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Korean scores hole-in-one, paces PHL Masters

HYUN HO RHO outgunned Ryan Monsalve in an early shootout between two emerging stars of the Philippine Golf Tour, spiking his solid, five-under 67 with a hole-in-one in the first round of the ICTSI Philippine Masters in Pasay City on Wednesday.

The 2023 PGT Q-School topnotcher aced the 195-yard No. 4 then had three birdies, including two in the last three holes. His bogey-free 33-34 performance came in scorching conditions at the Villamor Golf Club which yielded just five under-par rounds.

Mr. Monsalve had an impressive start in the third flight with Rho and veteran Marvin Dumandan, firing an eagle at the par-5 No. 2 and bouncing back from a mishap on the third hole with birdie on No. 6.

Still, Mr. Monsalve’s 68 put himself in early contention in the P2 million championship, his best start in a career marked by a fifth-place finish in his first pro event at Apo last March.

“I hit it solid, straight to the pin. I didn’t even know it went in until my sister told me,” said the 19-year-old Mr. Rho. “That’s when I realized I made a hole-in-one.”

“I wasn’t really putting well, but I was lucky to sink my par putts,” said Mr. Rho, who used a 5-iron and Titleist No. 2 ball for the ace worth P20,000 from the organizing Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc.

The young talents stood out against the seasoned campaigners with Aidric Chan shooting a 69 for solo third. Lloyd Go, a winner at Palos Verdes, and Guido van der Valk, twice a runner-up here, each positioned themselves with 71s.

Mr. Chan, this year’s Q-School winner, highlighted his 69 with three birdies at the front nine, overcoming a bogey on the 10th with another birdie on No,. 13.

Sean Ramos eagled the challenging par-5 No. 8 following birdies on Nos. 2 and 6 to post the best frontside output of 32. However, he struggled in the last nine holes, bogeying Nos. 12 and 14 and dropping two strokes on the No. 16, ending with a 72 and slipping to joint sixth with 11 others.

They include Art Arbole, former champion Jerson Balasabas, Russell Bautista, Michael Bibat, Rico Depilo, Ivan Monsalve, Gerald Rosales, Dino Villanueva, Rupert Zaragosa, Daiya Suzuki and amateur Jeffren Lumbo.

Meanwhile, Tony Lascuña and Angelo Que carded 73s for joint 18th with Mark Alcazar, Elee Bisera, Reymon Jaraula and Daiki Ueda, while Jobim Carlos shot a 74 for a share of 24th with Kristoffer Arevalo, Ferdie Aunzo, Fidel Concepcion and eight others.

Kazakhstan uses height advantage vs Singapore

PHILSTAR FILE PHOTO

Games today
(Rizal Memorial Coliseum)
10 a.m. — Indonesia vs Hong Kong
1 p.m. — Chinese Taipei vs India
4 p.m. — Vietnam vs Singapore
7 p.m. — Philippines vs Australia

IN MOST sports, especially volleyball, height is might.

And Kazakhstan proved this in a quick, unforgiving 25-15, 25-9, 25-17 victory over Singapore on Wednesday that jump started its campaign in the Asian Women’s Volleyball Challenge Cup at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum.

Katrina Belova and skipper Sana Anarkulova, the tallest in the lineup at 6’2,” presided over the carnage and unleashed 15 and 13 points, respectively, to give the Kazakhs an early hold of the lead in Pool B.

It was a strong start for a Rishat Gilyazutdinov-mentored squad, ranked 44th in the world and whose best finish was a silver medal in the 2016 Asian Cup in  Vinh Phuc, Vietnam behind China.

Kazakhstan is eyeing a ticket to the Women’s Challenger Cup which the Philippines will host from July 4 to 7, and a berth to the prestigious FIVB Volleyball Women’s Nations League. 

Meanwhile, Alas Pilipinas will get its chance to get a piece of the action as it clashes with Australia in the main game of the heavy four-game bill at 7 p.m. tonight.

The Filipinas will try to make a big impression before the hometown crowd even though they have already secured a slot to the forthcoming Challenger Cup.

Another motivation that the Jorge Souze de Brito-mentored squad could use was its stinging four-set defeat to the Aussies in the classification round in last year’s edition of this annual meet in Gresik, East Java, Indonesia.

“Expect us to try our best, be competitive no matter what and always there to fight,” said De Brito.

