KAKAMMPI News

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa: Arresting Vladimir Putin would amount to a declaration of war on Russia, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa wrote in court papers released on Tuesday as the country wrangles over hosting the Russian leader. Putin has been invited to a Brics summit in Johannesburg next month, but is the target of an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant — a provision that Pretoria, as an ICC member, would be expected to implement were he to attend. South Africa's diplomatic dilemma is playing out in court, where the leading opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), is trying to force the government's hand and ensure that the Kremlin leader is held and handed over to the ICC if he steps foot in the country. But in a responding affidavit, Ramaphosa described the DA's application as "irresponsible" and said national security was at stake. "Russia has made it clear that arresting its sitting president would be a declaration of...

SEOUL, South Korea: North Korea was silent about the highly unusual entry of an American soldier across the Koreas' heavily fortified border although it test-fired short-range missiles Wednesday in its latest weapons display. Nearly a day after the soldier bolted into North Korea during a tour in the border village of Panmunjom, there was no word on the fate of Private 2nd Class Travis King, the first known American detained in the North in nearly five years. The North's missile launches Wednesday morning were seen as a protest of the deployment of a US nuclear-armed submarine in South Korea the previous day and weren't likely related to King's border crossing. "It's likely that North Korea will use the soldier for propaganda purposes in the short term and then as a bargaining chip in the mid-to-long term," said Yang Moo-jin, president of the University of North Korean Studies in South Korea. King, 23, was a cavalry scout with the 1st Armored Division w...

TOKYO: A courtroom win and new anti-discrimination law could be seen as signs that Japan is warming to the protection of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) rights, but activists warn of a dark side. They say recent months have seen a rising tide of hateful online rhetoric, particularly toward transgender women. Disinformation "linking transgender women to sexual violence in public spaces" is being "disseminated extremely widely," the Japan Alliance for LGBT Legislation warned earlier this year. The experience has been painful and even frightening for transgender women like Minori Tokieda. "We are portrayed as some kind of sex offenders: physically male people who would invade women's spaces by claiming they're female," the activist told Agence France-Presse (AFP). Many in her community are "deeply hurt" and "feeling in denial of our own existence — it's a serious situation," she added. The thorny qu...

WASHINGTON, D.C.: US President Joe Biden and a Vatican envoy discussed the Russian invasion of Ukraine and deportation of Ukrainian children Tuesday, the White House said. Biden and Cardinal Matteo Maria Zuppi discussed the papacy's efforts to provide "humanitarian aid to address the widespread suffering caused by Russia's continuing aggression in Ukraine, as well as the Vatican's advocacy for the return of forcibly deported Ukrainian children," a White House statement said. Zuppi, archbishop of Bologna and president of the Italian Episcopal Conference, came to the White House at the request of Pope Francis, the Biden administration said. Biden, only the second Roman Catholic to become US president, also delivered "his wishes for Pope Francis's continued ministry and global leadership and welcomed the recent nomination of a US archbishop as cardinal," the White House said.

A magnitude 6.8 earthquake off the coast of Central America shook El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua on Tuesday, though without any immediate damage reported, according to Salvadoran authorities. The quake was registered at 6:22 p.m. (0222 GMT) in the Pacific Ocean, about 66 kilometers (41 miles) south of the Salvadoran coast, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS). The USGS originally recorded the earthquake at a magnitude of 6.5. The Salvadoran Ministry of Environment issued an updated reading of magnitude 6.8. "Based on the data reviewed, there is still no tsunami threat for El Salvador," it said on Twitter. The Salvadoran military specified that the earthquake originated from the point where the Cocos and Caribbean tectonic plates collide. Salvadoran civil protection authorities reported they were monitoring for damage in different areas of the country. In Honduras, the early warning coordinator for the Permanent Contingency Commission, Juan Jose R...

(UPDATE) FORMER president Rodrigo Duterte offered to play a role in promoting Philippine-China friendship when he met with Chinese President Xi Jinping, China Central Television (CCTV) reported. Duterte met with Xi on Monday afternoon. Xi welcomed Duterte at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing. Duterte was accompanied by his former executive secretary Salvador Medialdea. The CCTV report, with English translation, said Xi noted that China "always attaches importance to China-Philippines relations." Xi expressed the hope that Duterte "can continue to play an important role in promoting friendly cooperation between the two countries." The former Philippine president "thanked the Chinese side for its valuable support for the economic and social development of the Philippines, especially for its generous aid in combating the Covid-19 pandemic," the CCTV said. "Developing friendly relations with China is in the interests of the two peoples and ...

(UPDATE) THE International Criminal Court (ICC) on Tuesday rejected the Philippines' appeal to stop the investigation of the country's bloody war on drugs that was supported by the administration of former president Rodrigo Duterte. Presiding judge Marc Perrin de Brichambaut said they could not entertain the appeal. Out of the five judges, three concurred in rejecting the government's appeal, saying that the chamber did not "err in law." Two judges, including de Brichambaut, dissented. The Philippines had sought to stop the investigation, saying the court had no jurisdiction over the case. But the judges dismissed the Philippines' protest. "Contrary to the Philippines' assertions, the findings of the Pre-Trial Chamber, in particular those concerning the jurisdiction over the present situation and the effect of the Philippines' withdrawal on the court's jurisdiction, are not a positive finding of jurisdiction, that is inextricably linked t...