CHINA
Man rams crowd, kills six
A man yesterday rammed a car into a crowd in Hubei Province, killing six people and injuring eight before he was fatally shot by police, local officials said. The suspect, a 44-year-old named Cui Lidong (崔立冬), allegedly wounded his wife and daughter at home before plowing a car into pedestrians, the Zaoyang City Government said in an online statement. The case is under investigation and the injured are being treated, it added. A video published by Shanghai-based news outlet The Paper shows a body covered in a blanket left on the roadside and a group trying to lift someone onto a stretcher.
GREECE
Grenade thrown at consulate
A grenade was thrown into the courtyard of the Russian consulate in Athens early yesterday, police said, an attack typical of domestic far-left groups. The area in the Athens suburb of Halandri was rapidly cordoned off and bomb specialists were dispatched, a police source said. The grenade did not explode and no injuries were caused. The attack occurred at about 4am. There was no immediate claim of responsibility. It is believed that the grenade was lobbed by one or two persons on a motorbike. Police were inspecting for possible links to a burned motorbike found later in central Athens. The consulate was closed at the time. In December last year, a grenade exploded outside the offices of Skai Group, one of the nation’s main media groups, causing damage to the building.
SOUTH KOREA
K-pop star jailed over videos
K-pop star Jung Joon-young has been arrested, hours after he apologized for filming and distributing illicit sex videos, in a scandal that has rocked the country’s entertainment industry. The singer-songwriter last week admitted to filming himself having sex and sharing the footage without his partners’ consent. The videos of at least 10 women were shared through mobile chat rooms in 2015, with recipients including fellow K-pop star Lee Seung-hyun, better known as Seungri of BIGBANG. The Seoul Central District Court issued the arrest warrant late on Thursday, hours after Jung appeared at a hearing and apologized for committing “unforgivable crimes,” the Yonhap news agency reported. “I am sorry. I made a big and inexcusable mistake, and I admit my guilt,” he was quoted as saying. “I will live my days repenting for the sins.” Following the hearing, the 30-year-old was led away in handcuffs and taken to a police station to await the court’s decision on the warrant. Jung last week announced his retirement from the entertainment industry and two other male singers have also quit after admitting they watched the illicit videos.
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
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
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
A prominent Christian leader has allegedly been stabbed at the altar during a Mass yesterday in southwest Sydney. Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was saying Mass at Christ The Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley just after 7pm when a man approached him at the altar and allegedly stabbed toward his head multiple times. A live stream of the Mass shows the congregation swarm forward toward Emmanuel before it was cut off. The church leader gained prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic, amassing a large online following, Officers attached to Fairfield City police area command attended a location on Welcome Street, Wakeley following reports a number