Australia bans foreigners from parliament internships after unease about China
Foreigners have been banned from working as interns for Australian members of parliament, a spokesman for the Senate said on Thursday, in a reform apparently aimed at blocking Chinese prying into Australian affairs.
Israel’s Elbit speeds up race to fly military drones in civil airspace
Israeli defense firm Elbit Systems on Thursday unveiled a 1.6 ton unmanned aircraft vehicle (UAV) designed to fly in airspace currently reserved for piloted civilian planes as a race heats up to deploy military drones outside combat zones.
Riding migration backlash, Sweden’s political pariah looks to end isolation
STOCKHOLM/VISBY, Sweden – Once denounced as neo-fascists, Jimmie Akesson’s Sweden Democrats look poised to translate more voter-friendly nationalist policies into big electoral gains in a country long famed for liberal tolerance.
Cambodian security forces overstep neutrality rules in election campaign, rights group says
Cambodia’s security forces are “actively campaigning” for the ruling party of Prime Minister Hun Sen ahead of a general election on July 29, in violation of a law requiring political neutrality, Human Rights Watch said on Thursday.
Israel says hits Syrian army posts in response to drone incursion
Israeli forces attacked Syrian military positions near the Golan Heights frontier in the early hours of Thursday, causing limited damage, Syrian state media said.
Japan flood toll nears 200, sun scorches thousands battling thirst
Intense heat and water shortages raised fears of disease outbreaks in flood-hit western Japan on Thursday as the death toll from the worst weather disaster in 36 years neared 200.
Rights group urges release of Chinese activist jailed for 13 years for subversion
New York-based Human Rights Watch on Thursday called for the unconditional release of a veteran Chinese rights activist after he was jailed for 13 years for subversion, one of the longest sentences handed down in a multi-year crackdown.
With Thai soccer team freed, Hollywood gears up for the movie
The dramatic rescue of a Thai boys soccer team and their coach from a flooded cave complex this week transfixed news viewers around the world for more than two weeks, and the story is already headed for a retelling by Hollywood.
Pacific leaders sign on to Australian internet cabling scheme, shutting out China
Pacific nations Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands have signed on to a joint undersea internet cable project, funded mostly by Australia, that forestalls plans by Chinese telecom giant Huawei Technologies Co Ltd to lay the links itself.
Amnesty calls for probe of torture claims at Yemen detention centers
Amnesty International accused the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and allied Yemeni forces of torturing detainees at a network of secret prisons in southern Yemen and said such violations should be investigated as war crimes.
