SOUTH KOREA
Helicopter crash kills two
A US Army Apache helicopter crashed on Monday during a training mission, killing two pilots aboard, police and military officials said. The attack helicopter went down in the county of Wonju in Gangwon Province, officials said. The helicopter was assigned to the Second Infantry Division of the US Army, said Captain Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman. “This happened during a routine training mission and sadly did kill both pilots,” Davis said. “The cause is currently under investigation.”
SOUTH KOREA
N Korean official demoted
Seoul’s spy agency says North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is believed to have demoted one of his top associates and sent him to a rural collective farm. If confirmed, the demotion of Choe Ryong-hae would be the latest in a series of executions, purges and dismissals that Kim has orchestrated in what analysts say is a further strengthening of his grip on power since taking over in 2011. Lawmaker Shin Kyung-min says the National Intelligence Service gave the information during a parliamentary committee meeting yesterday. Shin cites the NIS as saying it has intelligence that Choe’s demotion was related to the alleged collapse of a water tunnel at a power station. Choe was once considered to be the North’s second-most powerful official.
EGYPT
Bombs kill at least one
Two bombs exploded outside a hotel housing election judges yesterday, killing at least one person, state television reported. The blasts in the city of al-Arish came a day after the second round of a parliamentary election closed. There was no immediate claim of responsibility. Islamic State’s Egyptian affiliate, Sinai Province, has carried out similar attacks in the region as part of its bid to topple the Cairo government. State television and security sources said a car bomb exploded then a second blast hit the area about 10 minutes later.
UNITED STATES
Clockmaker threatens to sue
The Muslim teenager arrested when a teacher mistook his homemade clock for a bomb has threatened to sue his school and the town of Irving, Texas, for US$15 million, his lawyer said on Monday. Ahmed Mohamed, 14, became an overnight sensation in September after his sister tweeted a photograph of the aspiring inventor standing in handcuffs while wearing a T-shirt with the US space agency NASA’s logo, but his lawyer insists there was a dark side to his fame, which caused “severe psychological trauma,” according to a letter notifying the city and school district of his demands. “Ahmed clearly was singled out because of his race, national origin and religion,” attorney Kelly Hollingsworth wrote.
UNITED STATES
Mutant mosquitoes hatched
California researchers hatched some malaria-resistant mosquitoes and then gave evolution a shove — using a groundbreaking technology to ensure the insects pass on that protective gene as they reproduce, with implications far beyond the promise of fighting malaria. The experiment reported on Monday involved what is called a “gene drive,” a technique that, if it pans out, promises to alter the genetics of populations of insects and certain plants and animals faster than nature could. Normally, genes have a 50-50 chance of being inherited. University of California researchers created a strain that could pass a specially engineered malaria-blocking gene to about 99 percent of their offspring.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At 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
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese