CHINA
S Korean activists detained
Four South Korean activists have been detained in Liaoning Province since March on suspicion of spying after they interviewed North Korean refugees living in hiding there, an anti-Pyongyang group said yesterday. The South Korean foreign ministry confirmed the four were arrested in Dalian on March 29 on charges of “endangering state security.” One of the four is Kim Young-hwan, a former leader of an underground leftist party who became an activist opposing Pyongyang’s regime. The names of the other three were not given. A South Korean consul in Shenyang met Kim on April 26. The three others presented through local authorities on May 3 written statements declining to see South Korean diplomats, the foreign ministry said.
SOUTH KOREA
GPS jamming stops
Pyongyang has stopped transmitting signals that jammed the GPS of hundreds of civilian aircraft and ships in South Korea for two weeks, officials said yesterday. The state Korea Communications Commission said the signals designed to jam GPS halted as of 8:34pm on Sunday. The transport ministry confirmed civilian flights had not been affected since Sunday night. South Korean officials said the signals originated from the border city of Kaesong and began on April 28, forcing sea and air traffic to use other navigational equipment to avoid compromising safety. The reason for the jamming, which Pyongyang has not admitted, was unclear.
NEW ZEALAND
Parcels mystify police
Police said yesterday they were mystified by a spate of hair care packages sent from Paris to residents of the South Island’s remote west coast. Four packages mailed from Paris have arrived in the region over the past week, each containing a hair dryer or hair clippers, and cash ranging from NZ$100 (US$78) to 100 euros (US$128), police said. They said the recipients of the parcels, which reportedly contained notes saying “thanks for being a good/true friend,” had no idea who sent them or why. “At this stage police have not made any criminal connection with the parcels and they appear to simply be a goodwill gesture. However, they would like to hear from anyone else who has received a parcel,” a police statement said.
JAPAN
Robotic unicycle unveiled
Look, no hands. Scooting about on a unicycle is no sweat with Honda’s new robotics technology. Swaying your body from side to side is all you need to do to turn, rotate full circle and zip around on the Uni-Cub, which looks a bit like a floating car seat. Reporters got a test ride on the machine yesterday. It takes some getting used to, but responds smoothly and quietly. Honda Motor Co said the Uni-Cub is not dangerous to pedestrians even if it crashes. However, it can only be used on flat surfaces. It will be on display at a Tokyo science museum and go through some tests for feedback. There are no plans yet for a commercial product.
INDONESIA
Lady Gaga blocked
Lady Gaga might have to cancel her sold-out show because police worry her sexy clothes and dance moves undermine Islamic values and will corrupt the country’s youth. National police spokesman Boy Rafli Amar said yesterday the permit for her June 3 concert had been denied. The local promoter, Michael Rusli, told reporters earlier it would be “regrettable” if police didn’t give the clearance, because fans have been eagerly awaiting Lady Gaga.
BRAZIL
Police to protect activists
The government is renewing a program that sends elite federal police officers to protect Amazon activists, who are facing increased threats. The Federal Registry on Monday said the federal police would work in the states of Amazonas and Para to ensure the safety of human rights and environmental activists who are under threat from illegal loggers and ranchers. It is unclear how many officers will be involved. The human rights monitor Catholic Land Pastoral says violence against human rights and environmental activists has left 14 people dead this year.
UNITED STATES
Cocaine found in wheelchair
Federal authorities say a Mexican man tried to smuggle more than 3.2kg of cocaine into Arizona by hiding it in his wheelchair’s seat cushion. Customs and Border Protection (CPB) says the 43-year-old was stopped for further inspection at the port in Nogales, Arizona, on Sunday after an officer noticed something peculiar about the cushion. Officials say that during the secondary inspection, they found the cocaine in five packages within the seat cushion. CBP officials say the cocaine has an estimated street value of more than US$65,000.
UNITED STATES
Fund-raiser to save dog
A recently split-up man is so desperate to get his dog back from his ex that he’s gone online to ask for US$20,000 to pay the legal fees on top of the US$30,000 he’s already blown. “Knuckles was kidnapped by my ex-girlfriend and the legal fees to retrieve him are going to bankrupt me,” New Yorker Craig Dershowitz says on the crowd-funding site indiegogo.com. Dershowitz accuses his former companion of absconding to California with a dog he loves so much he considers it a “son.” He says he’s already spent US$30,000, but because his ex “is filing frivolous motion after frivolous motion,” he’s no closer to getting custody. To attract donors on the site, he offers rewards ranging from a “virtual smooch” for those giving US$10, to free entry at a nightclub where he is a doorman for those paying US$100, and a graffiti mural for those ready to give US$10,000. The fundraising drive has a month to go. In the past seven days, he had raised US$881.
UNITED STATES
Tamil supporter sentenced
A man who admitted to trying to help the now-defeated Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka has been sentenced in a New York court to time served. Ramanan Mylvaganam appeared before a federal judge in Brooklyn on Monday for his sentencing. He was first taken into custody in Canada in 2006. He had pleaded guilty in February to conspiring to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization. He admitted he sought to obtain about US$22,000 worth of submarine design software and night vision equipment for the separatist group, designated by Washington as a terrorist organization in 1997.
CANADA
Minister calls it quits
Quebec’s education minister resigned on Monday, citing a deadlock in negotiations to end a student strike in the mostly French-speaking province that is entering its 14th week. Minister Line Beauchamp, flanked by Quebec Premier Jean Charest, said she was altogether quitting politics after months of student unrest because she had lost confidence in both sides to come to a resolution. “I am not giving up in the face of vandalism and civil disobedience,” Beauchamp said. “I am resigning because I no longer believe I’m part of the solution.”
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
A top Vietnamese property tycoon was on Thursday sentenced to death in one of the biggest corruption cases in history, with an estimated US$27 billion in damages. A panel of three hand-picked jurors and two judges rejected all defense arguments by Truong My Lan, chair of major developer Van Thinh Phat, who was found guilty of swindling cash from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) over a decade. “The defendant’s actions ... eroded people’s trust in the leadership of the [Communist] Party and state,” read the verdict at the trial in Ho Chi Minh City. After the five-week trial, 85 others were also sentenced on
‘DELUSIONAL’: Targeting the families of Hamas’ leaders would not push the group to change its position or to give up its demands for Palestinians, Ismail Haniyeh said Israeli aircraft on Wednesday killed three sons of Hamas’ top political leader in the Gaza Strip, striking high-stakes targets at a time when Israel is holding delicate ceasefire negotiations with the militant group. Hamas said four of the leader’s grandchildren were also killed. Ismail Haniyeh’s sons are among the highest-profile figures to be killed in the war so far. Israel said they were Hamas operatives, and Haniyeh accused Israel of acting in “the spirit of revenge and murder.” The deaths threatened to strain the internationally mediated ceasefire talks, which appeared to gain steam in recent days even as the sides remain far
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of