The team will be skippered by Jia de Guzman and bannered by a mix of veterans in Sisi Rondina, Cherry Nunag, Dawn Catindig and Dell Palomata, rising stars Eya Laure, Vanie Gandler, Faith Nisperos, Fifi Sharma Jen Nierva and collegiate standouts Angel Canino, Thea Gagate, Julia Coronel and Ara Panique. — Joey Villar

Venus gets own Barbie doll 

BARBIE has come up with dolls of nine athletes including one of tennis player Venus Williams (center). — FACEBOOK.COM/BARBIEPHOFFICIAL

LONDON — Seven-times Grand Slam champion Venus Williams and Australian soccer player Mary Fowler are among nine athletes to get a Barbie doll in their likeness as toy maker Mattel seeks to shine a light on women sports role models ahead of the Paris Olympics.

Mattel unveiled the dolls on Wednesday, each with their bespoke accessories. Ms. Fowler’s wears gloves and holds a football while Ms. Williams’ doll, dressed in an all white tennis dress and visor as well as wearing earrings, comes with a miniature racket.

The former world number one said she hoped to motivate young girls into sports with the doll.

“I literally can’t imagine my life without sports and without the game,” Ms. Williams said in a video, in which she held the doll.

“I want other young girls to have that invaluable experience of playing a sport and what it teaches you and what you learn and what you take from it, not just that moment (but) for the rest of your life… I think it’s so important for girls to be in sports.”

Other sports figures to have a doll in their likeness include French boxer Estelle Mossely, Polish sprinter Ewa Swoboda, Spanish doctor and paratriathlon athlete Susana Rodriguez, Italian former swimmer Federica Pellegrini, Canadian soccer player Christine Sinclair, as well as Mexican and Brazilian gymnasts, Alexa Moreno and Rebeca Andrade.

The dolls, unveiled as Barbie turns 65 this year, “(recognize) the impact of sport in fostering self-confidence and ambition among the next generation,” Krista Berger, senior vice-president of Barbie and Mattel’s Global Head of Dolls, said.

“By shining a light on these inspirational athletes and their stories, we hope to champion the belief that every young girl deserves the opportunity to pursue her passions and turn her dreams into reality,” she said in a statement. — Reuters

World record: 56-kick shootout

ISRAEL’S SC Dimona and Shimshon Tel Aviv have set a world record for the longest ever penalty shootout with 56 kicks.

Their semifinal promotion playoff in the third-tier finished 2-2 after extra time, leading to penalties.

Dimona won the shootout 23-22 after each side took 28 penalties in the city of Dimona in the Negev desert on Monday.

The previous record of 54 penalty kicks was set in March 2022 in England when Washington beat Bedlington 25-24 during a first-round tie in the Ernest Armstrong Memorial Cup.

The competition is open to clubs competing in the Northern League Second Division — the 10th tier of the football pyramid. — Reuters

Caitlin still winless in WNBA

CAITLIN CLARK — WENDELL CRUZ/USA TODAY SPORTS/REUTERS

STILL in search of a first victory, Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever take their attention-getting campaign to the Pacific Northwest for a matchup against the Seattle Storm.

The Fever (0-4) start a West Coast swing against another struggling WNBA team in the 1-3 Storm.

Ms. Clark and the Fever almost broke through Monday night in an 88-84 home loss to the Connecticut Sun, a championship-level opponent.

Ms. Clark, who played through a left ankle injury Monday after sitting out the final 5:29 of the first half, is far from content with the situation as all eyes fall on her ability to transition to the pro game. “You got to keep your head up but you also have to have a fire within you that is upset and not OK with losing four straight to open the year,” MS. Clark said.

“You got to remember we played the top teams in the league. There’s a sense that this is helping us get better.”

Clark is averaging a team-high 17 points and 5.5 assists per game but has also committed 26 turnovers. Indiana’s biggest problem has been on defense, allowing more than 93 points per game.

Seattle also is trying to figure out who it is in the first part of the season. The Storm upgraded their roster considerably, adding Nneka Ogwumike and Skylar Diggins-Smith, but have yet to see results on the court.

Monday night’s 74-63 loss at New York could have been expected. It was the second half of a back-to-back for Seattle and Ogwumike (ankle) was out for a second straight game. She hopes to return on Wednesday night.

