Strike over finances closes Paris’s Eiffel Tower

Visits to the Eiffel Tower were disrupted on Monday because of a strike over poor financial management of the monument (Michel Euler/AP)

MON, 19 FEB, 2024 - 
ASSOCIATED PRESS REPORTERS

Visits to the Eiffel Tower were disrupted on Monday because of a strike over poor financial management of the monument, which is one of the world’s most-visited sites.

The hugely popular 300-metre (984-foot) landmark in central Paris has seen soaring visitor numbers in the lead-up to the Summer Olympics in the French capital.

Tourists planning to visit the Eiffel Tower on Monday were warned of disruptions in multiple languages on the monument’s website. They advised visitors to check the website before heading to the monument or to postpone their visit.

The Eiffel Tower is typically open 365 days a year, but it is occasionally affected by strikes. In December, the monument was closed to visitors for an entire day during Christmas and New Year’s holidays because of a strike over contract negotiations.

Strike closes Eiffel Tower again as staff denounce financial management

Employees at the Eiffel Tower are on strike Monday to protest against the way the monument is managed financially. The strike has closed the tower for the second time in two months, and comes as Paris is getting ready to welcome millions of visitors for the Olympic Games.


Issued on: 19/02/2024 - 

"Due to a strike, the Eiffel Tower is closed. We apoligize" reads a sign in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, 19 February 2024.

 © Sarah Meyssonnier/Reuters

By:RFI

Ticket holders to Paris’s most famous landmark have been encouraged to postpone their visit, as the monument is closed Monday, after a strike closed it in December, on the centenary of Gustave Eiffel's death.

Several unions have criticised the tower’s operator, Sete, for its business model, which they say is based on an inflated estimate of future visitor numbers and an under-estimation of construction costs.

"Visitors might suffer, we are very sorry, but it is to guarantee the best quality for visitors for the future,” CGT union delegate Stéphane Dieu told France Info radio, about Monday's strike.

The city of Paris, which owns 99 percent of the operator, is raising the tower’s licencing fee from €16 million a year to €50 million a year.

Unions say that the budget cannot handle such an increase, especially after the drop in revenue during the Covid pandemic, when visitor numbers plunged.
Renovation

Numbers recovered – 5.9 million people visited the tower In 2022 – but not as high as the 7.4 million annual visitors projected as part of the original financial assessment.

Visitor numbers to Paris are expected to swell this summer as the French capital hosts the Olympic Games, but unions also warn that the monument is in need of renovation.

Work is ongoing to remove lead deposits, and the tower is being repainted, which happens every seven years.

In a joint statement, the CGT and FO unions called on the city of Paris "to be reasonable with their financial demands to ensure the survival of the monument and the company operating it".

(with AFP)

 

Iran-EU trade surpasses €4.7 bln in 2023: Eurostat

TEHRAN, Feb. 19 (MNA) – The Statistical Office of the European Union (Eurostat) reported that Iran and the 27 European Union member states traded over €4.7 billion worth of goods in 2023.

Trade between Iran and the member states of the European Union recorded a decrease of 9% from January to December 2023, according to the latest report published by Eurostat.

During that period, the exchange of products between Iran and the EU member states was valued at €4.732 billion, down from €5.244 billion in the same period in 2022.

According to the statistics, in the same period in 2022, the exchange of products between Iran and the EU member states was valued at €5.244 billion.

Germany emerged as the top trading partner among the European Union member states, accounting for 36% of Iran's total trade volume with Europe, while Italy, Netherlands, Belgium, and France stood in the next places.

The export of products from the EU to Iran in this period registered a 6% decline compared to the same period in 2022.

The source added that the 27 member states imported €799 million worth of products from Iran, marking a 24% slump compared to the same period last year.

