CAPE TOWN: South Africa has asked Taiwan to move its unofficial embassy out of the administrative capital, Pretoria, in a move that’s seen as appeasing ally China.
The South African foreign ministry said Friday that it had given Taiwan a “reasonable” timeframe of six months to relocate its “liaison office” to the commercial hub of Johannesburg. The decision was communicated to China last month by South African Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola when he was in China for the China-Africa summit, the ministry said.
South Africa severed formal diplomatic ties with the self-governing island of Taiwan — over which China claims sovereignty — in 1997, but has an unofficial diplomatic relationship with it, as do many countries.
The move comes during heightened tensions between China and Taiwan. Taiwan celebrated the founding of its government and its national day this month and again rejected China’s claims of sovereignty. China then held large military exercises around Taiwan.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said “we appreciate South Africa’s correct decision to relocate the Taipei liaison office in South Africa out of its administrative capital, Pretoria. Taiwan independence is unpopular and doomed to failure.”
Taiwanese Foreign Minister Lin Chia-long said his government would consider closing South Africa’s own liaison office in Taiwan, cutting off a major channel for travel, trade and educational exchange.
China and South Africa are both members of the BRICS bloc of developing economies, which will hold its annual summit in Kazan, Russia, next week. China is by far South Africa’s largest trade partner.
Moving the Taiwan office out of Pretoria “will be a true reflection of the non-political and non-diplomatic nature of the relationship between the Republic of South Africa and Taiwan,” the South African foreign ministry said. It said the office will be rebranded a “trade office.”
South Africa asks Taiwan to move its unofficial embassy out of the capital
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South Africa asks Taiwan to move its unofficial embassy out of the capital
Trudeau says Canada will place 25% tariffs on $155 billion in US imports in retaliation for Trump tariffs
OTTAWA: Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Saturday Canada would impose 25 percent tariffs on C$155 billion ($106.5 billion) of US goods in response to US tariffs.
C$30 billion would take effect from Tuesday and C$125 billion in 21 days, Trudeau told a news conference.
Trump earlier signed an executive order imposing 25 percent tariffs on all goods from Canada and Mexico starting on Tuesday except Canadian energy products, which will be subject to a 10 percent duty.
Bakhashab clinches Hail Legends Rally title
HAIL: Saudi rally driver Abdullah Bakhashab and French co-driver Sebastien Delanuay stormed to a commanding victory at the second and final stage of the Legends Rally in Hail on Saturday driving their Toyota Hilux.
Bakhashab set the pace from the start, recording an impressive time of 04h.40m.10s. Their dominant performance saw them set the fastest time on each stage, underlining their control of both first and second round.
Despite Bakhashab's dramatic victory, it was Prince Khalid bin Sultan Al-Faisal who captured the headlines after he suffered a vehicle rollover accident just before the end of the second stage, but he overcame the rollover and continued until the end.
His unfortunate accident brought him and his co-driver Pablo Moreno of Spain to fourth place with a time of 05h.48m.24s.
Second place overall went to Essa Al-Dosari with a time of 05h.30m.53s, while third place was secured by veteran Saudi rally driver Ahmed Al-Sabban with a time of 05h.45m.05s.
During the press conference held after the race, Bakhashab expressed his happiness at winning the Legends category title which is part of this year's edition of Hail Toyota International Rally. He also indicated that he did not expect to win, especially after his absence from rallying for 15 years.
"I was following a strategy of taking my time so that I could pass Prince Khaled and the rest of my colleagues, and thank God I succeeded and was able to arrive first and win the title," he said.
Prince Khalid bin Sultan congratulated Bakhashab, saying: “Abdullah was able to win the challenge with his experience, and this is not strange for him as a champion with titles and achievements.”
On the accident that he met, Prince Khalid said, “Thank God we came out of this race safely, and I promise you that we will be crowned in the next rally. The challenge is still on with Bakhashab and the other competitors.”
Other participants in the race expressed their great happiness to participate in the special event.
CBS agrees to hand over ‘60 Minutes’ Harris interview transcripts to FCC
- The Harris interview initially drew attention because CBS News showed Harris giving completely different responses to a question posed by correspondent Bill Whitaker in clips that were aired on “Face the Nation” on Oct. 6
CBS says it will turn over an unedited transcript of its October interview with Kamala Harris to the Federal Communications Commission, part of President Donald Trump’s ongoing fight with the network over how it handled a story about his opponent.
Trump sued CBS for $10 billion over the “60 Minutes” interview, claiming it was deceptively edited to make Harris look good. Published reports said CBS’ parent company, Paramount, has been talking to Trump’s lawyers about a settlement.
The network said Friday that it was compelled by Brendan Carr, Trump’s appointee as FCC chairman, to turn over the transcripts and camera feeds of the interview for a parallel investigation by the commission. “60 Minutes” has resisted releasing transcripts for this and all of its interviews, to avoid second-guessing of its editing process.
