09/06/2026

TUESDAY | JUNE 9, 2026

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/thesuntelegram FOLLOW / Malaysian Paper

ON TELEGRAM m RAM

Xi vows to deepen ties with N. Korea

o 21-gun salute welcome for president

the cancer specialist who became his own subject – took us into his confidence, and he lifted us all in the process,” Albanese said on X. He said the Richard Scolyer Chair at Sydney cancer centre Chris O’Brien Lifehouse would carry his name, adding: “One day when a cure is found, Richard’s name will be spoken.” Scolyer is survived by his wife, Dr Katie Nicholl, and children Emily, Matthew and Lucy. – Reuters Australia to reduce migration SYDNEY: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said yesterday migration levels are reducing, responding to an opinion poll showing a right-wing populist party ahead of governing Labor. Support for Australia’s One Nation party was 31%, ahead of Labor on 30%, a Newspoll published in The Australian newspaper showed. The poll of 1,240 people is the second major survey to show anti migration One Nation in a leading position. Asked by reporters about the surge in support, Albanese said the rise of populist political parties was a global trend, and he wants social cohesion at the core of Australian identity. Australia’s population reached 28 million in June. One Nation has seized on comparatively high recent net migration – government data shows 538,000 net arrivals in 2023, 429,000 in 2024, and 306,000 last year – as the cause of a housing shortage. The government has said high arrivals in those years are due to a backlog of students and workers entering the country. Albanese said people were struggling with housing and an economy that “isn’t working for them”. “We will reduce the net overseas migration over the next couple of years down to 225,000. We think that is the right number,” Albanese told reporters in Canberra. “The fact that we have people who have come from all over the world, proud to call Australia home, is something that is a national asset for us.” Almost half of Australians have a parent born overseas. – AFP Research Institute said on Sunday. It also estimates the North is stepping up output of fissile material beyond a level now sufficient for at least 30 more warheads. – Reuters resumed crossings at the Chinese border and stepped up exchanges, while Air China restored flights between the capitals in March. On the eve of Xi’s arrival, Pyongyang sought to flex its strength by unveiling plans for a 10,000 tonne naval destroyer and reaffirming its status as a nuclear-armed state. North Korea probably has a nuclear arsenal of about 60 warheads, up from 50 a year ago, the Stockholm International Peace

Xi also pledged to work with North Korea to promote fair and orderly multilateralism and inclusive economic globalisation to benefit the world, adding that long-term regional peace and stability were the common pursuit of both nations. Flags of both countries lined the main avenues of the North Korean capital in a video issued by Xinhua. Xi is accompanied on the state visit by wife Peng Liyuan, de facto chief of staff Cai Qi and Foreign Minister Wang Yi. He hosted Kim and other leaders last year at a massive military parade in Beijing, alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin. Since then Pyongyang has

A 21-gun salute was fired as spectators dwarfed by huge portraits of the leaders chanted slogans and released colourful balloons, Xinhua news agency reported. Xi is expected to hold talks with Kim on the two-day visit, his first in seven years to China’s reclusive neighbour at a time when its economy, strengthened by growing trade and military ties to Russia, could boost Kim’s confidence in talks. Craig Singleton, a senior China fellow at the Foundation for Defence of Democracies, said the neighbours, along with Russia and Iran, share an interest in blunting US power and straining its alliances.

significant because it is his first international trip this year. “We must oppose hegemony, authoritarianism and all attempts and conspiracies to revive militarism that endanger regional security and stability,” Xi said, as Beijing looks to draw Pyongyang closer. Xi arrived in Pyongyang to a red carpet welcome from Kim and wife Ri Sol Ju, alongside a guard of honour while children presented bouquets of flowers, Chinese state media showed. A military band played both national anthems in a ceremony at the capital’s Kim Il Sung Square, the site of past military parades and state celebrations.

SEOUL: Ties between China and North Korea are at a “new historical starting point”, President Xi Jinping said yesterday in remarks published in state media as he arrived in Pyongyang for a rare summit with leader Kim Jong Un. China’s unwavering policy is to develop ties with the North and both will strengthen exchanges in all areas, Xi said in the Rodong Sinmun newspaper ahead of a visit seen as

Bear sighting forces closure of 94 schools

TOKYO: A bear roaming the streets of a Japanese city for three days forced the closure of nearly 100 schools yesterday, as dozens of hunters and officials searched for the animal. The city government of Utsunomiya, north of Tokyo, closed all 94 public primary and junior high schools in the area after receiving more than 10 reports of bear sightings since Saturday, including in a shopping arcade. “We have vehicles out to areas where a bear was seen to make people aware and to urge people to stay indoors or in vehicles,” said a city official, adding that dozens of hunters, police and local officials have been looking for the animal. It was not clear whether there is one bear or more, he said. A record 13 people were killed by bears in Japan last year, and there has been a jump in encounters as the animals emerge hungry from hibernation. In Utsunomiya, a regional capital and home to 510,000 residents, there were just two unconfirmed bear sightings in the previous year. The bear now being hunted was first spotted on Saturday morning, north of the city centre, and was described as being around a metre long. A series of sightings followed, including in a residential neighbourhood that day, at a shopping arcade on Sunday, and at a park, a high school and a junior school. Early yesterday, residents spotted a bear close to a wholesale market, the city official said. – AFP

SLOW DOWN, BE SAFE ... Greenpeace activists protest against the recommended speed limits on German highways by placing a 100kph sign over the official 130kph sign, near Kiefersfelden. – REUTERSPIC

Cancer specialist Richard Scolyer dies at 59 WELLINGTON: Richard Scolyer, the Australian cancer specialist who became a test case for an experimental treatment after being diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumour, has died aged 59, prompting tributes to a researcher whose work helped transform melanoma care. He died on Sunday night. Scolyer, a pathologist and co 2024 Australian of the Year with his longtime collaborator Georgina Long for advances in immunotherapy that have helped make advanced melanoma a treatable disease for many patients. Diagnosed in 2023 with The treatment included immunotherapy before surgery, an approach designed by Long and a team seeking to provoke an immune response against the cancer. A clinical trial began earlier this year. Scolyer publicly documented the illness, saying in a letter released after his death that he had spent his final years being open about glioblastoma to show what cancer patients and families endure and to offer hope that medical director of Melanoma Institute Australia, was named joint glioblastoma, one of the deadliest brain cancers, Scolyer agreed to a world-first approach that applied lessons from melanoma treatment to his own tumour.

researchers should keep pushing boundaries. “Having dedicated my 35-year working life to patient care, cancer research and improving lives, I wanted to keep contributing, even in my darkest hour,” he wrote. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Australia had lost “one of our brightest lights and one of our biggest hearts”. “Every day, this remarkable man –