AMK/IRIB4157935

SPY TALK

 Israeli Spy’s Warning: Tamir Pardo, a former director of Mossad, warned Israelis that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s “extremist” government threatens to destroy the strategic relationship with the United States. In a column on the website of Israel’s Keshet 12 TV channel, Pardo writes, “The great risk for the State of Israel is that, for the first time, Israel may run into a head-on collision with a supreme American national security interest. This irresponsible conduct of the Israeli government and its leader could lead to an existential threat to the Jewish state and also to the Jews of the Diaspora.” Pardo, who has been a strong critic of Netanyahu after he ran the Mossad from 2011 to 2016, says there are clear signs of this looming strategic divorce, and Israelis should take them to heart. “Woe to us if, one morning, the Pentagon and the State Department came out with a statement to Congress and the White House in which it was said that Israel ceased to be an asset to the United States and became a strategic burden!”

Tamir Pardo (Sepiocyber.com)

For South Korea’s top students, smart money is on medical school over chips

South Korean doctors are threatening to walk off the job in protest over a plan to add more physicians. 

FEB 19, 2024

SEOUL – A South Korean plan to greatly increase medical school seats has helped prompt more top students to enroll for exam-prep studies to become doctors – over the once sure-fire bet of trying to become engineers who make semiconductors.

The operators at some of the nation’s largest cram schools have set up new courses for those looking to take exams in November to enter a university medical programme in 2025, when South Korea plans to increase the number of slots by 2,000 from the current 3,058 to alleviate a shortage of doctors.

“When students think about their lives after graduation, their preference lies with medical schools,” said Mr Lim Sung-ho, head of one of South Korea’s biggest cram schools, the Jongro Hagwon Academy. The overall number of med school applicants is expected to increase from 9,532 in 2024 to 15,851 in 2025, according to Jongro Academy.

For those already in the mix, many are rejecting entry into South Korea’s top engineering schools that virtually guarantee jobs at Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, enticed by what many see as better job security and higher pay in the medical field.

“Although the government is implementing policies to foster the semiconductor industry, it is failing to provide students with prospects for mid- to long-term career paths,” Mr Lim said.

Data showed that 26 per cent of students admitted into the computer engineering department of Seoul National University for the 2024 school year decided not to enroll in the first round of regular admissions, while no one gave up their spots in the medical school at the nation’s top public university, according to SNU’s website.

At two other top schools, Yonsei University and Korea University, 71 per cent of students rejected initial offers for entry into departments offering majors in semiconductors, displays and smart mobility, compared with 38 per cent who did so in 2023, their data showed. Entry into these departments is all but certain to lead to jobs at partnered companies, such as Samsung and SK.

South Korea doctors, who rank in the developed world as some of the highest paid relative to average workers, are threatening to walk off the job in protest over the plan to add more physicians. About 2,700 interns and residents at five major general hospital groups said they will submit resignation letters on Feb 19 and walk off the job the following day.

South Korean medical schools are primarily undergraduate programmes that offer a six-year curriculum. They have often lost out on top talent due to the limited number of seats, which has remained unchanged for nearly two decades.

This has helped keep the number of doctors in the country relatively low compared with other Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries, while wages remained relatively high.

OECD data showed the annual average gross income of self-employed specialists was 6.8 times more than that of the average worker in South Korea as of 2021, which is widest gap among OECD member countries.

There is also more job security in the medical field. The average age that South Korean workers can be forced into retirement is 49.4, while self-employed doctors have no mandatory retirement age, according to data by the South Korea’s statistical office.

The public also approves of the plan to increase the number of doctors, polling data have shown. A weekly tracking survey released by Gallup Korea on Feb 16 showed 76 per cent of respondents had positive views of the government’s plan while only 16 per cent see it as negative.

President Yoon Suk-yeol’s approval rating also rebounded to 33 per cent from a nine-month low of 29 per cent two weeks ago as he stood his ground on the medical school issue.

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said on Feb 19 the government would fully expand telemedicine if doctors start walking off the job. Over the weekend, Mr Han urged doctors to refrain from the collective labour action since it could jeopardise lives, adding the government would respond firmly and in accordance with laws if they decide to launch a labour action.

Yonsei Severance, one of the country’s largest hospital groups, is adjusting its surgery schedules after trainee doctors at the facility submitted their resignation letters with plans to walk off the job on Feb 19, according to Yonhap News agency.