Seattle coach Noelle Quinn isn’t worried yet about a losing record.

“I want to use the first 10 games as a sample size at least,” she said before Monday night’s loss. “We’ve been battle-tested early. Been on the road early. The vets are here and it’s going to take some time.”

Indiana won two of the three matchups between the teams last season. — Reuters

Pirates unload big hits vs Giants

NICK GONZALES hit a walk-off run batted in (RBI) single in the 10th inning after Pittsburgh tied the score with four runs in the ninth, lifting the Pirates to a 7-6 victory over the visiting San Francisco Giants on Tuesday.

Mr. Gonzales singled up the middle on the first pitch of the inning from Erik Miller (0-2), scoring automatic runner Michael A. Taylor from second base. Thairo Estrada and Matt Chapman each hit home runs for San Francisco, which saw a four-game winning streak come to an end. The Giants led 6-2 before Pittsburgh forced extra innings with their late four-run rally.

With one out and the bases loaded in the ninth, the Pirates’ Ji Hwan Bae singled in a run against Camilo Doval. Andrew McCutchen followed with a ground ball that was mishandled by shortstop Marco Luciano, allowing Yasmani Grandal to score from third base.

The Pirates pulled within 6-5 when Jared Triolo scored on Bryan Reynolds’ groundout, and then tied the score on Oneil Cruz’s RBI double to right field.

David Bednar (3-3) pitched a scoreless 10th inning for Pittsburgh, which improved to 5-1 in extra-inning games. Cruz had three hits, while Gonzales and McCutchen had two apiece.

San Francisco took the lead in the first inning against Martin Perez. With runners on the corners and two outs, Wilmer Flores hit a pop fly to shallow left field that was dropped by Cruz, allowing two runs to score.

Cruz called off left fielder Jack Suwinski on the fly ball, which hit off Cruz’s glove for his ninth error of the season.

Pittsburgh responded in the second inning when Gonzales hit a leadoff single, advanced to third on Suwinski’s single, and scored on Triolo’s sacrifice fly.

Estrada put the Giants ahead 4-1 with a two-run homer in the fifth inning against Perez, who allowed four runs (two earned) on five hits over 4 1/3 innings. He walked three and struck out four.

Pittsburgh pushed a run across in the fifth inning when Bae scored on a Reynolds’ fielder’s choice grounder.

Giants starter Logan Webb pitched six innings, allowing two runs on six hits with one walk and six strikeouts.

Chapman hit a solo homer against Luis Ortiz with one out in the seventh inning to put the Giants ahead 5-2.

San Francisco extended its lead to 6-2 in the eighth inning against Kyle Nicolas. Luciano hit a leadoff single, Curt Casali walked, and both runners advanced on a wild pitch before Luciano scored on Estrada’s groundout. — Reuters

Passengers arrive in Singapore after turbulence-stricken flight

Stranded passengers from Singapore Airlines flight SQ321 wait for a relief flight after an emergency landing at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi International Airport, in Bangkok, Thailand May 21, 2024. — REUTERS

SINGAPORE — More than 140 passengers and crew from a Singapore Airlines flight hit by heavy turbulence that left dozens injured and one dead finally reached Singapore on a relief flight Wednesday morning after an emergency landing in Bangkok.

The scheduled London-Singapore flight on a Boeing 777-300ER plane was diverted to Bangkok after it was buffeted by turbulence that flung passengers and crew around the cabin, slamming some into the ceiling.

A 73-year-old British passenger died of a suspected heart attack, and at least 30 people were injured.

“I saw people from across the aisle going completely horizontal, hitting the ceiling and landing back down in like really awkward positions. People, like, getting massive gashes in the head, concussions,” Dzafran Azmir, a 28-year-old student on board the flight, told Reuters after arriving in Singapore.

Photographs from the interior of the plane showed gashes in the overhead cabin panels, oxygen masks and panels hanging from the ceiling and luggage strewn around. A passenger said some people’s heads had slammed into the lights above the seats and broken the panels.

Singapore Airlines took 131 passengers and 12 crew on the relief flight from Bangkok, which reached Singapore just before 5 a.m. (9 p.m. GMT). There were 211 passengers including many Australians, British and Singaporeans, and 18 crew onboard the original flight; injured fliers and their families remained in Bangkok.

