UNITED KINGDOM
‘Upskirting’ law blocked
A law that would make it a criminal offense to take “upskirting” photographs was on Friday blocked in parliament, despite receiving backing from the government. The initiative was stopped by a single Conservative Party lawmaker, who objected when the bill was put forward in the House of Commons. Some lawmakers who supported the measure shouted “shame” after Christopher Chope thwarted the proposal simply by shouting “Object!” Parliamentary rules make it hard for bills introduced by backbench lawmakers, rather than the government, to make progress. They can be halted by an objection from one lawmaker. Upskirting involves taking a photograph or video under someone’s clothing without their consent. It has become more common in recent years with the adoption of smartphones. The government had endorsed the legislation earlier on Friday. The law would allow for prison sentences of up to two years in the most egregious cases. It is expected to be resubmitted next month. Upskirting is already illegal in Scotland.
UNITED STATES
Police killings being probed
Authorities are under investigation after police in Kansas City, Missouri, fatally shot a 29-year-old woman seen brandishing a sword in a residential area. Police on Friday identified the woman as Ashley Fulkerson of Kansas City. She was one of three people killed in two separate officer-involved shootings on Thursday. Officers were called to a residential area of the city’s north side, Kansas City Police Department Captain Lionel Colon said, adding that Fulkerson had barricaded herself in a shed after she was seen outside with a sword. Officers recovered a sword from the scene. About an hour later, police fatally shot two men who were fighting in a downtown public square. Their names have not been released, but police said officers recovered a gun from one of the deceased men. Police have released few other details.
UNITED STATES
Ring found in work gloves
A hardware store is looking for a man who apparently tried on a pair of snug work gloves and left a ring inside. Mark Driscoll, owner of Ace Hardware in Sugar Grove, Illinois, said he found the ring when he went to buy a pair of gloves before a trip to Wisconsin. He told the Aurora Beacon-News that it could be a wedding band, but he does not want to give many details. He said the ring’s owner must provide a good description. Two women called on behalf of their husbands, but it was not their ring. Driscoll said he hopes the mystery has a “happy ending.”
YEMEN
Alliance forces enter airport
Forces from an Arab alliance yesterday entered the airport in Hodeidah, the media office of the military allied with the Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates-led coalition said. Control of the airport would be an important early success for the coalition fighting to seize the country’s largest port from the Iran-aligned Houthis in the biggest battle of a three-year war. “Army forces backed by the resistance and the Arab alliance freed Hodeidah international airport from the grip of the Houthi militia,” the media office said on Twitter. A source with the coalition-backed military said troops had surrounded the main airport building. “We need some time to make sure there are no gunmen, mines or explosive in the building,” the source said, adding that technical teams were demining the surrounding area.
CONFRONTATION: The water cannon attack was the second this month on the Philippine supply boat ‘Unaizah May 4,’ after an incident on March 5 The China Coast Guard yesterday morning blocked a Philippine supply vessel and damaged it with water cannons near a reef off the Southeast Asian country, the Philippines said. The Philippine military released video of what it said was a nearly hour-long attack off the Second Thomas Shoal (Renai Shoal, 仁愛暗沙) in the contested South China Sea, where Chinese ships have unleashed water cannons and collided with Philippine vessels in similar standoffs in the past few months. The China Coast Guard and other vessels “once again harassed, blocked, deployed water cannons, and executed dangerous maneuvers” against a routine rotation and resupply mission to
GLOBAL COMBAT AIR PROGRAM: The potential purchasers would be limited to the 15 nations with which Tokyo has signed defense partnership and equipment transfer deals Japan’s Cabinet yesterday approved a plan to sell future next-generation fighter jets that it is developing with the UK and Italy to other nations, in the latest move away from the country’s post-World War II pacifist principles. The contentious decision to allow international arms sales is expected to help secure Japan’s role in the joint fighter jet project, and is part of a move to build up the Japanese arms industry and bolster its role in global security. The Cabinet also endorsed a revision to Japan’s arms equipment and technology transfer guidelines to allow coproduced lethal weapons to be sold to nations
Thousands of devotees, some in a state of trance, gathered at a Buddhist temple on the outskirts of Bangkok renowned for sacred tattoos known as Sak Yant, paying their respects to a revered monk who mastered the practice and seeking purification. The gathering at Wat Bang Phra Buddhist temple is part of a Thai Wai Khru ritual in which devotees pay homage to Luang Phor Pern, the temple’s formal abbot, who died in 2002. He had a reputation for refining and popularizing the temple’s Sak Yant tattoo style. The idea that tattoos confer magical powers has existed in many parts of Asia
ON ALERT: A Russian cruise missile crossed into Polish airspace for about 40 seconds, the Polish military said, adding that it is constantly monitoring the war to protect its airspace Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, and the western region of Lviv early yesterday came under a “massive” Russian air attack, officials said, while a Russian cruise missile breached Polish airspace, the Polish military said. Russia and Ukraine have been engaged in a series of deadly aerial attacks, with yesterday’s strikes coming a day after the Russian military said it had seized the Ukrainian village of Ivanivske, west of Bakhmut. A militant attack on a Moscow concert hall on Friday that killed at least 133 people also became a new flash point between the two archrivals. “Explosions in the capital. Air defense is working. Do not