The government in theory is able to use the Medical Services Act to revoke the licenses of doctors over prolonged labour actions that threaten the healthcare system. BLOOMBERG

LIBERAL SWEDEN STILL BANS POT

Bill Skarsgård Arrested For Marijuana Possession In Sweden; ‘John Wick’ Star Ordered To Pay 40,000 Swedish Krona

Bill Skarsgård was arrested by the authorities in Sweden recently for possession of 2.43 grams of cannabis. He was presented in front of a judge where he submitted some paperwork and pleaded guilty. He was let go off with a heavy fine of 40,000 Swedish Krona.

Outlook Entertainment Desk
February 19, 2024


Bill Skarsgård Photo: Instagram


Bill Skarsgård was recently arrested in Sweden. TMZ released the news, and it has since then gone viral all over social media. People from all countries are coming forward to find out what actually happened. After all, Bill Skarsgård is massively popular for the numerous roles that he has played, especially the one in ‘John Wick’.

As per reports, Bill Skarsgård was caught by the authorities at the Arlanda Airport in Stockholm. He was caught in possession of 2.43 grams of cannabis. Reports further stated that he was arrested and later produced in front of a judge, where he pleaded guilty, and was let go off with a heavy fine. It’s being reported that he had to submit some paperwork to the court as well, and his sentencing happened on the basis of that.

Reports claim that he was asked to pay 40,000 Swedish Krona, which comes to somewhere around US $3,825. What’s good news though that Bill Skarsgård would not face any jail time. Not even probation or parole. This just means that the actor will be good to go once he pays up the fine and then the entire incident will be behind him.

For the unversed, besides ‘John Wick’, Bill Skarsgård is famous for starring in films like ‘IT’, ‘Atomic Blonde’ and many others films. He is also considered acting royalty in Sweden as his father Stellan and brother Alexander, Gustaf, Valter, Ossian and Kolbjörn are part of showbiz.

There has not been any official statement from Bill Skarsgård or his team ever since the incident happened. Only time will tell what actually happened and why he was allegedly carrying the cannabis.

Cracks in the New Gilded Age




Feb 19, 2024

Project Syndicate 

NABIL AHMED

Since 2020, the combined wealth of the world’s five richest people has more than doubled, to $869 billion, while nearly five billion people have become poorer, pushing inequality to unprecedented levels and posing a growing threat to democracy. But, as workers, regulators, and organizers are showing, the fight against oligarchy can be won.


WASHINGTON, DC – The past 12 years have been extremely good for the ultra-rich. The fortunes of billionaires – a group comprising the 2,640 wealthiest people on the planet, most of whom are men – has more than doubled. The wealth gap between the top 0.01% and the bottom half of the world’s population has increased by 50% since the 2008 global financial crisis

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The aftermath of COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine have been particularly lucrative for the ultra-wealthy as they reaped an enormous windfall from pandemic-era stimulus packages and corporate welfare, raked in record profits by raising prices and blaming inflation, and benefited from decades of favorable policies. A recent report by Oxfam found that the combined wealth of the world’s five richest people – Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Bernard Arnault, Larry Ellison, and Warren Buffett – has more than doubled since 2020, to $869 billion.

At the same time, nearly five billion people, representing 60% of the world’s population, have become poorer. While global income inequality declined gradually over time, primarily due to rising incomes in China, inequality between countries has increased for the first time in decades, and inequality within most countries has increased, too. Worryingly, a recent World Bank analysis has found that “the fight against poverty has stalled.” Given the current trajectory of wealth distribution, the world could have its first trillionaire within a decade, while eradicating global poverty would take 230 years.

While such statistics may no longer be surprising, they should be alarming, for the trend they capture poses a grave threat to democratic governance. While rising inequality is rightly linked to tax policies and debt, we can no longer overlook the crucial role of corporate monopolies in transferring wealth from the working and middle classes to the top 0.1%. In the 12 months up to June 2023, 148 of the world’s largest firms earned nearly $1.8 trillion in profits, a 52% increase from their average annual profits between 2018 and 2021.

