BRIEF

World’s

A CANADIAN girl and boy born over four months premature and not expected to survive have celebrated their first birthday with a Guinness World Records nod as the world’s most premature twins.

Adiah and Adrial Nadarajah were born on March 4, 2022 at the gestational age of 22 weeks, or 126 days early – breaking by one day the previous record set in 2018 by American twins.

Weighing just 330 grams (0.72 lbs.) and 420 grams (0.92 lbs.), respectively, they are also the lightest twins at birth ever, Guinness World Records (GWR) said on its website.

Citing the babies’ parents, the reference book for records of human achievements and natural world extremes said the twins were given “zero percent chance of survival” by doctors when they arrived.

“When I went into labour, the babies were

North Korea has said its nuclear weapons and missile programs are for self-defence, and has bristled over US-South Korea military exercises, describing them as rehearsals for an invasion.

"It will be regarded as a clear declaration of war against the DPRK, in case such military response as interception takes place against our tests of strategic weapons," Kim Yo Jong, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's powerful sister, said in a statement, using North Korea's official name.

"The Pacific Ocean does not belong to the dominium of the US or Japan."

North Korea is "always on standby to take appropriate, quick and overwhelming action at any time," added her statement, published by the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

This month, the US and South Korean militaries will hold their largest joint drills in five years.

Ahead of those exercises, named Freedom Shield and scheduled for at least 10 days starting March 13, the allies held air drills this week featuring a nuclear-capable US B-52 heavy bomber.

In a separate statement on Tuesday, North Korea's foreign ministry accused the United States of "intentionally" ramping up tensions.

"The recent joint air drill... clearly shows that the US scheme to use nuclear weapons against the DPRK is being carried forward at the level of an actual war," it said in a statement published by KCNA.

"We express deep regret over the irresponsible and worrying muscle-flexing of the US and South Korea." Last year, Pyongyang declared itself an "irreversible" nuclear power and fired a record-breaking number of missiles. AFP denied all life-sustaining measures at the hospital I was admitted to and almost left to die,” their mother, Shakina Rajendram, told GWR.

PRIME Minister Justin Trudeau announced the appointment of an independent special rapporteur to probe alleged Chinese interference in Canada's last two federal elections.

In recent weeks a series of reports in the Canadian media, based on intelligence leaks, have detailed alleged attempts by Beijing to interfere in those elections.

That allegedly involved secret financing or involvement in the campaign of certain candidates during voting in 2019 and 2021.

China has firmly denied the charges, calling them "defamatory."

The new rapporteur, who will be named in the coming days, will be responsible for making "expert recommendations on combating interference and strengthening our democracy" said Trudeau, adding that he had also appointed two committees to investigate foreign interference.

This announcement came after opposition parties had been calling for days for an independent public inquiry into the issue. One of the first tasks of the special rapporteur will be to advise the government on the next steps to take, including a possible public inquiry.

Trudeau said his government would abide by the rapporteur's recommendations, "which could include a formal inquiry or some other independent review process."

The prime minister also instructed members of the parliamentary committee on national security and intelligence to launch a new, specialized investigation into foreign interference in Canada's elections.

Most hospitals do not attempt to save babies born before 24-26 weeks.

But these two are alive and kicking.

A photo of the twins sitting on a couch next to their GWR framed certificate shows Adiah looking surprised with her mouth wide open, while her brother Adrial appears pensive. AFP

Brazil’s Bolsonaro faces probes over jewelry

BRAZIL’S justice minister asked federal police

Monday to investigate reports ex-president Jair Bolsonaro tried to illegally import jewelry worth $3.2 million gifted by Saudi Arabia, as tax officials probe a second present of jewels.

The far-right former president has faced mounting questions over the jewels since newspaper Estado de Sao Paulo reported Friday that customs officers blocked an aide to his former mines and energy minister, Bento Albuquerque, from bringing them into Brazil without paying the required import duty after an official trip in October 2021.

According to the newspaper, Bolsonaro administration officials intervened at least eight times to try to convince customs officers to release the diamond jewels – a necklace, a ring, a watch and a pair of earrings from Swiss luxury house Chopard – that had been given to the president’s wife.

Bolsonaro denies wrongdoing.

“They’re accusing me over a gift I neither requested nor received. AFP

Hong Kong trans activist’s fight for a normal life

IDENTIFIED as “female” on his Hong Kong ID, trans activist Henry Tse waged an arduous legal battle to have his real gender recognised.

Six years later, he won the case to change his gender marker to “male” at the city’s top court – a victory he hopes will help make life easier for Hong Kong’s trans community as a whole. “I had no choice,” Tse told AFP of his lawsuit, which he fought alongside another trans man identified as Q by the court.

“(My) ID card says ‘female,’ which is clearly different from my real gender identity, it’s wrong. Carrying such a card, even if all other information on it is correct... people won’t believe it is me.”

Frequently facing rejection and humiliation when trying to complete simple tasks like checking into a hotel or going to the gym, all he wanted was a “normal life.”

Tse knew his fight for recognition would be tough, but he never imagined it would be so long.

Q told AFP the win felt like “accomplishing mission impossible.”

“We just want the same rights that everyone else has, and to fight for our dignity,” he said.

Until now, trans adults in Hong Kong could only change their IDs by proving they had had an operation to alter their genitalia.

In its February 6 verdict, the Court of Final Appeal found requiring transgender people to undergo surgery to change their IDs unconstitutional, saying it imposed “an unacceptably harsh burden” on Tse and Q. Following Tse and Q’s victory, the government’s Security Bureau said it would “seek legal advice on follow-up actions.” AFP