MOSCOW (Reuters) -- The Kremlin said on Tuesday that a visit by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to Russia was being prepared, a sign of continued close ties between the two major oil-producing nations which are both at odds with the United States. In a call with reporters, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the visit was at “a high degree of preparation,” and that all that remained was to agree a date. Venezuela has in recent years maintained close relations with Russia, offering Moscow a degree of diplomatic support for its campaign in Ukraine. Russia has supported Maduro’s government amid an extended confrontation with the United States and prolonged domestic unrest.

 

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PARIS (AFP) -- Indonesia has ordered two Scorpene-class attack submarines from France’s Naval Group as part of a defense cooperation agreement signed with Paris in 2021, the company said Tuesday. The diesel-electric submarines, capable of carrying 18 torpedoes and missiles, will be built at the PT PAL shipyard in Indonesia, Naval Group said in a statement. Under the deal, Naval Group will transfer its technological know-how while “the management, operation and maintenance will be conducted in Indonesia” by Indonesians, the company said. The agreement will create thousands of long-term, high-skill jobs, Naval Group added. “Naval Group is very honored to be part of this new chapter in the strategic alliance between Indonesia and France,” said the French firm’s chief executive, Pierre Eric Pommellet. The vessels “will strengthen the country’s maritime sovereignty and support the Indonesian Navy in achieving regional superiority at sea,” he said. “In addition to the submarines, our strategic partnership with PT PAL will also support the Indonesian defense industry to actively prepare the future of naval warfare in the country,” Pommellet added.

 

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BERLIN (AFP) -- The alleged ringleaders of a suspected far-right plot to attack the German parliament and overthrow the government will go on trial in Frankfurt from May, a court said on Tuesday. Nine suspected members of the “terror group” behind the planned coup will stand trial from May 21, a court in the city said. Among the defendants will be the two men alleged to have led the plot -- the aristocrat and businessman Prince Heinrich XIII Reuss and a former army officer named as Ruediger v.P.. Birgit Malsack-Winkemann, a judge and former member of parliament for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, will also stand trial. The Frankfurt trial, which will last until early 2025 at least, is just one element of the sprawling case against the alleged coup plotters.  In all, 26 people are accused of belonging to a nationwide extremist network allegedly led by Reuss, and one woman is alleged to have supported the group. 

 

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OSAKA (Guardian) -- Japanese citizens will all have the same family name in 500 years’ time unless married couples are permitted to use separate surnames, a new study has suggested as part of a campaign to update a civil code dating back to the late 1800s. The study, led by Hiroshi Yoshida, a professor of economy at Tohoku University, projected that if Japan continues to insist that couples select a single surname, every single Japanese person will be known as “Sato-san” by 2531. Sato already tops the list of Japanese surnames, accounting for 1.5% of the total population, according to a March 2023 survey, with Suzuki a close second. A nation of Satos “will not only be inconvenient but also undermine individual dignity,” he said, according to the Asahi Shimbun, adding that the trend would also lead to the loss of family and regional heritage.

 

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MANILA (AFP) -- Hundreds of schools in the Philippines, including dozens in the capital Manila, suspended in-person classes on Tuesday due to dangerous levels of heat, education officials said. The country’s heat index measures what a temperature feels like, taking into account humidity. The index was expected to reach the “danger” level of 42 degrees Celsius in Manila on Tuesday and 43C on Wednesday, with similar levels in a dozen other areas of the country, the state weather forecaster said. The actual highest recorded temperature for the metropolis on Tuesday was 35.7C, below the record of 38.6C reached on May 17, 1915. Local officials across the main island of Luzon, the central islands, and the southern island of Mindanao suspended in-person classes or shortened school hours to avoid the hottest part of the day, education ministry officials said.  

 

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WINDHOEK (AFP) -- Namibian authorities stepped up an anti-poaching alert after announcing that 28 rhinoceros had been killed by poachers since the start of the year, including 19 at the country’s largest animal reserve. The southern African country’s environment ministry said an “urgent high-level meeting” with security officials had been called to plan measures to combat the “barbaric” poaching wave. The ministry also appealed for public help “in this difficult fight” against a phenomenon surging again across southern Africa. No arrests have been made so far, the ministry added. Namibia’s Etosha Park has been particularly hard hit by the new wave of killings. Of the 19 rhinos slaughtered in the park, 10 were found during a campaign in March to dehorn rhinos to reduce the risk of them becoming poaching targets, the ministry said.  The horns are used in traditional medicine in Asian markets after the animal is killed.