Corporate gains have come at the expense of workers, as merely 0.4% of the world’s 1,600 most influential companies have publicly committed to paying and supporting a living wage. Meanwhile, rich shareholders are receiving $82 of every $100 in profits through dividends and buybacks.

Dominant firms draw workers, consumers, and smaller businesses into their orbit, with multinationals’ share of global profits quadrupling over the past 40 years of neoliberal orthodoxy. According to a recent study by the International Monetary Fund, the increase in monopoly power accounts for 76% of the decline in labor’s share of income in the US manufacturing sector over the second half of the twentieth century.

In today’s highly concentrated world economy, the “Big Three” index funds – BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street – control more than $20 trillion in assets. Even the late John Bogle, Vanguard’s founder, sounded the alarm about the Big Three’s dominance in 2018, warning of a future in which “a handful of giant institutional investors will one day hold voting control of virtually every large US corporation.”

During the original Gilded Age, monopolists like John D. Rockefeller were synonymous with economic power. In the contemporary iteration, seven of the world’s ten largest firms either have a billionaire CEO or a billionaire as a principal shareholder, giving Rockefeller’s modern-day counterparts even greater influence over our political economies.

This extreme concentration of wealth and power is reminiscent of what the late US Supreme Court Justice William Douglas called an “industrial oligarchy,” whereby people’s fortunes are “dependent on the whim or caprice, the political prejudices, the emotional stability of a few self-appointed men.” But while this state of affairs may seem bleak, recent developments offer a glimmer of hope.

Consider the United States. Since 2020, the top 0.1% of Americans, who own 13.9% of the country’s wealth, have become more than $2 trillion richer than the poorest half of the population, which holds just 2.6% of the country’s wealth. The racial wealth gap is nearly as large as it was in 1950, with the typical white household owning six times as much as its Black counterpart. Meanwhile, as tens of millions of Americans struggle to make ends meet, hunger has increased to its highest level in nearly a decade.

The good news, however, is that low-wage workers have experienced real-wage growth over the past three years, and the wealth of the bottom 50% has slightly increased. Crucially, there has been a resurgence in labor action, with more than 460,000 workers going on strike in 2023 – the second-highest number since 1986. Striking autoworkers, UPS drivers, and Hollywood screenwriters have scored major victories over the past year, showing that progress is possible.

An economic paradigm shift appears to be underway within the US government, exemplified by a reinvigorated anti-monopoly movement. Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan and Jonathan Kanter, the head of the Justice Department’s antitrust division, have advanced a series of ambitious reforms, rewriting the lax merger guidelines that enabled corporations to amass unprecedented power, proposing a ban on non-compete clauses, and securing landmark victories for patients and consumers. The FTC’s antitrust lawsuit against Amazon, in particular, represents a powerful rebuke to industrial oligarchy.

To be sure, the decades-long dominance of neoliberalism – the handmaiden to America’s soaring inequality – will not be dismantled overnight. To get there, Congress must rein in outsize private power and pass legislation capping excess profits, guaranteeing living wages, and safeguarding collective bargaining rights. And the US should not act in isolation. Brazil’s G20 presidency offers a unique opportunity to establish international cooperation to combat inequality.

Reimagining public action is vital to advancing this paradigm shift. As US President Joe Biden revives industrial policy, we must ensure that tax dollars are not used to subsidize corporate dominance. Guarantees and public solutions that uphold people’s interests, such as universal family care and affordable housing, offer promising pathways from oligarchy.

Escaping the new Gilded Age may be a more daunting challenge than escaping the original one was. But, as workers, regulators, and organizers are showing, the fight against inequality can be won.





NABIL AHMED
Writing for PS since 2024
1 Commentary
Nabil Ahmed is Director of Economic and Racial Justice of Oxfam America.

Thaksin’s parole stirs anger in Thailand at ‘double standards’ across political spectrum

Critics are concerned that conflict could ensue if Thaksin remains ‘above the law’ amid mounting speculation of his return to politics

Last year’s poll appears to show Thailand is moving away from old-style populism associated with Thaksin and his family


Aidan Jones
19 Feb, 2024


The parole of ex-prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra is proving as divisive as his time in power, with critics on the left and right of Thai politics saying justice has not been served by the release of a man who has turned the wheels of the kingdom’s chaotic politics more than any other figure over the last 20 years.

The 74-year-old’s circuitous journey from a political star and champion of the poor to a fugitive nemesis of the elite – and now an elderly returnee to Thailand allowed to live at home – was captured in an Instagram post by his daughter on Sunday.

In it, Thaksin sits thoughtfully by a swimming pool at his Bangkok villa, wearing a neck brace with his right arm in a sling.

“Outside feeling the air and sunshine after 180 days … also not back home for 17 years,” said Peatongtarn Shinawatra.

“Dad is just sitting outside like this. He’s been sitting like this for a while #finallyhome.”

Thailand could face class-action suits over weed U-turn: ‘lawyers are ready’
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He was freed on parole on Sunday after spending six months in a police hospital. But Thaksin still splits the country.

“Thaksin serious illness? Parole? What kind of illness?” prominent conservative Senator Somchai Swangkarn posted on Facebook, with an artificial intelligence-generated animation of a giant inmate crushing the scales of justice, accompanied by the hashtag ‘Stomping on Thailand’s Justice System.’

A day after he was freed, Thaksin faced a new legal hurdle over an investigation into his comment made almost a decade ago that was seen as an insult to the nation’s royals, according to a Bloomberg News report.

Prayut Bejraguna, a spokesman for the Office of the Attorney General, told reporters on Monday that a decision on the matter is still being considered.

Thaksin is still hated by elements of the royalist establishment for his pro-poor policies which upended the elite-crafted political settlement. He remains unforgiven by many critics for re-routing old patronage networks to him and his family’s political parties using what they say was corruption and nepotism and is blamed for years of unrest and social division.

On Monday, another vocal conservative senator, Kittisak Rattanawaraha, said he was “very concerned of conflict and violence if he [Thaksin] continues to be above the law like this”, labelling his return without spending a day in jail a “miracle”.

The Corrections Department said Thaksin was eligible for parole due to his age, unspecified health conditions and having served over a third of his one-year term – a sentence slashed from eight years just after he returned to Thailand in August by a royal pardon from King Maha Vajiralongkorn.

As Thaksin settles into life back at home, tongues are already wagging over a possible future political role.

Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said he was open to receiving advice from Thaksin given his wealth of political knowledge.

“I believe there’s no one in this government who would not want advice from him, with all the experience he’s accumulated from living abroad over the years until he returned through our legitimate justice system – I repeat ‘legitimate’,” Srettha told reporters late Sunday.

Thaksin, a policeman from northern Chiang Mai who became a telecoms billionaire and then prime minister, remains Thailand’s only leader to have come to power from an election and to complete a full term, from 2001-2005.

A landslide victory that he won in the subsequent election provoked a coup in 2006 by a royalist military alarmed by his popularity before corruption charges were filed against him, which led to his self-exile two years later.

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After the military and royalist conservatives struggled to win over a newly energised electorate, his sister Yingluck Shinawatra swept to victory in the 2011 election.

But she too was toppled by a coup in 2014, whose leader, ex-army chief Prayuth Chan-O-Cha, went on to run a deeply unpopular government until last year.

While Thaksin is credited by the rural and urban working classes for recognising their long-neglected situation at the bottom of Thailand’s economic and social hierarchy, their once unquestioned loyalty is now heavily diluted, experts say.

That is because of the apparent grand bargain which has allowed his return and a coalition of conservatives to share a government led by Pheu Thai, which has shed its reformist brand to take power.

The election in May 2023 was won by the progressive Move Forward Party (MFP), which usurped Pheu Thai as Thailand’s most popular party by garnering 14 million votes.

Srettha Thavisin, Thailand’s prime minister, speaks during a news conference at the Government House in Bangkok, on February 7. Srettha has said he is open to seeking advice from ex-PM Thaksin Shinawatra. Photo: Bloomberg

Those came mostly from the young as well as the once irrevocably pro-Shinawatra rural heartlands who were drawn to MFP’s vision of rewiring the economic and political power structures of one of Asia’s most unequal countries.
Yet MFP has been pushed into opposition, while Pheu Thai is allied with its former rivals in government.

