While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, May 25, 2025
Chinese Premier Li Qiang being greeted by Indonesian officials upon his arrival in Jakarta on May 24. PHOTO: AFP
While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, May 25, 2025
China, Indonesia will promote 'true multilateralism', says Li
China's Premier Li Qiang said on May 24 that China and Indonesia will promote 'true multilateralism', the official Xinhua news agency reported, as he landed in Jakarta on a two-day visit to South-east Asia's largest economy.
China has intensified engagement with countries in the region since US President Donald Trump announced hefty import tariffs on its global trading partners earlier this year.
Some levies have since been delayed, while China and the US agreed this month to pause some of their tariffs.
Jakarta, whose biggest trading partner is China, has offered the US a number of concessions in a bid to soften tariffs against Indonesia.
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At West Point, Trump rips diversity and inclusion policies
President Donald Trump ripped US diversity and inclusion policies, knocked Nato, and took credit for building up the military on May 24, in a campaign-style commencement speech at the prestigious West Point Military Academy in New York.
Mr Trump, wearing a suit and his signature red 'Make America Great Again' cap, mixed advice to 'work hard' with a list of his top grievances about cultural and political issues while speaking to a stadium filled with cadets, family members and a largely supportive crowd.
'The job of the US Armed Forces is not to host drag shows, to transform foreign cultures,' Mr Trump said. 'The military's job is to dominate any foe and annihilate any threat to America, anywhere, anytime, in any place.'
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Rescuers say 9 children of Gaza doctor couple killed
Gaza's civil defence agency said on May 24 that an Israeli strike in the southern city of Khan Younis killed nine children from the same family, with the Israeli army saying it was reviewing the reports.
Agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal said civil defence crews retrieved 'the bodies of nine child martyrs, some of them charred, from the home of Dr Hamdi al-Najjar and his wife, Dr Alaa al-Najjar, all of whom were their children'.
He added that Dr Hamdi al-Najjar and another son, Adam, were also seriously wounded in the strike on May 23.
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Shannon Tan finishes second at Jabra Ladies Open
A second-placed finish at the Jabra Ladies Open in France on May 24 has given Singaporean golfer Shannon Tan a boost ahead of the July 10-13 Evian Championship, her first Major of the 2025 season.
With both tournaments played at the Evian Resort Golf Club's The Champions Course in Evian-les-Bains, the 21-year-old is excited to return to the venue after a creditable showing this week.
Her confidence stems from a remarkable comeback on the final day of the €300,000 (S$440,000) Jabra Ladies Open, as she carded a three-under 68 in the third round of the event for an eight-under 205 total, two strokes behind champion Sara Kouskova (67) of the Czech Republic.
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Dissident Iranian filmmaker wins Cannes top prize
It Was Just An Accident by dissident Iranian director Jafar Panahi won the Palme d'Or for best film at the Cannes Festival on May 24.
The highly political but wry film tells the tale of five ordinary Iranians confronted with a man they believe tortured them in jail.
Panahi, who has been imprisoned twice in his home country and banned from making films, used his acceptance speech to urge Iranians to work towards freedom.
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Straits Times
29 minutes ago
- Straits Times
China says it is working with France on trade differences, no sign yet of a cognac deal
FILE PHOTO: Bottles of Remy Martin VSOP cognac, Remy Martin XO cognac and St-Remy XO Brandy are displayed at the Remy Cointreau SA headquarters in Paris, France, January 21, 2019. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo China says it is working with France on trade differences, no sign yet of a cognac deal BEIJING/PARIS - China and France have agreed to resolve their trade disputes through dialogue, China's foreign ministry said on Friday, though there was no indication that agreement had been reached in talks on lifting Chinese levies on European brandy. Talks to resolve the cognac dispute accelerated this week with China's commerce minister Wang Wentao meeting his French counterpart in Paris on the sidelines of an OECD conference, and technical talks on the matter taking place in Beijing. The latest round of negotiations have raised hopes of a settlement, two industry sources with knowledge of the discussions said. "The two sides have reached consensus on resolving economic and trade issues through dialogue and consultation", the Chinese foreign ministry said after a call between the Chinese and French foreign ministers. Chinese anti-dumping measures that applied duties of up to 39% on imports of European brandy - with French cognac bearing the brunt - have strained relations between Paris and Beijing. The brandy duties were enforced days after the European Union took action against Chinese-made electric vehicle imports to shield its local industry, prompting France's President Emmanuel Macron to accuse Beijing of "pure retaliation". The Chinese duties have dented sales of brands including LVMH's Hennessy, Pernod Ricard's Martell and Remy Cointreau. Beijing