Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said on Thursday the country will not stop its oil and gas exploration in the South China Sea despite claims by Beijing that Malaysia was infringing on its territory.
Anwar, speaking from Russia where he is on an official trip, said Malaysia’s exploration activities were within its territory and were not intended to be provocative or hostile toward China, with whom it has friendly relations.
“Of course, we will have to operate in our waters and secure economic advantage, including drilling for oil, in our territory,” Anwar said in a televised press conference in Vladivostok.
“We have never denied the possibility of discussion (with China). But it doesn’t mean we have to stop the operation in our area.”
Malaysia’s foreign ministry said on Wednesday it would investigate the leak of a classified diplomatic note from the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
In the note, which was carried by a Philippine news outlet, Beijing asserted that Malaysia’s oil and gas exploration in the South China Sea breached its territory.
China claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea, including parts of the 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zones (EEZs) of the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam, complicating energy exploration efforts by several of those countries.
Under international law, an EEZ does not denote sovereignty, but grants a country sovereign rights to extract natural resources from those waters.
Malaysian state energy firm Petronas, or Petroliam Nasional Berhad, operates oil and gas fields in the South China Sea within Malaysia’s EEZ and has in recent years had several encounters with Chinese vessels.
Anwar said China has sent “one or two” protest notes to stop Malaysia’s oil exploration activities, without specifying details, but stressed that the government would continue to explain to Beijing its position.
“We have said that we will not transgress other people’s borders. That is our stringent policy and principles,” he said.
“They know our position.... They have claimed that we are infringing on their territory. That is not the case. We say no, it is our territory.”
“But if they continue with the dispute, then okay, we will have to listen, and they will have to listen.”
An international arbitration tribunal in The Hague in 2016 ruled China’s claim to about 90 percent of the South China Sea, made via a U-shaped “nine-dash line” on its maps, had no basis under international law, a decision Beijing does not recognize.
Anwar Ibrahim: Malaysia will not stop South China Sea exploration despite China protests
https://arab.news/ceaj9
Anwar Ibrahim: Malaysia will not stop South China Sea exploration despite China protests
- Malaysia’s exploration activities were within its territory and were not intended to be provocative or hostile toward China, PM says
- Leaked note reveals Beijing’s assertion that Malaysia’s oil and gas exploration in the South China Sea breached its territory
US transport chief eyes reduction of flights in and out of major New Jersey airport beset by equipment outages
- Newark Liberty International has been been beset by flight delays and cancelations brought on by a shortage of air traffic controllers
- The Trump administration recently proposed a multibillion-dollar overhaul of the US air traffic control system
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says he plans to reduce the number of flights in and out of Newark’s airport for the “next several weeks” as it struggles with radar outages and other issues, including another Sunday that again slowed air traffic.
Speaking on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that aired Sunday, Duffy said he will meet this week with all major carriers flying through Newark Liberty International, New Jersey’s largest airport. He said the number of flight cutbacks would fluctuate by time of day with most targeting afternoon hours when international arrivals make the airport busier.
In addition to equipment outages, the airport has been been beset by flight delays and cancelations brought on by a shortage of air traffic controllers.
“We want to have a number of flights that if you book your flight, you know it’s going to fly, right?” he said. “That is the priority. So you don’t get to the airport, wait four hours, and then get delayed.”
The Federal Aviation Administration reported a “telecommunications issue” as the latest setback Sunday, impacting a facility in Philadelphia that directs planes in and out of Newark airport. An FAA statement said the agency briefly slowed air traffic to and from the airport while ensuring “redundancies were working as designed” before normal operations resumed.
Infrastructure issues are increasingly a key concern at airports around the country.
In an unrelated incident, hundreds of flights were delayed Sunday at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport — one of the world’s busiest — because of a runway equipment issue. The FAA said in a statement that it temporarily slowed arrivals into Atlanta while technicians worked to address the problem.
In Newark, Sunday’s disruptions came two days after radar at the Philadelphia facility went black for 90 seconds at 3:55 a.m. Friday, an episode that was similar to an incident on April 28.
The Trump administration recently proposed a multibillion-dollar overhaul of the US air traffic control system, envisioning six new air traffic control centers and technology and communications upgrades at all of the nation’s air traffic facilities over the next three or four years.
The FAA said last week that it slows the rate of arrivals into Newark to ensure safety whenever staffing or equipment issues arise. The agency also noted that frequent equipment and telecommunications outages can be stressful, prompting some air traffic controllers to take time off “to recover from the stress.”
