China complains over Sokor leader’s Taiwan remarks

BEIJING—China on Sunday said it had lodged a complaint with Seoul over South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s “erroneous” remarks about Taiwan, as a diplomatic spat simmers between the Asian neighbours.

Beijing and Seoul have traded barbs over a Reuters interview with Yoon this month, in which he called tensions between China and Taiwan a “global issue” similar to North Korea and blamed recent heightened tensions on “attempts to change the status quo by force”.

China claims self-ruled, democratic Taiwan as its territory and has vowed to bring the island under its control one day, with Beijing insisting that its dealings with Taipei are purely internal matters.

The Chinese foreign ministry said Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong had been ordered on Thursday to make a “solemn representation” to the South Korean ambassador over Yoon’s comments.

Sun told the ambassador Yoon’s remarks were “totally unacceptable” and expressed “strong dis- satisfaction,” the ministry said.

China’s statement comes ahead of Yoon’s state visit to key ally the United States, which Beijing has blamed for arming Taiwan and encouraging proindependence politicians.

The Taiwan question is a matter “belonging to the Chinese themselves and no force can be allowed to interfere,” Sun said, urging Seoul to “adhere to the One-China Principle and be careful in words and actions relating to the Taiwan issue.”

China’s foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin had previously criticised Yoon’s remarks, calling it a “universally known fact” that the Taiwan issue was not comparable to tensions on the Korean Peninsula. This prompted South Korea’s foreign ministry on Thursday to berate China for its “serious diplomatic discourtesy.” AFP

Bashir, where they were accused of war crimes. Multiple truces have been agreed and ignored.

Khartoum’s airport has been the site of heavy fighting with aircraft destroyed on the runway, and is under the control of the RSF.

US Under Secretary of State John Bass said that the RSF “cooperated to the extent that they did not fire on our service members”, warning any wider effort to evacuate thousands of other American citizens was unlikely in the

Ukraine slams Chinese envoy to France’s ‘absurd’ remarks

KYIV—Ukraine on Sunday condemned what it called “absurd” comments from China’s ambassador to France, who questioned the sovereignty of post-Soviet countries.

Speaking Friday on the LCI news channel, ambassador Lu Shaye suggested countries that emerged after the fall of the Soviet Union “don’t have effective status under international law because there is not an international agreement confirming their status as sovereign nations.”

The comments cast doubt not just on Ukraine, which Russia invaded last

February, but all former Soviet republics which emerged as independent nations after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, including many members of the European Union.

Meanwhile, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Saturday was again at odds with Europe over Ukraine while pressing his first European tour since resuming office in January.

The veteran left-winger is seeking to revive his country’s diplomatic ties after four years of relative isolation under his far-right predecessor Jair

Bolsonaro, but tensions have been on display with the West over Ukraine.

On Saturday, Lula again called for a “negotiated” settlement between Kyiv and Moscow more than a year after the Russian invasion.

The Brazilian leader has angered Ukraine by saying Kyiv shares blame for the war and has not joined Western nations in imposing sanctions on Moscow or supplying ammunition to Kyiv.

Ukrainian presidential aide Mykhaylo Podolyak replied on Sunday that the status of post-Soviet countries was “enshrined in international law.” AFP

India arrests firebrand Sikh separatist after major hunt

AMRITSAR, India—-Indian police arrested Sunday a firebrand Sikh separatist after a month-long manhunt that sparked protests and vandalism among the diaspora in Britain, Canada and the United States.

Amritpal Singh rose to fame in the northern state of Punjab calling for a separate Sikh homeland known as Khalistan, the struggle for which sparked deadly violence in India in the 1980s and 1990s.

Police said they arrested Singh at around 6:45 am (0115 GMT), having surrounded a village following intelligence that he was there in a gurdwara, or Sikh temple.

“Once he got the message that he had no escape route and he was surrounded, he was arrested,” senior police official Sukhchain Singh Gill told reporters.

Singh, 30, styles himself on Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, a figurehead of the coming days.

Khalistan movement killed when the Indian army stormed the Golden Temple in Amritsar, a major Sikh site, in 1984.

He sports a similarly styled blue turban and reportedly travelled to the former Soviet republic of Georgia last year for cosmetic surgery to look more like his hero.

Singh and his supporters, armed with swords, knives and guns, raided a police station in February after one of the preacher’s aides was arrested for assault and attempted kidnapping.

Authorities then tried to arrest Singh in mid-March, but he dramatically escaped, reportedly on a motorbike after changing clothes at a gurdwara.

Deploying thousands of officers in the manhunt, authorities cut off mobile internet for days in Sikh-majority Punjab, home to 30 million people, in their search.

More than 150 people from various nations reached the safety of Saudi Arabia after naval forces launched a rescue across the Red Sea on Saturday, collecting both Saudi citizens and nationals from 12 other countries from Port Sudan.

Other foreign countries have said they are preparing for the potential evacuation of thousands more of their nationals, with South Korea and Japan deploying forces to nearby countries, and the European Union weighing a similar move. AFP

Family of Singapore man on death row for cannabis case asks for clemency

SINGAPORE—The family of a Singaporean man due to be hanged next week over a kilogram of cannabis pleaded for clemency from the authorities Sunday and urged a retrial.

Tangaraju Suppiah, 46, was sentenced to death in 2018 for conspiring to smuggle the drugs and the Court of Appeal has upheld his sentence which is scheduled to be carried out on Wednesday.

“We don’t think my brother’s had a fair trial ... I have faith the president will read all our petitions,” his sister Leelavathy Suppiah told reporters in Tamil at a news conference.

“Since young, he’s been kind and wellliked by everyone, and he’s never done anything bad to anyone ... he’s sacrificed everything to help his family,” she added, breaking down in tears.

It will be Singapore’s first execution in six months.

Tangaraju was convicted in 2017 of “abetting by engaging in a conspiracy to traffic” 1,017.9 grams (35.9 ounces) of cannabis, twice the minimum amount that merits the death sentence under the city-state’s tough drug laws. In many parts of the world— including in neighbouring Thailand —cannabis has been decriminalised and rights groups have been mounting pressure on Singapore to abolish capital punishment. AFP

NU captures 2nd straight UAAP women’s tennis title

DANNA Abad led National University to back-to-back UAAP Women’s Tennis titles with a 3-2 victory over first-time finalist University of the Philippines in the best-of-three series conclusion on Sunday at the Felicisimo Ampon Tennis Center.

The rookie, who lost only twice in the season, carried the Lady Bulldogs in the clincher, defeating Renee Esteban, 6-3, 6-0, and gifted the school its sixth UAAP title in the event. This is also the school’s sixth title in the collegiate division this season.

“Unang-una pa lang, first term namin, alam namin na meron kaming malalakas na players pero dapat talagang paghirapan. First term pa lang hinanda na namin sila para physically, well-prepared sila. Then this season, prepared naman sila mentally,” said Lady Bulldogs coach Bobby Esquivel.

“Nu’ng natalo kami sa UP (nung second round), instead of getting the twiceto-beat advantage, (nag best-of-three).

Ang talo namin, ang dapat naming irecover is mental,” he added.

The Lady Bulldogs won Tie 1 on Saturday, 3-1, with Elizabeth Abarquez de -