was initially meant to make a final decision on the duties by January, but extended the deadline to April and then again to July 5. China is seeking to strengthen trade ties with the 27-member bloc as relations with the United States have soured in the escalating trade war. "France will not compromise on ... the protection of its industries, such as cognac," French trade minister Laurent Saint-Martin said after talks with Wang on Wednesday. Chinese officials, meanwhile, signalled to industry officials during three rounds of technical meetings in Beijing this week they wanted to settle the matter, one of the sources said, but added some sticking points remained. With annual imports of around $1.7 billion last year, China is the French brandy industry's most important measured by value and the second-largest by volume after the United States. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
France opens ‘complicity in genocide' probes over blocked Gaza aid
A truck carrying humanitarian aid drives through the Kerem Shalom crossing between southern Israel and the Gaza Strip, on May 22. PHOTO: AFP PARIS - French anti-terror prosecutors have opened probes into 'complicity in genocide' and 'incitement to genocide' after French-Israelis allegedly blocked aid intended for war-torn Gaza last year, they said on June 6. The two investigations, opened after legal complaints, were also to look into possible 'complicity in crimes against humanity' between January and May 2024, the anti-terror prosecutor's office (PNAT) said. They are the first known probes in France to be looking into alleged violations of international law in Gaza, several sources with knowledge of the cases told AFP. In a separate case made public on the same day, the grandmother of two children with French nationality who were killed in an Israeli strike in Gaza has filed a legal complaint in Paris, accusing Israel of 'genocide' and 'murder', her lawyer said. The French judiciary has jurisdiction when French citizens are involved in such cases. Rights groups, lawyers and some Israeli historians have described the Gaza war as 'genocide'. Israel, created in the aftermath of the Nazi Holocaust of Jews during World War II, vehemently rejects the accusation. The French probes were opened after two separate legal complaints. In the first, the Jewish French Union for Peace (UFJP) and a French-Palestinian victim filed a complaint in November targeting alleged French members of hardline pro-Israel groups 'Israel is forever' and 'Tzav-9'. It accused them of 'physically' preventing the passage of trucks at border checkpoints controlled by the Israeli army. Lawyers for the plaintiffs, Damia Taharraoui and Marion Lafouge, told AFP they were happy a probe had been launched into the events in January 2024 – 'a time when no-one wanted to hear anything about genocide'. A source close to the case said prosecutors in May urged the investigation in relation to events at the Nitzana crossing point between Egypt and Israel, and the Kerem Shalom crossing from Israel into Gaza. Around that time, hardline Israeli protesters – including friends and relatives of hostages held in Gaza – blocked aid lorries from entering the occupied Palestinian territory and forced them to turn back at Kerem Shalom. Right-wing Israeli activists gather in an attempt to block humanitarian aid from entering Gaza at the Kerem Shalom crossing on May 21. PHOTO: AFP A second complaint from a group called the Lawyers for Justice in the Middle East (Capjo) accused members of 'Israel is forever' of having blocked aid trucks. It used photos, videos and public statements to back up its complaint. 'Genocide' complaint No court has so far concluded that the ongoing conflict is a genocide. But in rulings in January, March and May 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the United Nations' highest judicial organ, told Israel to do everything possible to 'prevent' acts of genocide during its military operations in Gaza, including through allowing in urgently needed aid. In the separate case, Ms Jacqueline Rivault, the grandmother of six- and nine-year-old children killed in an Israeli strike, filed her complaint accusing Israel of 'genocide' and 'murder' with the crimes against humanity section of the Court of Paris, lawyer Arie Alimi said. Though formally against unnamed parties, the complaint explicitly targets Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli government and the military. The complaint states that an Israeli missile strike killed Janna, six, and Abderrahim Abudaher, nine, in northern Gaza on October 24, 2023. 'We believe these children are dead as part of a deliberate organised policy targeting the whole of Gaza's population with a possible genocidal intent,' Mr Alimi said. Internally displaced Palestinians recover a body from the rubble of a destroyed building following an Israeli airstrike in the Al Remal neighborhood in Gaza City, on June 3. The children's brother Omar, now five, was severely wounded but still lives in Gaza with their mother, identified as Yasmine Z., the complaint said. A French court in 2019 convicted Yasmine Z. in absentia of having funded a 'terrorist' group over giving money in Gaza to members of Palestinian militant groups Hamas and the Islamic Jihad. Famine warnings Israel said in May it was easing the complete blockade of Gaza it imposed on March 2 but on May 30 the United Nations said the territory's entire population of more than two million people remained at risk of famine. A US-backed aid group last week began distributions but reports that the Israeli military shot dead dozens of Palestinians