TURKEY
Russian missiles due soon
The government expects the delivery of the controversial Russian S-400 missile defense system to begin next month, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday told reporters on his plane as he was returning from a visit to Tajikistan. “I believe [S-400s] will begin to arrive in the first half of July. Colleagues in charge of the schedule are following the issue,” Erdogan said. Despite complaints from the US, he was adamant the deal was not one that the nation would walk away from. “If we now swallow our words, this would not comply with the manners of our state, and it would also not suit my statesmanship,” he said.
ISRAEL
PM’s wife fined
Sara Netanyahu, the wife of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has been sentenced to pay a fine of about US$15,000 for misusing state funds. A Jerusalem magistrate court yesterday accepted the plea bargain that she signed with prosecutors to settle the allegations she misused about US$100,000 in state money on lavish meals. The State Attorney’s office said she would pay additional fines to close the case, which accused her of running up large tabs at luxury restaurants while the official residence employed a full-time chef. She was indicted on charges of fraud and breach of trust last year. The settlement saw her admit to more minor charges and reduced the overspending charge to US$50,000.
JAPAN
Policeman stabbed
A police officer was stabbed several times in the chest with a kitchen knife and his loaded handgun stolen while on patrol in the western city of Suita yesterday morning, public broadcaster NHK reported. The attack, which police believe may have been premeditated, sparked a manhunt with police using loudspeakers at a railway station to warn people to be on the alert. The 26-year-old officer was found lying on the ground in front of a police box with a kitchen knife in his left chest at about 5:30am. A security camera showed a man, who appeared in his 30s, hanging around the police box about an hour before the stabbing, NHK said.
BRAZIL
Rio governor wants missile
Far-right Rio de Janeiro Governor Wilson Witzel has advocated using a “missile” to blow up criminals in one of the city’s most violent slums. Witzel, who presided over a record number of police killings in the first three months of his term, on Friday said that Rio residents were living in a “state of terrorism,” in comments broadcast by RJTV. “If it were authorized by the United Nations, in other parts of the world, we’d have authorization to send a missile there to blow up those people,” Witzel said, referring to the City of God favela, where an intense gunfight between police and gangsters took place on Wednesday that killed at least one person.
ITALY
Director Zeffirelli dies at 96
Director Franco Zeffirelli, who delighted audiences around the world with his romantic vision and extravagant productions for film, television, opera and theater, such as Romeo and Juliet, died on Saturday at 96. Zeffirelli’s son, Luciano, said his father died at home in Rome. The director produced classics for the world’s most famous opera houses, from Milan’s La Scala to the Metropolitan Opera in New York, and plays for London and Italian stages. He had made it his mission to make culture accessible to the masses, often seeking inspiration in literary greats.
An endangered baby pygmy hippopotamus that shot to social media stardom in Thailand has become a lucrative source of income for her home zoo, quadrupling its ticket sales, the institution said Thursday. Moo Deng, whose name in Thai means “bouncy pork,” has drawn tens of thousands of visitors to Khao Kheow Open Zoo this month. The two-month-old pygmy hippo went viral on TikTok and Instagram for her cheeky antics, inspiring merchandise, memes and even craft tutorials on how to make crocheted or cake-based Moo Dengs at home. A zoo spokesperson said that ticket sales from the start of September to Wednesday reached almost
TIGHTENING: Zhu Hengpeng, who worked for an influential think tank, has reportedly not been seen in public since making disparaging remarks on WeChat A leading Chinese economist at a government think tank has reportedly disappeared after being disciplined for criticizing Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in a private chat group. Zhu Hengpeng (朱恆鵬), 55, is believed to have made disparaging remarks about China’s economy, and potentially about the Chinese leader specifically, in a private WeChat group. Zhu was subsequently detained in April and put under investigation, the Wall Street Journal reported. Zhu worked for the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) for more than 20 years, most recently as the Institute of Economics deputy director and director of the Public Policy Research Center. He
CHINESE ICBM: The missile landed near the EEZ of French Polynesia, much to the surprise and concern of the president, who sent a letter of protest to Beijing Fijian President Ratu Wiliame Katonivere called for “respect for our region” and a stop to missile tests in the Pacific Ocean, after China launched an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). In a speech to the UN General Assembly in New York on Thursday, Katonivere recalled the Pacific Ocean’s history as a nuclear weapons testing ground, and noted Wednesday’s rare launch by China of an ICBM. “There was a unilateral test firing of a ballistic missile into the Pacific Ocean. We urge respect for our region and call for cessation of such action,” he said. The ICBM, carrying a dummy warhead, was launched by the
As violence between Israel and Hezbollah escalates, Iran is walking a tightrope by supporting Hezbollah without being dragged into a full-blown conflict and playing into its enemy’s hands. With a focus on easing its isolation and reviving its battered economy, Iran is aware that war could complicate efforts to secure relief from crippling sanctions. Cross-border fire between Israel and Hezbollah, sparked by Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7 last year, has intensified, especially after last week’s sabotage on Hezbollah’s communications that killed 39 people. Israeli airstrikes on Hezbollah strongholds in Lebanon followed, killing hundreds. Hezbollah retaliated with rocket barrages. Despite the surge in
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