“While we cannot quickly replace them due to this highly specialized profession, we continue to train controllers who will eventually be assigned to this busy airspace,” the FAA said in a May 5 statement.
On average, there had been 34 arrival cancelations per day since mid-April at Newark, according to the FAA, with the number of delays increasing throughout the day from an average of five in the mornings to 16 by the evening. The delays tended to last 85 to 137 minutes on average.
Duffy said in his TV appearance Sunday that he wants to raise the mandatory retirement age for air traffic controllers from 56 to 61, as he tries to navigate a shortage of about 3,000 people in that specialized position.
And he also spoke of wanting to give those air traffic controllers a 20 percent upfront bonus to stay on the job. However, he says many air traffic controllers choose to retire after 25 years of service, which means many retire around the age of 50.
“These are not overnight fixes,” Duffy said. “But as we go up — one, two years, older guys on the job, younger guys coming in, men and women — we can make up that 3,000-person difference.”
Adding more air traffic controllers is in contrast to a top priority of the Trump administration — slashing jobs in nearly all other federal agencies.
However, United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said on CBS’ “Face the Nation” that Duffy deserves credit for putting “caution tape” around FAA safety functions and separating those personnel from cost-cutting by Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency — DOGE.
Kirby said United has already reduced its schedule at Newark and will meet with Duffy later this week. He expects a deeper cut in capacity to last until June 15 when construction work on one of Newark’s runways is expected to be complete, though he thinks some reductions will last throughout the summer.
“We have fewer flights, but we keep everything safe, and we get the airplane safely on the ground,” Kirby said. “Safety is number one, and so I’m not worried about safety. I am worried about customer delays and impacts.”
Detained ex-President Duterte is among candidates running in Philippines’ midterm elections
- Duterte has been in custody of the International Criminal Court in The Hague since March, awaiting trial for crimes against humanity
- Duterte is widely expected to win as Davao mayor, a position he held for over two decades before becoming president
MANILA: Even though he is detained thousands of kilometers away, former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is among the candidates vying for some 18,000 national and local seats in Monday’s midterm elections that analysts say will decide if he and his family continue to hold political power.
Duterte has been in custody of the International Criminal Court in The Hague since March, awaiting trial for crimes against humanity over a brutal war on illegal drugs that has left thousands of suspects dead during his presidency 2016-2022. It hasn’t stopped him from running for mayor of his southern Davao city stronghold.
Under Philippine law, candidates facing criminal charges, including those in detention, can run for office unless they have been convicted and have exhausted all appeals.
Duterte is widely expected to win as Davao mayor, a position he held for over two decades before becoming president. It’s less clear how he can practically serve as mayor from behind bars.
Over 68 million Filipinos have registered to vote Monday for half of the 24-member Senate, all the 317 seats in the House of Representatives and various positions in provinces, cities and municipalities. The spotlight is on the race for the Senate that could determine the political future of Duterte’s daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte.
She faces an impeachment trial in the Senate in July over accusations of plotting to assassinate President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and corruption involving her office’s intelligence funds. She has denied the allegations, saying they were spread by her political opponents to destroy her.
Sara Duterte is considered as a strong contender for the 2028 presidential race. But if convicted by the Senate, she will be removed as vice president and disqualified from holding public office. To be acquitted, she needs at least nine of 24 senators to vote in her favor.
“The 2025 midterm elections will be crucial, because the results will set the pace for what will happen next, which family or faction will dominate the elections in 2028,” said Maria Ela Atienza, a political science professor at the University of the Philippines.
If Sara Duterte is convicted in the impeachment trial, it could signal the end of the Duterte family holding key positions in the country, she said. Other family members running in the election include Rodrigo Duterte’s youngest son, Sebastian, the incumbent mayor of Davao who is now running for vice mayor. His eldest son Paolo is seeking reelection as a member of the House of Representatives. Two grandsons are also running in local races.
The impeachment and Rodrigo Duterte’s arrest and transfer to the tribunal in The Hague came after Marcos and Sara Duterte’s ties unraveled over political differences.
“This election will decide the future of our country,” Sara Duterte said in a rally in Manila last week, where she campaigned for the family-backed senatorial candidates and criticized the Marcos administration. “Your vote will decide if we can continue reforms or continue to slide to our doom.”
Her father’s spiritual adviser and close political ally, televangelist Apollo Quiboloy, is also running for a Senate seat despite being detained on charges of sexual abuse and human trafficking. He is also wanted in the US on similar charges.
