CHINA
Ministry protests US ban
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has lodged a formal complaint with Washington over US sanctions against a leading state arms maker and other firms over alleged arms deals with North Korea, Syria and Iran. The US State Department said Poly Technologies is among companies barred from dealing with the US government or purchasing US military hardware for two years. The ministry yesterday said the US’ actions seriously violate the norms of international relations and undermine national interests.
UNITED STATES
US believes radar lock
Washington said it believed Japanese allegations that China activated its weapons-guiding radar last month in an escalation of tensions between the two Asian powers in the East China Sea. China denies Japanese claims that Chinese naval vessels locked their radar onto a Japanese destroyer and helicopter. However, US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland on Monday said that the US was briefed by Japan, and “we have satisfied ourselves that it does appear to have happened.” Washington said it takes no stance in the sovereignty dispute, but opposes “unilateral actions” undermining Japan’s administration of the islands.
UNITED STATES
Guard awaits jail term
The government is recommending a 17-and-a-half-year prison term for a US security guard who has admitted he tried to sell secret photos and other secret information to the Chinese Ministry of State Security after he lost US$159,000 in the stock market. The Justice Department said Bryan Underwood took photographs of restricted areas at the new US consulate in Guangzhou and planned to use them to help China eavesdrop on US officials. Underwood drafted a letter expressing his desire to work for the Chinese ministry, but was turned away when he attempted to deliver it.
AUSTRALIA
Fine dining at McDonald’s
In a world first, a local McDonald’s franchise is offering full table service for its dine-in customers, complete with china plates, glassware and metal utensils in place of usual paper boxes and plastic. Meals are also brought to the table by servers, and diners can daintily dab their lips with cloth napkins after eating. “It’s very popular,” store manager Michelle Steain said of the five-week trial service. “Everyone seems to be loving it.”
PAKISTAN
Taliban bans Viagra
The head of a trade association for a large market in Peshawar says the Taliban have warned shopkeepers not to sell sex-related drugs like Viagra or obscene films because they are against Islam. Shamsher Khan Afridi said he received a text message from the Taliban on Saturday with the warning. Afridi said on Monday that he distributed a pamphlet to thousands of shopkeepers in the Karkhano market asking them to comply with the order.
UNITED STATES
‘Zombie attack’ in Montana
A Montana TV station’s regular programming was interrupted by news of a zombie apocalypse. The Montana Television Network says hackers broke into the Emergency Alert System of Great Falls affiliate KRTV and its CW station on Monday. KRTV said on its Web site the hackers broadcast that “dead bodies are rising from their graves” in several Montana counties. The alert claimed the bodies were “attacking the living” and warned people that they were extremely dangerous.” The network says engineers are investigating.
MONEY GRAB: People were rushing to collect bills scattered on the ground after the plane transporting money crashed, which an official said hindered rescue efforts A cargo plane carrying money on Friday crashed near Bolivia’s capital, damaging about a dozen vehicles on highway, scattering bills on the ground and leaving at least 15 people dead and others injured, an official said. Bolivian Minister of Defense Marcelo Salinas said the Hercules C-130 plane was transporting newly printed Bolivian currency when it “landed and veered off the runway” at an airport in El Alto, a city adjacent to La Paz, before ending up in a nearby field. Firefighters managed to put out the flames that engulfed the aircraft. Fire chief Pavel Tovar said at least 15 people died, but
LIKE FATHER, LIKE DAUGHTER: By showing Ju-ae’s ability to handle a weapon, the photos ‘suggest she is indeed receiving training as a successor,’ an academic said North Korea on Saturday released a rare image of leader Kim Jong-un’s teenage daughter firing a rifle at a shooting range, adding to speculation that she is being groomed as his successor. Kim’s daughter, Ju-ae, has long been seen as the next in line to rule the secretive, nuclear-armed state, and took part in a string of recent high-profile outings, including last week’s military parade marking the closing stages of North Korea’s key party congress. Pyongyang’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) released a photo of Ju-ae shooting a rifle at an outdoor shooting range, peering through a rifle scope
India and Canada yesterday reached a string of agreements, including on critical mineral cooperation and a “landmark” uranium supply deal for nuclear power, the countries’ leaders said in New Delhi. The pacts, which also covered technology and promoting the use of renewable energy, were announced after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney hailed a fresh start in the relationship between their nations. “Our ties have seen a new energy, mutual trust and positivity,” Modi said. Carney’s visit is a key step forward in ties that effectively collapsed in 2023 after Ottawa accused New Delhi
Gaza is rapidly running out of its limited fuel supply and stocks of food staples might become tight, officials said, after Israel blocked the entry of fuel and goods into the war-shattered territory, citing fighting with Iran. The Israeli military closed all Gaza border crossings on Saturday after announcing airstrikes on Iran carried out jointly with the US. Israeli authorities late on Monday night said that they would reopen the Kerem Shalom crossing from Israel to Gaza yesterday, for “gradual entry of humanitarian aid” into the strip, without saying how much. Israeli authorities previously said the crossings could not be operated safely during
RSS