“On behalf of Singapore Airlines, I would like to express my deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of the deceased,” Singapore Airlines Chief Executive Officer Goh Choon Phong said in a video message.

Officers from Singapore’s Transport Safety Investigation Bureau arrived in Bangkok on Tuesday night, Singapore’s Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat said in a statement on Facebook.

As the incident involves a US company, Boeing, which makes the 777-300ER aircraft, the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) was sending an accredited representative and four technical advisers to support the investigation, he said.

The plane encountered sudden extreme turbulence, Mr. Goh said, and the pilot then declared a medical emergency and diverted to Bangkok.

Aircraft tracking provider FlightRadar 24 said at 7:49 a.m. GMT the flight encountered “a rapid change in vertical rate, consistent with a sudden turbulence event,” based on flight tracking data.

“There were thunderstorms, some severe, in the area at the time,” it said.

Weather forecasting service AccuWeather on Tuesday said rapidly developing, explosive thunderstorms near the flight path of Flight 321 most likely contributed to violent turbulence.

“Developing thunderstorms often have strong updrafts, a zone of upward moving air, that rises very rapidly, sometimes at more than 100 mph, and can leave pilots will little time to react if it occurs directly in front of the plane,” said Dan DePodwin, AccuWeather’s Senior Director of Forecasting Operations.

The sudden turbulence occurred over the Irrawaddy Basin in Myanmar, about 10 hours into the flight, Singapore Airlines said.

“It is not a rare occurrence for big thunderstorms in the Bay of Bengal. There are always the chances of bumps,” said an airline pilot who regularly flies to Singapore and Southeast Asia. The pilot declined to be identified because he is not authorized to speak to the media.

“We were about 30 miles off track flying around the thunderstorms two days ago on the way to Singapore,” the pilot added.

Turbulence has many causes, most obviously the unstable weather patterns that trigger storms, but this flight could have been affected by clear air turbulence, which is difficult to detect.

Sara Nelson, international president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, representing over 50,000 workers at 20 airlines, said it is important for passengers to wear seatbelts whenever seated, she said.

“It is a matter of life and death,” Ms. Nelson said.

Turbulence-related airline accidents are the most common type of accident, according to a 2021 NTSB study.

Although the airline said 30 people were injured, Samitivej Hospital in Thailand said it was treating 71 passengers.

From 2009 through 2018, the US agency found that turbulence accounted for more than a third of reported airline accidents and most resulted in one or more serious injuries, but no aircraft damage.

Singapore Airlines, which is widely recognized as one of the world’s leading airlines and is seen as a benchmark for much of the industry, has not had any major incidents in recent years.

Its last accident resulting in casualties was a flight from Singapore to Los Angeles via Taipei, where it crashed on Oct. 31, 2000 at the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, killing 83 of the 179 people on board.

Singapore Airlines shares were not trading on Wednesday because of a public holiday in Singapore. — Reuters

Tornado kills several people in Iowa town, leaves dozens hurt

SCREENGRAB FROM OHIOSTORMCHASERS’ YOUTUBE CHANNEL

A POWERFUL TORNADO ripped through a small Iowa town on Tuesday, killing multiple people and leaving at least a dozen injured, authorities said.

Images from the town of Greenfield show a path of utter destruction, with homes reduced to splinters, debris strewn everywhere and several large wind turbines toppled.

“This tornado has devastated a good portion of this town,” said Sgt. Alex Dinkla, a spokesperson with the Iowa State Patrol, during an evening press conference in Greenfield.

“We can confirm there have been multiple fatalities with this tornado.”

Mr. Dinkla did not provide a death toll, but said it may not be before Wednesday that figures could be provided.

At least a dozen people in Greenfield, a town of about 2,000 people, were injured in the twister, Mr. Dinkla said. Because the local hospital sustained damage in the storm, those people had to be transferred to facilities in nearby towns.

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds said she would visit Greenfield on Wednesday morning. “While it’s too soon to know the storm’s full impact, answers will come in the hours and days ahead,” Ms. Reynolds said in a statement.

The governor said the state would provide its full resources to help the impacted areas recover, and reassured residents that support was in place working to provide shelter, food and water, and restore power to thousands of residents.