Trump promises to order that the US pay only the price other nations do for some drugs
- “Our Country will finally be treated fairly, and our citizens Healthcare Costs will be reduced by numbers never even thought of before,” Trump says
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump says he’ll sign an executive order on Monday that, if implemented, could bring down the costs of some medications — reviving a failed effort from his first term on an issue he’s talked up since even before becoming president.
The order Trump is promising will direct the Department of Health and Human Services to tie what Medicare pays for medications administrated in a doctor’s office to the lowest price paid by other countries.
“I will be instituting a MOST FAVORED NATION’S POLICY whereby the United States will pay the same price as the Nation that pays the lowest price anywhere in the World,” the president posted Sunday on his social media site, pledging to sign the order on Monday morning at the White House.
“Our Country will finally be treated fairly, and our citizens Healthcare Costs will be reduced by numbers never even thought of before,” Trump added.
His proposal would likely only impact certain drugs covered by Medicare and given in an office — think infusions that treat cancer, and other injectables. But it could potentially bring significant savings to the government, although the “TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS” Trump boasted about in his post may be an exaggeration.
Medicare provides health insurance for roughly 70 million older Americans. Complaints about US drug prices being notoriously high, even when compared with other large and wealthy countries, have long drawn the ire of both parties, but a lasting fix has never cleared Congress.
Under the planned order, the federal government would tie what it pays pharmaceutical companies for those drugs to the price paid by a group of other, economically advanced countries — the so-called “most favored nation” approach.
The proposal will face fierce opposition from the pharmaceutical industry.
It was a rule that Trump tried to adopt during his first term, but could never get through. He signed a similar executive order in the final weeks of his presidency, but a court order later blocked the rule from going into effect under the Biden administration.
The pharmaceutical industry argued that Trump’s 2020 attempt would give foreign governments the “upper hand” in deciding the value of medicines in the US. The industry has long argued that forcing lower prices will hurt profits, and ultimately affect innovation and its efforts to develop new medicines.
Only drugs on Medicare Part B — the insurance for doctor’s office visits — are likely to be covered under the plan. Medicare beneficiaries are responsible for picking up some of the costs to get those medications during doctor’s visits, and for traditional Medicare enrollees there is no annual out-of-pocket cap on what they pay.
A report by the Trump administration during its first term found that the US spends twice as much as some other countries in covering those drugs. Medicare Part B drug spending topped $33 billion in 2021.
More common prescription drugs filled at a pharmacy would probably not be covered by the new order.
Trump’s post formally previewing the action came after he teased a “very big announcement” last week. He gave no details, except to note that it wasn’t related to trade or the tariffs he has announced imposing on much of the world.
“We’re going to have a very, very big announcement to make — like as big as it gets,” Trump said last week.
He came into his first term accusing pharmaceutical companies of “getting away with murder” and complaining that other countries whose governments set drug prices were taking advantage of Americans.
On Sunday, Trump took aim at the industry again, writing that the “Pharmaceutical/Drug Companies would say, for years, that it was Research and Development Costs, and that all of these costs were, and would be, for no reason whatsoever, borne by the ‘suckers’ of America, ALONE.”
Referring to drug companies’ powerful lobbying efforts, he said that campaign contributions “can do wonders, but not with me, and not with the Republican Party.”
“We are going to do the right thing,” he wrote.
Indian military warns Pakistan against ceasefire violations
- Pakistan called and sought ceasefire, Indian military says
- Nuclear-armed neighbors blame each other for overnight violations
- Residents in some border areas told not to return home just yet
NEW DELHI/ MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan: The Indian military sent a “hotline message” to Pakistan on Sunday about violations of a ceasefire agreed this week and informed it of New Delhi’s intent to respond if it was repeated, a top Indian army officer said, while the Pakistan military’s spokesman denied any violation of the ceasefire.
India’s Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) was speaking as a fragile 24-hour-old ceasefire appeared to be holding after both sides blamed the other for initial violations on Saturday night.
Pakistan’s military spokesman said, “No violation is being made by the Pakistan army or armed forces of the ceasefire,” during a press conference with representation from the country’s air force and navy.
The truce announced on Saturday followed four days of intense fighting between the nuclear-armed neighbors. In the worst fighting in nearly three decades, they fired missiles and drones at each other’s military installations, killing almost 70 people.
Diplomacy and pressure from the United States helped secure the ceasefire deal when it seemed that the conflict was spiralling alarmingly. But within hours of its coming into force, artillery fire was witnessed in Indian Kashmir, the center of much of last week’s fighting.
