Dalai Lama says Donald Trump has a ‘lack of moral principle’
Tibetan spiritual leader also reiterates that his female successor must be ‘attractive’
The Dalai Lama has said Donald Trump lacks moral principle and that he is open to the next spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists being a woman, but only if she is “attractive”.
In an interview with the BBC, the Dalai Lama also said that while he was a supporter of the EU and thought it would be better for the UK to remain part of it, he did not want to see Europe become “Muslim” or “African”.
Asked about the US president, whom the Tibetan spiritual leader has previously unflatteringly impersonated, he said: “His emotions [are] also a little bit,” and made a gesture waggling his finger near his temple. “One day he says something, another day he says something. But I think [there is a] lack of moral principle. When he became president, he expressed America first. That is wrong. America, they should take the global responsibility.”
China’s destination of choice
by Christine Chaumeau
For Sale and For Rent signs in Chinese are prominently displayed on buildings and construction sites in Sihanoukville, a Cambodian port city on the Gulf of Thailand that has become a destination of choice for Chinese investors in just a few months. On Independence Beach, two 38-storey towers are going up as part of the Blue Bay development, dwarfing everything around them. In the sales office, there’s a model of the development and brochures in Chinese and English. ‘We’ve already sold all the apartments in the first tower and 65% in the second. Our clientele is Chinese, Cambodian and Singaporean,’ the saleswoman told me. Bungalows on stilts and a swimming pool will be built on the beach. A casino and shopping centre will go on the mezzanine. The 1,450 apartments are due for release in 2019 and priced at $2,500-3,500 per square metre, a rate previously unheard of in this city.
Migrant rescue boat reaches Lampedusa, defying Italy’s orders to stay out
The charity ship Sea-Watch entered Italian waters on Wednesday with 42 migrants aboard, defying an order from Rome to stay away and provoking a furious response from Interior Minister Matteo Salvini.
The captain of the German-owned boat, which flies the Dutch flag, had decided to head to the island of Lampedusa because the situation on board was “now more desperate than ever”, the group said in a statement.
It said captain Carola Rackete felt that maritime emergency law permitted the ship to enter Italian waters.
In his first reaction, Salvini, of the far-right League party, did not mince his words.
Australian student detained in North Korea was preparing to return home
Australian student Alek Sigley, reported to be detained in Pyongyang, had recently handed in his master’s thesis and was preparing to return home.
He was interviewed by North Korea’s official newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, and praised the country, in a report published this week, around the time he is believed to have been detained in Pyongyang.
Sigley complete the degree at Kim Il-sung University, where he had been studying literature, and was in good spirits in recent days, says his friend, the Australian National University North Korea expert Leonid Petrov.
‘Big loss’: Libya’s UN-recognised government ‘retakes’ key town
Government of National Accord claims it has wrested Gharyan from Khalifa Haftar’s forces who say fighting is ongoing.
Forces allied to Libya‘s UN-recognised government say they have retaken Gharyan, a strategic town south of the capital, Tripoli, although forces loyal to renegade military commander Khalifa Haftar denied the claims.
Gharyan is the main forward base for the eastern-based Libya National Army (LNA) under Haftar which has been fighting to take control of Tripoli for almost three months.
Mustafa al-Mejii, a spokesman for forces loyal to the internationally-recognised Government of National Accord, told AFP news agency: “Gharyan is under our total control.”
Trump Criticizes Megan Rapinoe Over Refusal to Visit White House
The American soccer star had used an obscenity to dismiss the idea of a White House visit if her team won the Women’s World Cup.
By Andrew Keh
Megan Rapinoe was still sweating through her uniform on Monday night, moments after scoring two goals for the United States women’s soccer team, when she was asked what the atmosphere around the Americans’ next World Cup match, an elimination game against France on Friday in Paris, might be like.
“Hopefully a complete spectacle, just an absolute media circus,” she said, with the blend of sarcasm and sincerity that has made her one of the most popular women’s soccer players in the world. “I hope it’s huge and crazy.”
Her wish has begun to come true — though perhaps not in the way she imagined.
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