MFP is now running a gauntlet to survive after a court found the party and its leadership guilty of attempting to “overthrow the constitutional monarchy” with a campaign call to reform the hardline royal defamation law. That law carries up to 15 years in jail per conviction.

“Anyone whose justice has not been served from the coup or political sabotage deserves justice, but we should not use double standards,” Chaitawat Tulathon, MFP’s leader, told reporters on Sunday of Thaksin’s release.

“Society can question whether what’s happening is fair or not – and whether only certain individuals deserve to have their justice served but not all.”

In a sign of the new dividing lines of Thai politics, last May’s election saw MFP sweep seats across the Chiang Mai heartland of the Shinawatra clan.

Law student Matoom said even her staunch pro-Thaksin mother was driven to shift her loyalties to MFP at the polls, as the nation appeared to be moving away from old-style populism – and the Shinawatra brand – towards bigger ideas of change.

“I don’t feel anything good or bad about Thaksin’s release,” Matoom told This Week in Asia, requesting to give one name only. “I just want to see equality for all, not just the few.”

AP wins the best-documentary prize at the BAFTA awards for Ukraine documentary ’20 Days in Mariupol’


Ukraine war documentary “20 Days in Mariupol,” produced by The Associated Press and PBS “Frontline,” won the prize for best documentary at the 77th British Academy Film Awards on Sunday evening. (Feb. 19)Photos

BY JILL LAWLESS

 February 19, 2024

LONDON (AP) — The Associated Press won the best documentary prize at the British Academy Film Awards for Ukraine war documentary “20 Days in Mariupol,” produced with PBS’ “Frontline.”

Filmmaker Mstyslav Chernov admitted the accolade made him feel conflicted.

“It’s a huge honor. It’s a huge responsibility,” the Ukrainian journalist said after winning the trophy Sunday at London’s Royal Festival Hall. “This is not about us. This is about Ukraine and about the people of Mariupol.”

Chernov and an AP team spent three weeks in the Ukrainian port city as it was besieged by Russian forces in early 2022, documenting at huge personal risk the devastating toll on civilian and capturing enduring images of the war.

Chernov arrived in Mariupol one hour before Russia began its bombardment, along with photographer Evgeniy Maloletka and field producer Vasilisa Stepanenko. The images and stories they captured — the death of a 4-year-old girl, freshly dug mass graves, the bombing of a maternity hospital — unflinchingly documented the grim, relentless realities of the siege.

The work of Chernov, Maloletka, Stepanenko and Lori Hinnant last year won the Pulitzer Prize for public service, and the film has won numerous accolades, including a Directors Guild Award. It is nominated in the best documentary category at the March 10 Academy Awards, the first-ever Oscar nomination for the 178-year-old AP.

Almost two years on since Russia’s invasion, Ukrainian cities continue to be bombarded, with Russia claiming over the weekend to have captured the eastern city of Avdiivka after a long, grinding battle.

“Cities get occupied and destroyed and our work represents what is happening to Ukraine now,” Chernov said.

He said the story of Mariupol “is a symbol of struggle and a symbol of faith. Thank you for empowering our voice and let’s just keep fighting.”

Producer Derl McCrudden, the AP’s head of global news production, said the award “reinforces the power of eyewitness journalism.”

“And now, more than ever, having brave colleagues go to the field and report from the world’s hotspots is more important,” he said. “Telling truth to power, reporting faithfully events: that’s what this win represents.”

JILL LAWLESS
Lawless is an Associated Press reporter covering U.K. politics and more. She is based in London.
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China urges US to ‘stop harassing’ its students at the border ‘for no reason’

Call from Wang Xiahong, China’s public security minister, comes during talks with US homeland security chief in Vienna on drug control cooperation

US must ensure ‘fair entry treatment and full dignity’ for Chinese citizens, Wang tells Alejandro Mayorkas in talks labelled as ‘constructive’


Cyril Ip
19 Feb, 2024
SCMP

China has asked the United States to end the “unwarranted harassment” of its students, following renewed reports of interrogation and deportation at a key US airport.
The call from Wang Xiaohong, China’s public security minister, came during a meeting with his US counterpart Alejandro Mayorkas in Vienna on drug control and related law enforcement cooperation. Both sides described Sunday’s talks as “candid” and “constructive”.

