05/06/2026

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China bans NZ lawmakers over Taiwan visit

UN Security Council non-permanent members elected NEW YORK: Austria, Kyrgyzstan, Portugal, Trinidad and Tobago, and Zimbabwe were elected non-permanent members of the United Nations (UN) Security Council on Wednesday for a two-year term, reported Xinhua. The election marks the first time Kyrgyzstan will serve on the Security Council. The newly elected members will replace the outgoing non-permanent members, namely Denmark, Greece, Pakistan, Panama and Somalia, and assume their seats on Jan 1 next year, serving until Dec 31, 2028. A candidate must obtain the support of two-thirds of the UN member states present and voting at the General Assembly session in order to secure a non-permanent seat on the Security Council, regardless of whether the candidacy is contested. Member states that abstain are considered “not voting”. There were seven candidates for the five seats available this year. Austria, Portugal, Trinidad and Tobago, and Zimbabwe were elected in the first round of voting. Three more rounds of voting were held before Kyrgyzstan defeated the Philippines in a contested race. The 10 non-permanent seats of the council are allocated by geographic region, with five replaced each year. The five newly elected countries represent the African, Asia-Pacific, Latin American and Caribbean, Western European and other groups. – Bernama-Xinhua GREECE CALLED TO BAN USE OF STUN GRENADES BY POLICE ATHENS: Amnesty International yesterday called on Greek authorities to ban police from using stun grenades during demonstrations, saying they cause “serious physical and psychological harm”. A report by the rights group said 30 people interviewed by researchers claimed that police had fired the grenades directly at demonstrators and journalists. It also said 17 people claimed that they were hit on the head with batons. Amnesty’s Greece head Christos Dimopoulos said the grenades give off a sound as loud as “a plane taking off”. He said they are military weapons “and have no place in maintaining order at demonstrations”. Amnesty researcher Kondylia Gogou said there is a “regular and dangerous” use of stun grenades at demonstrations and an “abusive” use of batons. – AFP NASA ENDS MARS MISSION AFTER SIGNAL LOSS WASHINGTON: Nasa has ended its mission studying the Martian atmosphere after the spacecraft stopped communicating, the agency said on Wednesday, reported Sputnik/RIA Novosti. “Nasa’s Maven (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution) has ended after more than 11 years in orbit at Mars and a decade beyond its primary, one-year mission. The spacecraft was heard last on Dec 6, when it experienced an unexpected loss of signal after it passed behind the Red Planet,“ a statement read. The telemetry data obtained from the analysis of radio signals showed that the spacecraft was in safe mode and rotating at an unusually high speed when it appeared from behind Mars, indicating a violation of the Maven trajectory. Due to this rotation, the batteries on the spacecraft were discharged, which led to a power outage of the communication system and brought Maven into an unrecoverable state, Nasa explained. Maven’s science team has produced more than 800 publications over the years and additional publications are planned, the agency said. – Bernama-Sputnik/RIA Novosti

BR I E F S

WELLINGTON: Beijing has barred a group of New Zealand lawmakers from entering China after they visited Taiwan last month, Wellington said yesterday. The four MPs are from across the political spectrum and made the trip to the island as part of a cross-party delegation, with New Zealand adding that its lawmakers have visited Taiwan for decades. The office of Foreign Minister Winston Peters confirmed the ban and said he instructed the NZ diplomats “to express concern at this departure from past practice and to better understand it”. China claims self-ruled Taiwan as part of its territory, and opposes the democratic island’s participation in international organisations and exchanges with other countries. Peters’s office said yesterday the visit by the MPs was not inconsistent with New Zealand’s o MPs have right to represent communities and constituents and to travel freely around globe, says politician The remarks come amid escalating tension between the United States and Mexico, now led by President Claudia Sheinbaum, whom Lopez Obrador praised as the “best president Mexico has had in our time”. One of Mexico’s most popular political figures, López Obrador has largely stayed out of the spotlight since leaving office in 2024, but that has changed with his forceful rebuke of US President Donald Trump on X. In his five-page letter, López Obrador said Trump has changed since his first term, describing Trump then as cooperative, pragmatic and open to dialogue. He blamed Trump’s transformation on what he called “false friends and advisers, both internal and external, who have led him into vile and sinister adventures”. López Obrador holds no official power but he retains significant political influence and his remarks amount to a forceful show of support for Sheinbaum, his political protégé. After more than a year of cooperative, if often strained, relations with Washington, Sheinbaum has sharpened her rhetoric in recent days, stepping up calls to defend national sovereignty. The US Justice Department’s April indictment of 10 Mexican officials over alleged drug trafficking ties has emerged as a particular sore point in relations. López Obrador accused US officials of seeking to undermine Mexico’s ruling Morena party, which he founded, under the guise of combatting migration and narco-terrorism. He said: “For the good of all, may the other Trump return.” In a separate development, protesters here on Wednesday stormed a government building