“I’ve lived here all my life. I’m just praying that everyone was safe, that everybody’s safe, and nobody got hurt,” Valerie Warrior, a Greenfield resident, told CBS affiliate KCCI TV in an interview, standing near some of the demolished dwellings. “It was scary, very scary.”

Other videos showed smashed vehicles and heavy damage to a gasoline station in Greenfield, the county seat of Adair County, which along with adjacent Adams County appeared to have borne the brunt of the Iowa storms in the southwestern corner of the state.

At least one person, a woman in Adams County, was listed as a storm-related fatality, the county’s medical examiner Lisa Brown said. She spoke to Reuters by phone but said she could not yet provide more details.

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds declared a “disaster emergency” for 15 counties, including Adair and Adams, allowing state resources to be readily utilized in responding to the storm.

Also in Adams County, at least three wind turbines standing about 25 stories high were nearly snapped in half, with one catching fire, KCCI reported. It said several other wind turbines were damaged in Adair County.

The National Weather Service had issued tornado warnings and severe thunderstorm advisories for much of Iowa and several other Midwestern states on Tuesday, including parts of Minnesota, and Wisconsin.

Earlier in the day, the weather service confirmed at least one tornado over Rollingstone, Minnesota. — Reuters

InLife reports increases in parent company’s 2023 revenues, net income, assets; jump-starts 2024 with strong performance in 1Q

InLife recently held its Annual Members’ Meeting where it declared increase in its parent company’s revenues, net income, and assets compared to 2022 levels.

Its 2023 revenues increased by 12% to P24.82 billion from P22.03 billion in 2022. Its net income slightly increased by 1.2% to P2.64 billion compared to P2.61 billion in 2022. InLife’s Parent Company’s assets increased by 4.3% to P153.54 billion from P147.17 billion in 2022.

It also reported a slight dip in Members’ Equity by 4.8% to P47.83 billion from P50.23 billion in 2022 due to the decline in the excess of market value of Fair Value through Other Comprehensive Income (FVOCI) stocks.

InLife President Raul Antonio E. Littaua emphasized InLife’s commitment to its policyholders and their beneficiaries as he reported a 14.5% increase in the claims and benefits InLife paid. “Beyond these numbers, the more meaningful metric for us is the total amount of benefits we have paid to our members and their beneficiaries. In 2023, InLife paid P10.7 billion in total claims and benefits, up by more than 14% from P9.4 billion in 2022.”

Because of the change in the accounting treatment of UnionBank from equity method to FVOCI, there was a decrease in InLife’s 2023 Consolidated total revenues by 2% at P25.37 billion compared to P25.9 billion in 2022, while consolidated net income went down to P2.1 billion from P5.2 billion in 2022.

Consolidated assets increased by 3.4% to P153.54 billion from P148.53 in 2022, while consolidated members’ equity amounted to P47.8 billion, a decrease of 5.6% from P50.65 billion in 2022.

“Despite the insurance industry being dominated by multinational companies, InLife ranked number three in net worth, number four in assets, and number six in net income, according to the Insurance Commission’s life insurance statistics based on unaudited financial reports,” Littaua said.

InLife also reported its New Business Annual Premium Equivalent (NBAPE) of P3.72 billion, moving up to 6th place from its 9th place in 2022, and 12th place in 2021. Its Group Insurance business grew by 19% while its Agency and Bancassurance Distribution grew by more than 60%.

“These numbers mirror our keen focus on our policyholders’ changing financial needs. InLife continues to respond to the growing need for risk protection and medical insurance through our product solutions,” said Littaua.

InLife introduced two products in 2023: Abundance, a savings and life insurance plan that gives anticipated guaranteed regular cash payouts for 20 years or until the age of 65; and Resilience, a limited-pay whole life critical illness plan that provides guaranteed lump sum cash upon critical illness diagnosis, and additional health benefits.

It also reported leveraging on technology and innovation to enhance its products, services and operations through investments in digital platforms, data analytics, and emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence. These investments have allowed the Company to streamline its processes, improve efficiency, and drive innovation across the company’s entire value chain. It also invested heavily on talent development and employee and agency force engagement and focused on customer centricity through market research and customer feedback in order to meet the evolving needs of its customers across different demographics and life stages.