According to state news agency Xinhua, Wang urged the US “to stop harassing and interrogating Chinese students for no reason, and ensure that Chinese citizens enjoy fair entry treatment and full dignity”.

He also said Washington should “lift visa restrictions on relevant Chinese institutions and personnel”, Xinhua reported.

Wang’s statement came some three weeks after China lodged a formal protest against the US for allegedly blocking Chinese students at the border.

The meeting with Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas was part of renewed bilateral engagement following an ice-breaking summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Joe Biden in San Francisco in November.

Xinhua reported earlier this month that at least 11 Chinese students had been deported or had their visas cancelled on arrival since that summit.

Eight of those cases took place at Washington Dulles International Airport, with some students detained for more than 10 hours and barred from contacting anyone during that time, according to a statement from the Chinese embassy.

Washington should “take practical and effective measures to ensure the safety of Chinese diplomatic and consular institutions and personnel in the US”, Wang told Mayorkas.
In January, the Chinese foreign ministry said that “tens” of Chinese nationals were being denied entry to the US each month.

This included Chinese students with valid papers, who had been subjected to “politically motivated” law enforcement, involving “abusive suppression and persecution, frequent interrogations, detentions, forced confessions, inducements and even deportations”, a ministry spokesman said.

China slams US for ‘persecuting’ Chinese students over national security
1 Feb 2024


Wang’s remarks on the treatment received by Chinese nationals at US borders were not mentioned in the Department of Homeland Security’s readout of the meeting, which focused on cooperation with Beijing in the fight against the fentanyl crisis.

Fentanyl is a highly addictive synthetic opioid 50 times more potent than heroin, and killed some 70,000 Americans last year. Washington alleges that China is the main source of fentanyl and fentanyl-related substances trafficked into the US – a claim denied by Beijing.

During Sunday’s talks in the Austrian capital, Wang urged the US to correct its “erroneous approach” of placing China on a list of major “drug source” countries or transit points, saying he hoped that obstacles to cooperation on narcotics control and law enforcement would be removed.

US, China join forces to counter global fentanyl trade

Wang and Mayorkas also met virtually in early January, shortly before the launch of a bilateral counternarcotics working group. The group aims to counter the “global manufacturing and trafficking of illicit synthetic drugs, including fentanyl”, the White House said on January 30.

The body’s creation was another sign of thawing diplomatic ties after Xi and Biden agreed to dial back tensions at their summit three months ago.

The US statement on the latest Wang-Mayorkas meeting said the two sides discussed “the steps needed to combat the spread of precursor chemicals and the transnational criminal organisations that profit off the production, distribution, and sale of illicit synthetic drugs”, as well as cooperating in the “fight to protect children from online sexual exploitation and abuse”.

Singapore to push use of sustainable aviation fuel

Singapore plans to require all flights departing the country to use sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) from 2026, its Minister of Transport Chee Hong Tat said on February 19.

VNA Monday, February 19, 2024 

Hanoi (VNA) – Singapore plans to require all flights departing the country to use sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) from 2026, its Minister of Transport Chee Hong Tat said on February 19.

Addressing the Changi Aviation Summit, Chee said the country aims for a 1% SAF target from 2026 and plans to raise it to 3-5% by 2030, subject to global developments and the wider availability and adoption of SAF.

The use of SAF is a critical pathway for the decarbonisation of aviation and is expected to contribute around 65% of the carbon emission reduction needed to achieve net zero by 2050, he said, adding that the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) develops the plan in consultation with industry and other stakeholders.

To achieve the 1% SAF target by 2026, passengers flying from Singapore can expect to pay more for their air tickets due to the fuel levy attached./.