20/09/2025

SATURDAY | SEPT 20, 2025

9

Citizen journalist Zhang Zhan on trial again o Hearing details kept under wraps

Queensland bans testing of illicit drugs

SYDNEY: Queensland has banned the testing of drugs for recreational use, sparking warnings from health providers yesterday that the move could put lives at risk. Queensland ranks third-highest in Australia for drug use, the latest government data show, with around one in five people in the state reporting they had used in the past 12 months. On Thursday, the government of the northeastern state said it would ban funding for testing, which checks the chemical purity of drugs for users to see if they have been laced with other harmful substances. State Health Minister Tim Nicholls said the government had a “zero-tolerance approach to illicit drugs”. “There is no safe way to take drugs. Drug checking services send the wrong message to Queenslanders,” he said. Cameron Francis, chief executive of non-profit The Loop Australia, a testing service that operated in Queensland, said he was “disappointed and saddened” by the decision. “Without a service like pill testing, we have no idea what is circulating until it is too late,” he said. The Loop had run a year-long trial in the state and tested 1,200 drugs, he said. Of those samples, one in seven drugs were disposed after being tested, while one in three people were referred to other health services, Francis said. One in five people who had taken part said they would reduce their drug use. Australia’s drug market is becoming more dangerous with an increase of synthetic opioid drugs such as fentanyl, he said. Some 3.9 million people – about 18% of Australians aged 14 and over – used an illicit drug in the past year, official figures show. Queensland is the first Australian state to ban drug testing. Some services or trials remain in place in the Australian Capital Territory, Victoria and New South Wales. – AFP China cautions PNG over defence pact SYDNEY: China has cautioned Papua New Guinea against “undermining” its interests and sovereignty in signing a mutual defence pact with Australia widely seen as a counter to Beijing’s growing influence in the Pacific. Australia and Papua New Guinea this week agreed on the text of a deal which will see the countries commit to defending each other from armed attacks. Asked about the deal, a spokesperson for Beijing’s embassy in Port Moresby said China respected Papua New Guinea’s right to strike deals with other countries. But such a deal should not be “exclusive”, nor restrict Papua New Guinea from cooperating with other countries, the spokesperson said on Thursday. “It should also refrain from targeting any third party or undermining its legitimate rights and interests,” the spokesperson said. China urged the country to maintain “mutually beneficial cooperation” with Beijing and “uphold independence and self-reliance”. Beijing has committed billions of dollars to Pacific nations over the past decade, funding hospitals, sports stadiums, roads and other public works in an attempt to win their favour. Canberra has stepped up its engagement with the region in a bid to counter China’s influence. Australia and Papua New Guinea say the treaty will be signed after Cabinet processes in both countries, following a delay this week. The text of their deal says “any activities, agreements or arrangements with third parties would not compromise the ability of either of the Parties to implement the Treaty” – an allusion to China. – AFP

As hearing time approached, police presence around the court increased, but AFP could not confirm whether the trial took place or if Zhang was present. Zhang, a former lawyer, travelled to the central city of Wuhan in February 2020 to report on the chaos at the epicentre of the public health scare, questioning the handling of the outbreak by authorities in her smartphone videos. After being released from jail in May last year, she was believed to be living in Shanghai under heavy surveillance. In August last year, she was detained again, for spreading “false information that seriously damaged national image” on foreign social media, according to documents shared on X by Jane Wang, a UK-based activist. In January, rights groups said Zhang had gone on hunger strike and was being force-fed through a gastric tube. – AFP

and other groups said in statements this week. “For the past year, (Zhang) has been cut off from the outside world, and almost all information about her whereabouts has been kept secret to prevent the international community from taking action against the appalling conditions in which she is being held,” RSF said in their statement. Outside the court yesterday, when asked if the trial was taking place, officials said: “On this case, we are not accepting media interviews.” A group of seven diplomats from European and North American countries who had requested to observe Zhang’s case were also turned away, on the grounds that their paperwork was not in order, journalists reported. Officials did not give the diplomats a clear confirmation or denial on whether the trial was happening.

SHANGHAI: Chinese officials yesterday turned diplomats and journalists away from a Shanghai court where rights groups said the trial of a prominent citizen journalist was taking place. Zhang Zhan was detained in May 2020 for her coverage of China’s initial response to a public health scare, and served four years in prison for “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” – a charge routinely used by authorities to suppress dissent. The 42-year-old was detained again in August last year on the same charge, according to rights groups. Her trial was due to take place in Shanghai, Reporters Without Borders (RSF)

Kim (left) attending the performance test of an unmanned strategic reconnaissance aircraft. – AFPPIC/KCNA VIA KNS

North Korean leader oversees drone test SEOUL: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw a test of an attack drone and ordered greater use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the technology, state media said yesterday.

University said AI could allow North Korean drones to “operate even if GPS or communications signals are jammed, relying on pre-trained algorithms”. North Korea has tested GPS jamming attacks on South Korean assets – an operation that affected several ships and dozens of civilian aircraft. “The AI drive has gained momentum since last year, drawing on Russian technology transfers and lessons from the war in Ukraine,” Lim said. South Korean and Western intelligence agencies have said the North sent over 10,000 soldiers to Russia in 2024 – primarily to the Kursk region, along with artillery shells, missiles and long-range rocket systems. About 600 North Korean soldiers have been killed and thousands more wounded fighting for Russia, Seoul has said. – AFP

“expanding and strengthening” of drone production capabilities. Analyst Hong Min at Seoul’s Korea Institute for National Unification said Kim sees drone technology as critical to securing “great power status”. “The drones raise concerns because they offer low-cost and high-efficiency threats, autonomous mission execution, improved accuracy and lethality, suitability for mass production and enhanced tactical flexibility,” he added. Pyongyang unveiled its first attack drones last year and experts have warned its new capability in this area could be linked to its budding alliance with Russia. Analysts also say North Korean troops sent to fight for Russia will be gaining modern warfare experience – including how drones are used on the battlefield. Lim Eul-chul at South Korea’s Kyungnam

Images shared by the official Korean Central News Agency showed the unmanned vehicle taking off and then destroying a target. State media said the exercise demonstrated the “excellent combat effectiveness of Kumsong-series tactical attack drones”, reporting Kim expressed “great satisfaction” with the result. Drones are emerging as a “major military activity asset, raising it as a top-priority and important task in modernising the armed forces of the DPRK”, Kim reportedly said, using the acronym for North Korea. He also ordered “efforts to rapidly develop the newly-introduced artificial intelligence technology” as well as the