Blasts from air-defense systems boomed in cities near the border under a blackout, similar to those heard during the previous two evenings, according to local authorities, residents and Reuters witnesses.
“Sometimes, these understandings take time to fructify, manifest on the ground,” Lt. Gen. Rajiv Ghai, the Indian DGMO, told a media briefing, referring to the truce. “The (Indian) armed forces were on a very very high alert (yesterday) and continue to be in that state.”
The Indian army chief had given a mandate to its commanders to deal with “violations of any kind” from across the borders in the best way they deem fit, Ghai added.
He said his Pakistani counterpart called him on Saturday afternoon and proposed the two countries “cease hostilities” and urgently requested a ceasefire.
Following India’s request for a call after carrying out military attacks in Pakistan between May 6 and 7, and on the intervention of international interlocutors, Pakistan responded on May 10 to the earlier made request, said Pakistan’s military spokesman.
Late on Saturday, the Pakistani foreign ministry had said that it was committed to the truce agreement and blamed India for the violations.
US President Donald Trump announced the ceasefire on Saturday, saying it was reached after talks mediated by Washington.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said India and Pakistan had also agreed to start talks on “a broad set of issues at a neutral site.”
While Islamabad has thanked Washington for facilitating the ceasefire and welcomed Trump’s offer to mediate on the Kashmir dispute with India, New Delhi has not commented on US involvement in the truce or talks at a neutral site.
India maintains that disputes with Pakistan have to be resolved directly by the two countries and rejects any third party involvement.
On Sunday, Trump praised the leaders of both countries for agreeing to halt the aggression and said he would “substantially” increase trade with them.
Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan each rule a part of Kashmir but claim it in full, and have twice gone to war over the Himalayan region.
India blames Pakistan for an insurgency in its part of the territory, but Pakistan says it provides only moral, political and diplomatic support to Kashmiri separatists.
Picking up the pieces
Among those most affected by the fighting were residents on either side of the border, many of whom fled their homes when the fighting began on Wednesday, two weeks after a deadly attack in Indian Kashmir’s Pahalgam that India said was backed by Islamabad.
Pakistan denied the accusation.
In the Indian border city of Amritsar, home to the Golden Temple revered by Sikhs, people returned to the streets on Sunday morning after a siren sounded to signal a return to normal activities following the tension of recent days.
“Ever since the terrorists attacked people in Pahalgam, we have been shutting our shops very early and there was an uncertainty. I am happy that at least there will be no bloodshed on both sides,” said Satvir Singh Alhuwalia, 48, a shopkeeper in the city.
In some border areas, however, people were asked not to return home just yet. In the Indian Kashmir city of Baramulla, authorities warned residents to stay away due to the threat posed by unexploded munitions.
“People here are hosting us well but just as a bird feels at peace in its own nest, we also feel comfortable only in our own homes, even if they have been damaged,” said Azam Chaudhry, 55, who fled his home in the Pakistani town of Khuiratta and has now been told to wait until Monday before returning.
In Indian Kashmir’s Uri, a key power plant that was damaged in a Pakistani drone attack is still under repair.
“The project has suffered minor damage ... We have stopped generation as the transmission line has been damaged,” said an official from state-run NHPC, India’s biggest hydropower company, who did not want to be identified
Argentina’s Supreme Court finds archives linked to the Nazi regime
- The president of the Supreme Court, Horacio Rosatti, has ordered the preservation of the material and a thorough analysis
BUENOS AIRES: The Argentine Supreme Court has found documentation associated with the Nazi regime among its archives including propaganda material that was used to spread Adolf Hitler’s ideology in the South American nation, a judicial authority from the Court told the Associated Press on Sunday.
The court came across the material when preparing for the creation of a museum with its historical documents, the source said. The official requested anonymity due to internal policies.
Among the documents, they found postcards, photographs, and propaganda material from the German regime.
Some of the material “intended to consolidate and propagate Adolf Hitler’s ideology in Argentina, in the midst of World War II,” the source said.
The boxes are believed to be related to the arrival of 83 packages in Buenos Aires on June 20, 1941, sent by the German embassy in Tokyo aboard the Japanese steamship “Nan-a-Maru.”
At the time, the German diplomatic mission in Argentina had requested the release of the material, claiming the boxes contained personal belongings, but the Customs and Ports Division retained it.
The president of the Supreme Court, Horacio Rosatti, has ordered the preservation of the material and a thorough analysis.
