World news briefs: Taiwan stands up to China

Ukraine ‘controls some of Russia’s Kursk region’

Kyiv — About 10,000 Russian soldiers are fighting in Russia’s Kursk region, about 90km² of which is controlled by Ukraine, Ukraine’s top military commander said.

“We control about 90km² of territory in the Hlushkov district of the Kursk region of the Russian Federation, and these are our pre-emptive actions in response to a possible enemy attack,” Oleksandr Syrskyi said without elaborating, in remarks released by his office for publication on Sunday. Reuters

Taiwan president stands up to pressure from China

Taipei — Taiwan is “of course” a country and China lacks both the historical evidence and legal proof to back up its sovereignty claims, President Lai Ching-te said on Sunday in a strong rebuke to Beijing and its stepped up political and military pressure.

China says democratically governed Taiwan is “sacred” Chinese territory that has belonged to the country since ancient times, and that the island is one of its provinces with no right to be called a state.

Lai and his government strongly reject that view, and have offered talks with China multiple times but have been rejected. China calls Lai a “separatist”. Reuters

Israeli military recovers bodies of two hostages

Cairo — The Israeli military recovered the bodies of two Israeli hostages and a soldier from the Gaza Strip in an operation on Saturday, it said in a statement.

The hostages were identified as civilians Ofra Keidar and Yonatan Samerano, and soldier Shay Levinson. The latest recovery brings the number of hostages’ bodies retrieved by Israel so far this month to eight. Reuters

Apollo Global to help fund UK nuclear project

Bengaluru — Apollo Global will provide £4.5bn in financing to support Britain’s long-delayed Hinkley Point nuclear project, the US private capital group said on Friday.

The nuclear project will be funded by proceeds from Apollo-managed affiliates, funds and strategic accounts' agreement to invest up to the same amount in fixed-rate callable notes issued by French power giant EDF.

The investment was first reported by the Financial Times earlier in the day. Reuters

Heineken suspends operations in eastern DRC

Kinshasa — Heineken has lost operational control and withdrawn its staff from its facilities in conflict-affected areas of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the Dutch brewer said on Friday.

The beverages giant said in March that its operations in three eastern cities would remain suspended until it was safe to reopen, after some of its breweries were hit and its depots raided during fighting between the army and rebels.

But on Friday, the beer maker said the situation had deteriorated further, and that armed personnel had taken control of its facilities in Bukavu and Goma — eastern DRC’s two biggest cities, now under rebel control — and nearby areas. Reuters

UK tycoon’s superyacht lifted to the surface

Porticello — Salvage experts lifted Mike Lynch’s sunken superyacht to the surface and began pumping seawater out of it on Saturday, 10 months after it sank off the coast of Sicily, killing the British tech tycoon, his teenage daughter and five others.

Work resumed at first light, with one of the most powerful maritime cranes in Europe having been used to haul the 56m Bayesian from beneath the waves.

The upper decks appeared badly damaged while the blue hull was encrusted with mud.

The Bayesian was moored off the small port of Porticello, near Palermo, in August last year when it sank during a sudden storm. The yacht was vulnerable to violent winds and was probably knocked over by gusts of more than 117km per hour, an interim British report said last month. Reuters

Watchdog warns Air India over repeated violations

NEW DELHI — India’s aviation watchdog has issued a warning to Air India for “repeated and serious violations” related to pilot duty scheduling and oversight, according to government directives reviewed by Reuters on Saturday.

The directorate-general of Civil Aviation directed Air India to remove three company executives from crew scheduling roles — a divisional vice-president, a chief manager of crew scheduling and one planning executive — for lapses linked to flights from Bengaluru to London on May 16 and May 17 that exceeded the stipulated pilot flight time limit of 10 hours.

The June 20 order cited “systemic failures in scheduling protocol and oversights” and criticised the lack of strict disciplinary measures against responsible officials.

The latest action by the aviation authority against the airline is unrelated to this month’s crash of an Air India Boeing 787-8 plane that killed all but one of the 242 people on-board but signals heightened scrutiny of the airline. Reuters

Tech tycoon Lynch’s superyacht raised from seabed

Porticello, Italy — Salvage experts hauled British tech tycoon Mike Lynch’s superyacht from the water on Saturday and plan to take it to a Sicilian port for inspection, 10 months after it sank off the coast of Sicily, killing Lynch, his teenage daughter and five others.

Work had resumed at first light, with one of the most powerful maritime cranes in Europe used to haul the 56m-long Bayesian from beneath the waves.

The Bayesian’s upper decks appeared badly damaged while the blue hull was encrusted with mud after it had lain on the seabed at a depth of 50m.

Italian authorities in the nearby port of Termini Imerese will have a chance to inspect the luxury yacht next week as they seek clues into a tragedy that has puzzled maritime experts.

The Bayesian was moored off the small port of Porticello, near Palermo, in August last year when it sank during a sudden storm. The yacht was vulnerable to violent winds and was probably knocked over by gusts of more than 117km/h,  an interim British report said last month. Reuters