Chinese, SE Asian FMs meet amid sea tensions
AP, Yuxi
Continuing Beijing’s push to ease concerns about its assertions of sovereignty over the South China Sea, China’s foreign minister told his Southeast Asian counterparts Tuesday that both sides should take a “long-term perspective” as they try to solve their disputes.
Wang Yi’s comments underscore China’s desire to contain damage to its reputation over its assertive tactics in the highly strategic and resource-rich waterway. Four of the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations have claims to South China Sea islands and reefs that overlap with China’s own.
US sanctions threaten Panama newspaper
AFP, Panama City
A 167-year-old newspaper in Panama that existed even before the country became independent is faced with extinction because its main shareholder has been hit with US sanctions for allegedly laundering drug money.
The daily, La Estrella de Panama, and a sister newspaper, El Siglo, are in “real danger of closing,” the head of its publishing company, Eduardo Quiros, told foreign correspondents on Monday.
EU court backs UK’s migrant child benefit limits
AFP, Brussels
The EU’s top court on Tuesday backed Britain’s right to limit child benefits to European migrants, a hot-button issue in Britain’s referendum on its future in the European Union next week. The decision comes as a series of opinion polls show a growing lead for the campaign for a “Brexit,” despite Prime Minister David Cameron’s appeals for people to vote to remain.
Berlusconi undergoes heart surgery
AFP, Rome
Italy’s controversial former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi was undergoing cardiac surgery after a heart attack that his doctor said could have killed the 79-year-old.
“At 8:00am (0600 GMT) this morning, the operation to replace his aortic valve began,” the San Raffaele hospital in Milan said in a statement. The operation is expected to last for four hours and Berlusconi will be in intensive care for two days after that.
He is expected to remain in hospital for several weeks.
The operation is being conducted by Ottavio Alfieri, the head of the hospital’s cardiac surgery unit.
