JAPAN
Tokyo objects to intrusion
Tokyo has lodged a protest with Moscow after it scrambled four fighter jets to intercept a foreign aircraft — believed to be Russian — which briefly violated its airspace, government officials said yesterday. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs made the protest shortly after the airplane entered Japanese airspace off the coast of the northernmost home island of Hokkaido, near a disputed island chain, on Tuesday afternoon. “We made the protest through the Russian embassy in Tokyo,” a ministry official told reporters. “The Russian side did not confirm the case, only saying they will check facts.”
UNITED STATES
Utah flash floods kill 12
Flash floods have killed 12 people near Utah’s border with Arizona after a “large wall of water and debris” triggered by heavy rain pounding nearby canyons swept them away in their cars, officials said on Tuesday. In Zion National Park to the north, four people died and three were missing after going to explore canyons on Monday, officials said. “Another tragedy for our state. Reeling right now,” Utah Lieutenant Governor Spencer Cox said on Twitter. In the small city of Hildale, Utah, hundreds of volunteers were helping search for one person still missing, Washington County officials said, after floodwaters swept through streets. Crews have been searching the banks of Short Creek amid sporadic showers, while contractors using heavy equipment have worked to clear thousands of tonnes of mud and debris. The National Guard has been called in to help with the cleanup.
RUSSIA
Putin denies Elton John call
It was a story that seemed almost too good to be true. President Vladimir Putin, celebrated for his macho bravura, and pop star Elton John, known for his elaborate costumes, ballads and gay activism, coming together in a telephone conversation that the singer said had been initiated by the Kremlin. “Thank you to President Vladimir Putin for reaching out and speaking via telephone with me today,” John said on Instagram on Monday afternoon, a post that went largely unnoticed for a day. “I look forward to meeting with you face-to-face to discuss LGBT equality in Russia.” The only problem is that, according to the Kremlin, the telephone call never happened. Putin’s press secretary, Dmitri Peskov, late on Tuesday said that Putin had never spoken to John. He also said his office could not be sure the Instagram post was actually John’s. However, he said Putin was open to discussion about everything and that he did not doubt the president would be willing to speak with the singer.
UNITED STATES
Russian hacker pleads guilty
A Russian citizen accused of hacking payment systems of major retailers and the NASDAQ stock market, resulting in US$300 million in losses, on Tuesday pleaded guilty to US criminal charges. Prosecutors said Vladimir Drinkman, 34, pleaded guilty in a New Jersey federal court to charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and to unauthorized access of protected computers. Drinkman was arrested in the Netherlands in 2012 and extradited to the US in February of this year. He is set to be sentenced on Jan. 15 next year, according to the Department of Justice. Drinkman was accused of leading what officials called “the largest international hacking and data breach scheme ever prosecuted in the United States.”
SEEKING CHANGE: A hospital worker said she did not vote in previous elections, but ‘now I can see that maybe my vote can change the system and the country’ Voting closed yesterday across the Solomon Islands in the south Pacific nation’s first general election since the government switched diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing and struck a secret security pact that has raised fears of the Chinese navy gaining a foothold in the region. The Solomon Islands’ closer relationship with China and a troubled domestic economy weighed on voters’ minds as they cast their ballots. As many as 420,000 registered voters had their say across 50 national seats. For the first time, the national vote also coincided with elections for eight of the 10 local governments. Esther Maeluma cast her vote in the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was