University Rankings 2024, becoming the first Asian school to break into the top 10.

NUS moved up three spots and into a top 10 dominated by U.S. and U.K. universities. It placed No. 7 based on employment outcomes.

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2023-06-28 13:04:00Z
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Mbappe, France players slam police for fatal Paris shooting - ESPN - ESPN

• ESPN News Services

Jun 28, 2023, 07:52 PM

Kylian Mbappe has spoken out after a teenager was killed during a police check in Paris. Photo by Aurelien Meunier - PSG/PSG via Getty Images

Kylian Mbappe and other prominent France internationals have expressed their indignation after the death of a 17-year-old delivery driver who was shot and killed during a police check in a Paris suburb.

The killing of the teenager, identified as Naël M., prompted nationwide concern and widespread messages of indignation and condolences, and French president Emmanuel Macron called the young man's death "inexplicable and inexcusable."

It also triggered unrest in multiple towns around Paris. Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said 31 people were arrested, 25 police officers injured and 40 cars burned in overnight unrest.

"I hurt for my France," Mbappe, who grew up in the Paris suburb of Bondy, wrote Wednesday in a Twitter message accompanied by broken heart emoticons.

"Unacceptable situation. All my thoughts go to the family and loved ones of Naël, this little angel gone much too soon."

J'ai mal à ma France. 💙🤍💔💔💔
Une situation inacceptable.
Tout mes pensées vont pour la famille et les proches de Naël, ce petit ange parti beaucoup trop tôt.

— Kylian Mbappé (@KMbappe) June 28, 2023

The tensions focused around the suburban area of Nanterre, where lawyers say the teenager was killed Tuesday during a traffic check. The police officer suspected of firing on him was detained and faces potential manslaughter charges, according to the Nanterre prosecutor's office.

The Nanterre neighborhood where Naël lived remained on edge Wednesday morning, with police on guard around the regional administration and burned car wreckage and overturned garbage bins still visible in some areas. Bouquets of orange and yellow roses were tied to the post where the car crashed after the shooting, on Nanterre's Nelson Mandela Square.

Naël's mother appealed online for a silent march on Thursday in her son's honour, near the scene of his death.

Mike Maignan, another French international player, tweeted about the sense of injustice he felt.

"A bullet in the head...It's always for the same people that being in the wrong leads to death," he wrote. Maignan's France teammate Jules Kounde criticised the media coverage of the teenager's death.

"As if this latest police blunder wasn't enough, the 24-hour news channels are taking advantage of it by making a big fuss," he wrote. "The 'journalists' ask 'questions' with the sole aim of distorting the truth, criminalizing the victim and finding extenuating circumstances where none exist.

"An age-old method for masking the real problem. Why don't we turn off the TV and find out what's going on?"

Un jeune homme de 17 ans abattu à bout portant par un policier pour un refus d'obtempérer lors d'un contrôle. Telle est la réalité de la situation et elle est dramatique.

Comme si cette nouvelle bavure policière ne suffisait pas les chaînes d'information en continu en font leurs...

— Jules Kounde (@jkeey4) June 27, 2023

Darmanin said 1,200 police were deployed overnight and 2,000 would be out in force Wednesday in the Paris region and around other big cities to "maintain order."

Videos purported to be of the incident were "extremely shocking," Darmanin said, pledging a full investigation. The images show two police officers leaning into the driver's side window of a yellow car before the vehicle pulls away as one officer fires into the window. The car is later seen crashed into a post nearby.

Deadly use of firearms is less common in France than in the United States. Tuesday's death unleashed anger in Nanterre and other towns, including around housing projects where many residents struggle with poverty and discrimination and feel police abuse is under-punished.

A lawyer for Naël's family, Yassine Bouzrou, told The Associated Press they want the police officer pursued for murder instead of manslaughter and want the investigation handed to a different region because they fear Nanterre investigators won't be impartial.

The lawyers rebutted a reported statement by the police that their lives were in danger because the driver had threatened to run them over.

The government will hold a security meeting Wednesday afternoon to discuss next steps, Darmanin said.

The victim was wounded by a gunshot and died at the scene, the prosecutor's office said in a statement. A passenger in the car was briefly detained and released, and police are searching for another passenger, who fled.

Several people have died or sustained injuries at the hands of French police in recent years, prompting demands for more accountability. France also saw protests against racial profiling and other injustice in the wake of George Floyd's killing by police in Minnesota.

Information from The Associated Press was included in this report.

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2023-06-28 12:44:08Z
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Belarus leader says Putin wanted to 'wipe out' Wagner chief Prigozhin during mutiny attempt - CNA

"I suggested to Putin not to rush. 'Come on,' I said, 'Let's talk with Prigozhin, with his commanders.' To which he told me: 'Listen, Sasha, it's useless. He doesn't even pick up the phone, he doesn’t want to talk to anyone'."

Putin used the same Russian verb in 1999 about Chechen militants, vowing to "wipe them out in the shithouse", remarks that became a widely quoted emblem of his severe persona.

There was no immediate comment from the Kremlin on Lukashenko's remarks, which give a rare insight into the conversations inside the Kremlin as Russia, according to Putin's own account, teetered towards turmoil not seen for decades.

Lukashenko, both an old acquaintance of Prigozhin and close ally of Putin, said that he had advised the Russian president to think "beyond our own noses" and that Prigozhin's elimination could lead to a widespread revolt by his fighters.

The Belarusian leader also said that his own army could benefit from the experience of Wagner troops who, according to a deal struck with the Kremlin, are now free to move to Belarus.

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2023-06-28 09:19:00Z
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Taiwan detects two Russian warships off its coast - CNA

TAIPEI: Taiwan sighted two Russian frigates sailing off its eastern coast on Tuesday (Jun 28) and deployed surveillance ships and aircraft to monitor their movements, the island's Ministry of National Defence said. 

The Russian warships were "detected sailing from south to north in the waters off our eastern coast" as of 11pm local time, it said in a statement on Tuesday.

Taiwan's military monitored their movements and "dispatched aircraft, ships and (activated) shore-based missile systems to keep watch", it added.

The ministry did not say how far the warships were from Taiwan's coast.

Self-ruled Taiwan reports a near-daily presence of Chinese vessels near its waters. China claims the island as its territory and has vowed to take it one day, by force if necessary.

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2023-06-28 02:50:46Z
CBMiWmh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmNoYW5uZWxuZXdzYXNpYS5jb20vYXNpYS90YWl3YW4tZGV0ZWN0cy10d28tcnVzc2lhbi13YXJzaGlwcy1pdHMtY29hc3QtMzU5MTYzNtIBAA