UNITED NATIONS
War hits child development
About 87 million children around the world under seven years of age have been growing up in conflict zones, in conditions that can hinder the development of their brains, UNICEF said yesterday. Exposure to extreme trauma might hinder the development of brain cell connections, essential for health, emotional wellbeing and ability to learn, UNICEF said. “In addition to the immediate physical threats that children in crises face, they are also at risk of deep-rooted emotional scars,” UNICEF chief of early child development Pia Britto said in a statement. “Conflict robs children of their safety, family and friends, play and routine,” Britto added.
COLOMBIA
Negotiators miss deadline
Peace negotiators missed Wednesday’s deadline for a final accord, but would continue talks in Havana to end Latin America’s longest war, a government official said. “In all honesty, we have to inform the public that at the moment there are still important differences with the FARC [Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia],” Humberto de la Calle, the government’s lead negotiator, told reporters. The government of Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and leftist rebels had set a self-imposed Wednesday deadline to reach a comprehensive pact.
UNITED STATES
Chinese man pleads guilty
A Chinese businessman has pleaded guilty to conspiring to hack into the computer systems of US defense contractors, including Boeing, to steal data on military projects, according to court records released on Wednesday. Su Bin, 50, admitted to conspiring with two unnamed hackers in China to export US military information to China between 2008 and 2014, according to a plea agreement reached in federal California court on Tuesday. The men targeted fighter jets such as the F-22 and the F-35, as well as Boeing’s C-17 military cargo aircraft program, according to court papers. Su’s attorney, Robert Anello, declined to discuss the case in detail except to say that Su is “hopeful to move on with his life.”
UNITED STATES
Cubans repatriated
The US on Wednesday repatriated 58 Cubans rescued from rafts while trying to reach US shores in dangerous waters, the US Coast Guard said. They were part of a wave of migration from Cuba since the beginning of its rapprochement with the US. A coast guard patrol boat took the rafters to the Cuban village of Bahia de Cabanas, the agency said in a statement. They were rescued in the Straits of Florida — the 150km of water separating the US state from Cuba — from seven different boats over the past week.
UNITED STATES
Man unleashes snake
Hiroshi Motohashi, 46, tucked into US$200 dollars worth of food at the popular Iroha Sushi of Tokyo eatery in Los Angeles’ Studio City neighborhood, local media reported. However, when diners noticed that he was dining with a guest — a very small snake — management argued with him and Motohashi marched out, reports said. “The suspect left the location and then he returned with a large snake, probably between 3m to 4m,” police spokesman Aareon Jefferson said of the Sunday evening incident. “He released the snake in the restaurant, the police was notified and the suspect was arrested for criminal threats, which is a felony.”
CHINA
Christian lawyer released
A human rights lawyer detained after representing churches whose crosses were demolished by government officials has been released, a rights group said. Zhang Kai (張凱) was detained in August last year ahead of a scheduled meeting with David Saperstein, a US envoy researching religious freedom. US Secretary of State John Kerry called for his release. Texas-based rights group China Aid said on its Web site that Zhang was released on Wednesday, citing a social media message in which he said: “I have already safely arrived home.” China Aid said Zhang had offered legal assistance to about 100 churches affected by the ongoing cross demolition campaign.
THAILAND
Police arrest 15 Malaysians
A group of 15 Malaysians has been arrested for trying to smuggle millions of dollars worth of heroin and methamphetamine by train, police said yesterday. Investigators said the group was moving drugs from northern Thailand to the Malaysian town of Butterworth. Railway police made an initial arrest on Wednesday afternoon following a tip-off, taking in two suspects allegedly in possession of 23kg of methamphetamine. Their detention led to subsequent raids along the railway line between the two countries, with 12 more suspects arrested and a total of 226kg of meth and 8kg of heroin seized, police said.
KOREAS
Kim’s aunt’s suit dismissed
The Seoul Central District Court court yesterday said it had dismissed a defamation suit filed by the US-based aunt of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un against three defectors. Ko Yong-suk, who looked after Kim for years when he was at school in Switzerland, filed the suit last year, accusing the three of “spreading false information” about her and her family on TV talk shows. The three defected from the North and settled in the South in the 1990s. The lawsuit cited claims that Ko siphoned off gambling money from a secret fund of Kim’s late father, that her father was a collaborator during Japan’s 1910-1945 colonial rule and that she had plastic surgery. The court said it was dismissing the case because Ko’s lawyers had failed to carry out an order to provide correct addresses for the three accused, so that they could be served with court papers.
TURKEY
Japanese man detained
A Ministry of the Interior official said police have detained a Japanese national as he tried to cross the border to Syria with the intention of joining the Islamic State group. The man was intercepted on his way to the Islamic State-held Syrian town of Jarablus and is now in custody. The official told reporters that the man had a Japanese passport and told interrogators that he wanted to join the Islamic State. The official spoke on condition of anonymity in line with government practice. Tokyo yesterday confirmed that a Japanese national was being held and said they are seeking further details.
NEW ZEALAND
Lemon smuggler deported
A woman who hid six lemons in her trousers in an effort to smuggle them into the nation has been sent back to Hong Kong after falling foul of biosecurity laws. Sniffer dogs checking incoming passengers at Auckland airport on Monday found the citrus contraband, which the traveler claimed she needed as part of a home-made liver remedy. However, customs agents were unimpressed, saying the fruit was forbidden by laws designed to protect domestic produce, and put the woman on the next flight home.
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