The case, particularly a potential settlement, is being closely watched by advocates for press freedom and by journalists within CBS, whose lawyers called Trump’s lawsuit “completely without merit” and promised to vigorously fight it after it was filed.
The Harris interview initially drew attention because CBS News showed Harris giving completely different responses to a question posed by correspondent Bill Whitaker in clips that were aired on “Face the Nation” on Oct. 6 and the next night on “60 Minutes.” The network said each clip came from a lengthy response by Harris to Whitaker’s question, but they were edited to fit time constraints on both broadcasts.
In his lawsuit, filed in Texas on Nov. 1, Trump charged it was deceptive editing designed to benefit Harris and constituted “partisan and unlawful acts of voter interference.”
Trump, who turned down a request to be interviewed by “60 Minutes” during the campaign, has continued his fight despite winning the election less than a week after the lawsuit was filed.
The network has not commented on talks about a potential settlement, reported by the Wall Street Journal and New York Times. Paramount executives are seeking Trump administration approval of a sale of the company to another entertainment firm, Skydance.
ABC News in December settled a defamation lawsuit by Trump over statements made by anchor George Stephanopoulos, agreeing to pay $15 million toward Trump’s presidential library rather than engage in a public fight. Meta has reportedly paid $25 million to settle Trump’s lawsuit against the company over its decision to suspend his social media accounts following the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the US Capitol.
Think you can bellow like a stag? German hunters compete in a national deer calling championship
- Unique tradition goes back hundreds of years and was initially aimed at feigning a stag’s rival during the rutting season so the deer comes out
- A stag’s vocalizations are not only very diverse, but also vary according to age, state of mind and duration of the rut
DORTMUND, Germany: German hunters tried to convince the jury at a national stag calling championship that they can imitate a bellowing red deer most realistically.
The unique tradition goes back hundreds of years and was initially aimed at feigning a stag’s rival during the rutting season so the deer comes out. The trick gave hunters a chance to better assess the stag before deciding whether to shoot it.
The competition took place Friday at the Jagd & Hund, or hunting and dog, trade fair in the western city of Dortmund. There were no animals, only bellowing men wearing traditional hunters’ garb including green hats with a tuft of chamois hair.
The hunters used specially made ox horns, triton snail shells, glass cylinders, the hollow stems of the giant hogweed, and a number of artificially produced instruments to amplify the sound and resonance.
A stag’s vocalizations are not only very diverse, but also vary according to age, state of mind and duration of the rut, during which they become increasingly hoarse, as well as the mood of the herd, according to the organizers.
In Dortmund, the hunters were asked to compete in three disciplines: the call of the old, searching stag, the call of the dominant male in a pack of does, and the calling duel between two equally strong stags at the height of the rut. The members of the jury listened with closed eyes to make sure nothing would distract them from the sound.
“The stag calling for me, it’s the fascinating thing to play with the stags,” said Fabian Wenzel, who won the championship. “And maybe shoot an old stag after calling him — that’s the biggest thing for every hunter.”
Wenzel, a hunter from the small village of Nüdlingen in Bavaria, won the title for the fifth time in a row and will participate in the European Stag Calling Championships, which will take place in Lithuania in October.
Real Madrid’s winning run surprisingly ends in loss at Espanyol
- Espanyol inched two points clear of the drop zone, while Madrid’s lead was cut to one point after Atletico Madrid beat Mallorca 2-0 earlier
MADRID: Real Madrid’s winning run ended in stunning fashion after losing at relegation-threatened Espanyol 1-0 on Saturday in La Liga.
Defender Carlos Romero’s late goal beat the La Liga leader and moved Espanyol out of the bottom three.
Espanyol inched two points clear of the drop zone, while Madrid’s lead was cut to one point after Atletico Madrid beat Mallorca 2-0 earlier.
Madrid, which found out on Friday that it will face Manchester City in the Champions League knockout playoff round, traveled to Espanyol with 10 victories in its last 11 matches in all competitions.
It dominated and Vinícius Júnior thought he gave the visitors the lead in the 21st minute but it was ruled out due to a foul by Kylian Mbappé on Espanyol midfielder Pol Lozano.
Madrid was made to pay for its missed opportunities five minutes from time when Romero volleyed in Omar El Hilali’s cross, much to the home fans’ raucous — and surprised — delight.
Back to winning ways
Atletico went into its match against seventh-placed Mallorca having lost both of its last two league matches and with only two wins in its last four games after a run of 15 consecutive victories.
It took the lead in the 26th minute when Giuliano Simeone sprinted down the right before rolling the ball across the edge of the area for Samuel Lino to fire into the bottom right corner.
Rodrigo Riquelme hit the crossbar with a free kick two minutes from time and provided the through ball for substitute Antoine Griezmann to run onto and delightfully chip the goalkeeper and seal the match in stoppages.
Fifth-placed Villarreal crushed bottom club Real Valladolid 5-1 and Getafe drew with Sevilla 0-0.
