BLINKEN CALLS FOR PRESIDENT’S RELEASE UN chief rebukes Niger’s ‘unconstitutional change’

UNITED NATIONS, United States – United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres “strongly condemns the unconstitutional change in government” in Niger, his spokesman said Wednesday (Thursday in Manila) after an apparent coup in the West African nation.

Guterres is “deeply disturbed” by the detention of President Mohamed Bazoum by members of the Presidential Guard, his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement.

“The Secretary-General calls for an immediate end to all actions undermining democratic principles in Niger,” Dujarric added.

Meanwhile, in Wellington, New Zea-

In Brief

US says New Zealand welcome WELLINGTON, New Zealand—US

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday that New Zealand would be welcome to engage in the AUKUS alliance, a landmark pact aimed at counterbalancing China’s rise in the Pacific.

“The door’s very much open for New Zealand and other partners to engage as they see appropriate going forward,” Blinken said as he visited Wellington, a trip aimed at shoring-up Washington’s alliances in the contested Pacific region.

AUKUS is a pact between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States that includes ambitious plans to supply Canberra with nuclear-powered submarines.

New Zealand has been treading carefully around involvement, hoping to avoid angering its largest trading partner Beijing.

China vehemently opposes the pact, saying it ignores “the concerns of the international community” and plunges the region “further down the path of error and danger.”

But Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said Wednesday he was “open to conversations” about limited participation.

New Zealand has ruled out any involvement in nuclear-related projects, socalled “pillar one” of the AUKUS deal.

Nuclear submarines are banned from entering New Zealand’s waters under a widely popular anti-nuclear policy adopted in the mid-1980s. AFP

Japanese city apologizes

TOKYO—A Japanese mayor has apologized after a public outcry over a flyer issued to pregnant women advising them on what most irritated husbands after their wives became mothers, an official said Thursday.

The flyer included a section titled “Advice from fathers to you”, which included answers to a survey of new fathers conducted five years ago in the city of Onomichi in western Hiroshima prefecture.

Officials have been sharing the responses with expectant women ever since, apparently thinking it would be helpful to know what new fathers liked and disliked about their wives’ behaviour after giving birth.

Some men said they were annoyed when their wives became “irritated for unknown reasons” or could “not do housekeeping work” because they were too busy taking care of the baby.

Japanese women have long struggled against deeply entrenched gender stereotypes, and there was a furious reaction when the document was shared on social media this week.

That prompted Onomichi Mayor Yuko Hiratani to publish an apology on Tuesday and retracted the flyer, city official Akira Takahashi told AFP on Thursday.

“The document is against the feelings of people who are raising children including pregnant women and mothers with newborn babies, offending many people,” the mayor said in a statement. AFP land, visiting US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called for the “immediate release” of Niger’s leader Mohamed Bazoum on Thursday, as soldiers surrounded the presidential palace in Niamey and claimed to have taken power.

“I spoke with President Bazoum earlier this morning and made clear that the United States resolutely supports him as the democratically elected president of

Niger. We call for his immediate release,”

Blinken said on a visit to New Zealand.

“We condemn any efforts to seize power by force. We’re actively engaged with the Niger government, but also with partners in the region and around the world, and will continue to do so until the situation is resolved appropriately and peacefully.”

Blinken refused to be drawn on whether the military revolt was a coup, a designation that could forestall US cooperation with Nigerian authorities, including on counterinsurgency and counter-terrorism.

“Whether this constitutes a coup technically or not I can’t say, that’s for the lawyers to say. But what it clearly constitutes is an effort to seize power by force and to disrupt the constitution,” he said.

Blinken added that the United States was warning citizens in Niger “limit any unnecessary movements”.

Earlier, Blinken warned soldiers who claimed to have overthrown the Niger government that US economic aid to the country was contingent on “democratic governance.” Disgruntled members of the elite Presidential Guard sealed off access to the president’s residence earlier and claimed to have “put an end to the regime.”

In Niamey, Niger, the soldiers said “all institutions” in the country would be suspended, borders were closed and a curfew imposed “until further notice” from 10 pm to 5 am.

“We, the defense and security forces...