SYDNEY: Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott yesterday cancelled a trip to Indonesia amid reports that an asylum seeker turnback operation was underway that could renew tensions between the neighbours.
Abbott’s office confirmed he no longer intended to travel to Bali on Tuesday for a meeting with Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono but declined to go into the reasons for putting off the visit, which had been seen as a thawing of ties tested by recent rows over espionage and Australia’s controversial refugee policies.
The prime minister is grateful for the invitation,” a spokesman for Abbott said. “Unfortunately the prime minister is unable to attend at this time and he hopes to visit Indonesia to meet with the president at a mutually convenient time.”
Chinese official probed for graft
BEIJING: A legislator in the Chinese city of Chongqing is under investigation for graft, the ruling Communist Party’s top anti-graft body said yesterday.
Tan Xiwei, deputy director of Chongqing’s People’s Congress Standing Committee, is suspected of “serious violation of discipline and laws,” which is Party parlance for engaging in corrupt activities. The party’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection made the announcement on its website.
Tan is the latest official to fall in China’s fight against graft. President Xi Jinping has made tackling widespread corruption a central goal of his administration, saying that the problem could threaten Communist Party rule.
Agencies