immediate concerns about their visits, saying they breach the “One China” policy. Taiwan’s Foreign Affairs Ministry said last month the trip was the third by the group since the group’s founding. The office of the Taiwanese president said the group had met Vice-President Hsiao Bi-khim during their visit. Laura McClure, one of the MPs hit with the ban, told RNZ that China is trying to intimidate New Zealand lawmakers. “New Zealand is sovereign and MPs have the right to represent the communities and constituents that we do, and we have the right to travel freely around the globe. That is part of living in a free democracy.” RNZ reported that the Chinese embassy in Wellington had said it would reverse the ban if the politicians apologised. The mission did not respond to a request for comment from AFP. “It is not exactly clear what we would be apologising for, and if it is just for travelling to Taiwan, I personally will not be apologising,” said McClure. Labour MP Duncan Webb, who took part in the trip, told RNZ that the lawmakers had been warned by the Chinese embassy before travelling that they faced a ban if they went. “With the increasing tensions, I suppose a response was not surprising, but I think it is disappointing,” said Webb. – AFP

“One China” policy, in which Wellington recognises Beijing’s claim over Taiwan. “New Zealand MPs are free to make their own individual decisions, independent of the government, about how they respond to invitations to travel overseas,” his spokesperson said. While Wellington does not have diplomatic relations with Taiwan, “this does not preclude New Zealand from maintaining trade, economic, cultural and indigenous exchanges”, the Foreign Ministry said. “We intend to continue these exchanges as they benefit the people of New Zealand and are entirely consistent with our ‘One China’ policy.” Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong also told a hearing of the country’s Senate that Canberra is “concerned” by the bans and diplomats would raise the issue with Chinese counterparts. Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry said it “strongly condemns” the ban, insisting that “China has no right to interfere” in its international interactions. New Zealand lawmakers Simon O’Connor and Ingrid Leary created the All Party Parliamentary Group on Taiwan in March 2023 with the goal of improving ties with the island and holding discussions about trade, healthcare and semiconductor technology. The Chinese embassy in Wellington raised

Ex-president in Mexico blasts Trump MEXICO CITY: Former Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador accused Washington on Wednesday of employing “interventionist and unscrupulous practices” to bolster Mexico’s right-wing opposition and weaken his leftist political movement.

Protesters using streetlight poles as battering rams to barge into the Education Ministry’s headquarters in the capital. – AFPPIC

towering statues of football players on the capital’s main promenade and threatened protests during the World Cup if the government does not respond to their labour demands. On Monday, police tear-gassed a group of teachers to keep them from reaching the central Zocalo square where the “fan fest” for the World Cup is under construction. However on Tuesday, authorities did not intervene when the protesters toppled the five-metre-tall statues. Sheinbaum has called for dialogue with the protesters, who are demanding a salary increase and the repeal of a pension law. Her administration has agreed with the CNTE to a 9% salary increase, far from the 100% raise the dissident educators are demanding. The monthly starting gross wage for a Mexican public school teacher is the equivalent of US$967 (RM3,882). – Reuters

days ahead of the World Cup opener, as Sheinbaum insisted that she will not “fall into the trap” of repressing demonstrations. A breakaway group from the CNTE teachers’ union has carried out massive demonstrations ahead of the world’s biggest football event, which kicks off on June 11 at Mexico City’s Azteca Stadium. On Wednesday, protesters used streetlight poles as battering rams to barge into the Education Ministry’s headquarters in the capital. Sources from the targeted department said protesters vandalised a guard booth and shattered windows, while images broadcast on Mexican television showed a fire at the site. Sheinbaum said earlier on Wednesday she would not “fall into the trap” of cracking down on protests days before the launch of the tournament, which is being jointly hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico. On Tuesday, protesting teachers toppled