Strong 2024

Early this week, the Insurance Commission, thru the Philippine Life Insurance Association, released statistics on the performance of the life insurance industry based on submitted unaudited quarterly reports for the first quarter of 2024. The statistics showed InLife moving up to 5th place in NBAPE, propelled by a 33% increase in new business premiums over the same period in 2023. In addition, InLife posted increases in the following metrics over the same period last year: 35% in Net Income, 7% in Total Premiums and 2% in Assets. These results strengthened InLife’s relevance in the local life insurance industry by ranking 3rd in Net Worth, 4th in Assets, 6th in Net Income, and 8th in Total Premiums. These strong financials demonstrate InLife’s steadfast commitment to its purpose of creating positive outcomes for its policyholders, and reaching more Filipinos who are not making financial progress in their lives.

 


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Vietnam appoints top policeman as country’s new president

SYDNEY PHOENIX-FLICKR

HANOI — Vietnam’s parliament elected police minister To Lam as the state president on Wednesday, in a move analysts see as a “stepping stone” for Mr. Lam to bid later for the position of chief of the ruling Communist Party, the country’s top job.

Mr. Lam’s election followed the appointment on Monday by Vietnam’s National Assembly of its new chairman, former deputy Tran Thanh Man, possibly bringing to a temporary end two-months of heightened political turbulence which saw the exit of three of Vietnam’s top five leaders over unspecified wrongdoings.

In line with normal procedures in the tightly controlled one-party state, lawmakers voted unanimously on a resolution that approved Mr. Lam’s election after a secret ballot about him, the only candidate for the job. That followed his nomination by the Communist Party last week. 

As head of the public security ministry, Mr. Lam, 66, has been a crucial figure in a sweeping anti-graft campaign, known as “blazing furnace,” which is aimed at rooting out widespread corruption but has also been seen by critics as a tool to sideline opponents during political infighting.

That in turn is denting the country’s appeal among foreign investors, who mostly reduced their securities holdings in recent months in coincidence with bad political news. It is also paralyzing the public administration, with billions of dollars in foreign aid and public funds unspent.

After his election, Mr. Lam told lawmakers he would “resolutely and persistently continue the fight against corruption.”

The state president holds a largely ceremonial role but is one of the country’s top four political positions, the so-called ‘four pillars.’ The others are the party chief, the prime minister and the parliament speaker.

Political infighting is expected to temporarily abate after Mr. Lam’s election, said Carl Thayer, emeritus professor and Vietnam expert at the Australian Defense Force Academy in Canberra.

But the crucial battle remains to be fought, as the ageing party chief Nguyen Phu Trong’s third five-year term ends in 2026 — or earlier if he steps down before his mandate expires.

“To Lam could use his position as one of the ‘four pillars’ as a stepping stone to become general secretary,” said Mr. Thayer, referring to the party chief job.

“With the elevation to the office of president, it becomes clear that there are more ambitions for To Lam than retirement,” said Florian Feyerabend, the representative in Vietnam for Germany’s Konrad Adenauer Foundation, a think tank, noting the position could be a “launch pad” to win the party chief job.

Until that crucial position is filled, Florian Feyerabend expected continued infighting, which he defined as “the modus operandi of the system.”

The parliament on Wednesday also voted to dismiss Mr. Lam from his post as police minister, according to state media, a move not originally in its schedule.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has assigned Deputy Minister of Public Security Tran Quoc To, 62, to temporarily head the ministry, online newspaper VietnamNet cited a government decision as saying.

GOLD STEAK
Mr. Lam’s rise has not been without controversy.

In 2021, celebrity chef Nusret Gokce, known as “Salt Bae,” uploaded a video of himself feeding Mr. Lam a gold encrusted steak at his London restaurant, while Vietnam was under COVID-19 lockdown. The video went viral before the Turkish chef removed it.

A noodle vendor who later posted a video imitating “Salt Bae” was sentenced to five years in prison for “anti-state propaganda”.

Mr. Lam was the head of the public security ministry when in 2017 Vietnam’s security services allegedly carried out an extraordinary rendition of a Vietnamese business executive from Germany through Slovakia. The case rattled relations with both countries.

The US State Department’s report on human rights in Vietnam in 2023, warned of significant violations by security forces and cited “credible reports that members of the security forces committed numerous abuses.” — Reuters

Australia detects H7 bird flu at egg farm

SYDNEY/CANBERRA — A highly pathogenic bird flu has been detected on an egg farm near Melbourne but it is not the same strain that has swept the globe and infected dairy cows in the United States, Australian authorities said on Wednesday.

