- The Guardian
- Issue #2056
PAKISTAN: Militants attacked a Pakistani security post near the country’s border with Iran last week, triggering a shoot-out that killed two soldiers, the military said. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack in the area of Singwan in restive south-western Baluchistan province. The military said the two slain troops “embraced martyrdom while fighting bravely against the terrorists.”
EUROPEAN UNION: The EU’s border and coastguard agency is collecting information from migrants that could end up identifying vulnerable people seeking sanctuary from persecution in their homelands, according to a report by the EU’s data protection watchdog. The European Data Protection Supervisor also announced that it is launching an investigation into whether Frontex gathered information that it is not entitled to collect and illegally provided those details about migrants to the EU’s police agency Europol
SENEGAL: The opposition leader in Senegal, Ousmane Sonko, has been sentenced by a court to two years in prison for “corrupting the youth” but was cleared of allegations of rape. Critics of the government say the aim of the trial was to prevent Mr Sonko from standing in next year’s presidential elections.
Honduras: Honduran President Xiomara Castro said that she will make her first official visit to China. The president made the announcement on her official Twitter account after the inauguration of the Chinese Embassy in Tegucigalpa, which she did not attend. “At the invitation of President Xi Jinping I will visit with special mission the People’s Republic of China from 9th to 14th June,” Castro said and added that “the refoundation of Honduras demands new political, scientific, technical, commercial, and cultural horizons.” For his part, Honduran Foreign Minister Eduardo Enrique Reina, who will accompany the President, said that during the official visit to China “there will be very good news … a series of memorandums, documents, and framework agreements will be signed.” The opening of diplomatic relations between Honduras and China was announced last March, after breaking with Taiwan and recognising the “one China” policy. According to the Honduran foreign minister, since then there has been progress, as China has approved the entry of strategic products from Honduras, and has also accepted, at the highest level, more than 30 Honduran university students studying in Taiwan, Reina said. Honduras’ decision of recognising the Chinese government as the only legitimate government representing all of China led to the closure of the Taiwanese embassy in Tegucigalpa.
Japan: The Sendai District Court dismissed a lawsuit demanding an injunction against the restart of the No.2 unit at the Onagawa nuclear power plant (Onagawa Town and Ishinomaki City, Miyagi Pref). The lawsuit was filed by residents living near the Onagawa NPP against the plant operator, Tohoku Electric Power Company. The plaintiffs argued that the city government’s evacuation plan for nuclear emergencies was ineffective in protecting residents from the risk of radiation exposure. The court ruling made no judgement on the company’s evacuation plan, but stated that the plaintiffs failed to prove the danger of an accident.