trying to collect food has sparked widespread condemnation. The UN and major aid organisations have refused to cooperate with the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Fund, citing concerns that it was designed to cater to Israeli military objectives. Hamas fighters launched an attack on Israel on Oct 7, 2023. A total of 1,218 people died, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures. The militants abducted 251 hostages, 55 of whom remain in Gaza, including 32 the Israeli military says are dead. Israel's retaliatory war on Hamas-run Gaza has killed 54,677 people, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry there, figures the United Nations deems reliable. The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants against Mr Netanyahu and former Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. It also issued an arrest warrant for Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif over similar allegations linked to the Oct 7 attack but the case against him was dropped in February after confirmation Israel had killed him. AFP Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Trump asks US Supreme Court to let him dismantle Education Department
US President Donald Trump's move to dismantle the education department is part of a campaign to downsize the federal government. PHOTO: KENNY HOLSTON/NYTIMES WASHINGTON - Mr Donald Trump's administration asked the US Supreme Court on June 6 to permit it to proceed with dismantling the Department of Education, a move that would leave school policy in the United States almost entirely in the hands of states and local boards. The Justice Department asked the court to halt Boston-based US District Judge Myong Joun's May 22 ruling that ordered the administration reinstate employees terminated in a mass layoff and end further actions to shutter the department. The Justice Department said the lower court lacked jurisdiction to 'second-guess the Executive's internal management decisions,' referring to the federal government's executive branch. 'The government has been crystal clear in acknowledging that only Congress can eliminate the Department of Education. And the government has acknowledged the need to retain sufficient staff to continue fulfilling statutorily mandated functions and has kept the personnel that, in its judgment, are necessary for those tasks. The challenged (reduction in force) is fully consistent with that approach,' the filing said. The department, created by a US law passed by Congress in 1979, oversees about 100,000 public and 34,000 private schools in the United States, though more than 85 per cent of public school funding comes from state and local governments. It provides federal grants for needy schools and programmes, including money to pay teachers of children with special needs, fund arts programmes and replace outdated infrastructure. It also oversees the US$1.6 trillion (S$2 trillion) in student loans held by tens of millions of Americans who cannot afford to pay for college outright. Mr Trump's move to dismantle the department is part of the Republican president's campaign to downsize and reshape the federal government. Closing the department long has been a goal of many US conservatives. Attorneys-general from 20 states and the District of Columbia, as well as school districts and unions representing teachers, sued to block the Trump administration's efforts to gut the department. The states argued that the massive job cuts will render the agency unable to perform core functions authorised by statute, including in the civil rights arena, effectively usurping Congress's authority in violation of the US Constitution. Mr Trump on March 20 signed an executive order intended to effectively shut down the department, making good on a longstanding campaign promise to conservatives to move education policy almost completely to states and local boards. At a White House ceremony surrounded by children and educators, Mr Trump called the order a first step 'to eliminate' the department. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon announced plans on March 11 to carry out a mass termination of employees. Those layoffs would leave the department with 2,183 workers, down from 4,133 when Mr Trump took office in January. The department said in a press release those terminations were part of its 'final mission.' Mr Trump on March 21 announced plans to transfer the department's student loan portfolio to the Small Business Administration and its special education, nutrition and related services to the US Department of Health and Human Services, which also is facing deep job cuts. Mr Joun in his ruling ordered the administration to reinstate the laid off workers and halt implementation of Mr Trump's directive to transfer student loans and special needs programs to other federal agencies. The judge rejected the argument put forth by Justice Department lawyers that the mass terminations were aimed at making the department more efficient while fulfilling its mission. In fact, Mr Joun ruled, the job cuts were an effort to shut down the department without the necessary approval of Congress. 'This court cannot be asked to cover its eyes while the department's employees are continuously fired and units are transferred out until the department becomes a shell of itself,' the judge wrote. White House spokesperson Harrison Fields called the judge's ruling 'misguided.' The Boston-based 1st US Circuit Court of Appeals on June 4 rejected the Trump administration's request to pause the injunction issued by Mr Joun. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