The egg farm where the outbreak occurred has been put into quarantine after a number of poultry died, the agriculture ministry of the state of Victoria said.

First laboratory tests show the virus is an as yet unidentified H7 strain that likely came from the wild bird population and has been seen in Australia before, Victoria’s Chief Veterinary Officer Graeme Cooke said.

He said restrictions on movement had been imposed in the area around the farm and the birds would be destroyed.

“This area does have a high density of poultry businesses, both egg laying and poultry meat,” he told Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) radio.

“At this stage we can’t say whether there’ll be any onward spread to other properties. We are now taking measures necessary to stamp it out to remove any onward spread.”

He said the outbreak presented no risk to human health.

Australia has suffered nine episodes of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) since 1976, the most recent of which involved the spread of an H7N7 strain in Victoria in 2020. Each was quickly contained and eradicated, according to the government.

Australia is the only continent that has so far remained free of the H5N1 avian influenza virus that has spread globally in recent months, killing hundreds of millions of poultry and causing turmoil in food supply chains.

The H5N1 strain has also killed huge numbers of wild birds and spread to tens of mammal species, raising fears of human transmission. — Reuters

G7 finance chiefs seek common line on Russian assets, China

ROME — G7 finance chiefs meeting in Italy this week will attempt to find common ground over how to use frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine’s war effort and how to address China’s growing export strength in key markets, officials said.

Finance ministers and central bankers from the Group of Seven wealthy democracies – the United States, Japan, Germany, France, Britain, Italy and Canada – will gather in the northern Italian lakeside town of Stresa on Friday and Saturday.

G7 negotiators have been discussing for weeks how to best exploit some $300 billion worth of Russian financial assets, such as major currencies and government bonds, which were frozen shortly after Moscow invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

The United States is pushing to find a way to bring forward the future income from those assets, either through issuing a bond or more likely granting Ukraine a loan that it says could provide it with as much as $50 billion in the near term.

However, many legal and technical aspects need to be hammered out, meaning a detailed accord is not expected to be reached in Stresa, several officials said.

In that case, informal talks are set to continue aimed at presenting a proposal to G7 heads of government who will meet in Puglia, southern Italy, on June 13-15.

The idea of the G7 issuing a bond for Ukraine appears to have lost ground, with the US now proposing a loan backed by the income stream from the frozen assets.

Who would administer the loan – the World Bank or some other body – how it would be guaranteed, how future profits can be estimated and what would happen in the event of a peace deal with Russia are all aspects still to be clarified.

European officials are particularly cautious, with one EU diplomat saying it would take “weeks if not months” for a final decision to be made.

LEGAL IMPLICATIONS’
Italy holds the G7 presidency this year and its Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti said last week the US proposals on the use of the Russian assets had “quite serious legal implications” which still need clarifying.

Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki also stressed any agreement must comply with international law.

Russia has repeatedly warned the West of consequences if its assets are touched and accused Washington of bullying Europe to take more radical steps to thwart it in Ukraine.

The prospects for global trade will be another central topic in Stresa after the United States last week unveiled steep tariff hikes on an array of Chinese imports including electric vehicle batteries, computer chips and medical products.

Giorgetti said after the US move that a “trade war” was being fought reflecting geopolitical tensions and warned of the risk of “fragmentation” to global commerce.

The United States is not calling on its partners to take similar measures against China, but an official said it was likely to push for the G7 communique to express common concern for what it calls Beijing’s industrial “overcapacity”.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in Frankfurt on Tuesday the United States and Europe needed to address the threat from Chinese imports in a “strategic and united way” to keep manufacturers viable on both sides of the Atlantic and foster development of their domestic clean energy industries.

Other topics to be discussed in Stresa, according to an official program issued by the Italian presidency, will include the impact of artificial intelligence on the global economy, and a “stocktaking” on sanctions against Russia.

Taxation will also be on the agenda, with Italy trying to revive a deal on a global minimum tax on multinationals which was signed by around 140 countries in 2021, but has not been fully implemented due to opposition in the US and elsewhere.

A proposal for a global wealth tax on billionaires, which has been promoted by Brazil and France among the broader Group of 20 developed countries, would also be discussed in Stresa but was meeting US resistance, one of the officials said. — Reuters