Foreign News
Chinese chess: Xiangqi champion suspended for bad behaviour

The winner of a Xiangqi, or Chinese chess, tournament has been stripped of his title after allegations of inappropriate behaviour.
Yan Chenglong has also been accused of cheating by using a communication device analogous to anal beads.
The 48-year-old has been stripped of his title and banned from playing for a year.
However, the Chinese Xiangqi Association (CXA) says it’s impossible to prove accusations of cheating.
Xiangqi has been hugely popular across Asia for hundreds of years. According to the CXA, Yan started drinking with friends in his hotel room shortly after winning the title of “Xiangqi King” at a national tournament held on the Chinese island of Hainan last week.
He then defecated in the bathtub of his room in an act “that damaged hotel property and violated public order and good morals”, said the CXA statement. The CXA was forced to address rumours circulating online that Yan had cheated using anal beads equipped with wireless transmitters to send and receive signals.
“Based on our understanding of the situation, it is currently impossible to prove that Yan engaged in cheating via ‘anal beads’ as speculated on social media,” the CXA said.
As punishment for bad behaviour, Yan was stripped of his title and banned from playing for a year.
The association did not disclose the amount of prize money Yan was forfeiting, but Xiangqi tournaments often promise winners tens of thousands of yuan (thousands of dollars), according to AFP.
(BBC)
Foreign News
US top court orders Trump to return man deported to El Salvador in ‘error’

The US Supreme Court has ordered the Trump administration to facilitate the return of a Maryland man, who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador’s notorious mega-jail.
The Trump administration had conceded that Kilmar Abrego Garcia was deported by accident, but appealed against a federal court’s order to return him to the US.
On Thursday, in a 9-0 ruling, the Supreme Court declined to block the lower court’s order.
The judge’s order “requires the Government to ‘facilitate’ Abrego Garcia’s release from custody in El Salvador and to ensure that his case is handled as it would have been had he not been improperly sent”, the justices ruled.
(BBC)
Foreign News
Woman jailed over £39 donation to Ukraine freed in US-Russia prisoner swap

A Russian-American citizen has been released in a prisoner swap between Moscow and Washington.
Amateur ballerina Ksenia Karelina, a Los Angeles resident, had been in prison in Russia for over a year, after being arrested in the city of Yekaterinburg in early 2024.
She was found guilty of treason for donating money to a US-based charity providing humanitarian support to Ukraine and was sentenced to 12 years in a penal colony.
In exchange, the US reportedly freed Arthur Petrov, a dual German-Russian citizen arrested in Cyprus in 2023. He was accused of illegally exporting microelectronics to Russia for manufacturers working with the Russian military.
[BBC]
Foreign News
Nationwide strike for better pay brings Greece to standstill

A nationwide general strike disrupted public services across Greece, with ferries tied up in port, flights grounded and public transport running only part-time as labour unions press for higher wages to cope with rising living costs.
The 24-hour strike on Wednesday was called by the two main umbrella unions covering the public and private sectors, seeking a full return of collective bargaining rights which were scrapped as part of international bailouts during Greece’s financial crisis.
Greece has emerged from a 2009-18 debt crisis, which saw rolling cuts in wages and pensions in turn for bailouts worth about 290 billion euros ($319bn) and economic growth seen at 2.3 percent this year, outpacing other eurozone economies.
Tapping on the country’s progress, the conservative government increased the monthly minimum wage by a cumulative 35 percent to 880 euros ($970). But many households still struggle to make ends meet amid rising food, power and housing costs, the labour unions say.
The country braces for further global financial turmoil triggered by US tariffs.
[Aljazeera]
-
Business5 days ago
Colombo Coffee wins coveted management awards
-
Features6 days ago
Starlink in the Global South
-
Features1 day ago
Robbers and Wreckers
-
Features3 days ago
Sri Lanka’s Foreign Policy amid Geopolitical Transformations: 1990-2024 – Part III
-
Features6 days ago
Modi’s Sri Lanka Sojourn
-
Midweek Review3 days ago
Inequality is killing the Middle Class
-
Features5 days ago
Sri Lanka’s Foreign Policy amid Geopolitical Transformations: 1990-2024 – Part I
-
Features4 days ago
A brighter future …