JAPAN
Company to appeal ruling
Nippon Steel Corp yesterday said that it would appeal a South Korean court ruling that allows for a seizure of its assets — the latest development in a case that has inflamed tensions between Tokyo and Seoul. The South Korean Supreme Court in 2018 ordered Nippon Steel to pay 100 million won (US$83,800) each to four South Koreans as compensation for forced labor during World War II, angering Tokyo, which has said the issue of compensation was settled under a 1965 treaty and that the ruling violated international law. Starting midnight yesterday, the Pohang branch of the Daegu District Court has gained the right to start procedures to auction off some of Nippon Steel’s stake in a joint venture with POSCO, South Korean media have reported.
AFGHANISTAN
Forces retake prison
Militants affiliated with the Islamic State (IS) group stormed a prison in the country’s east in a day-long siege that left at least 39 people dead, including the assailants, and freed nearly 400 of their fighters before security forces restored order, a government official said on Monday. The attack underscored that the IS affiliate in the country is still a formidable presence, and it highlighted the challenges ahead as US and NATO forces begin to withdraw following Washington’s peace deal with the Taliban. The peace accord aims to recruit the Taliban to battle the militants from the IS, which US officials have told reporters is Americans’ biggest foe in Afghanistan. The Taliban and the IS affiliate are staunch rivals. At least 10 of the dead were IS militants involved in the assault to free their comrades from the prison in Jalalabad, the capital of Nangarhar Province, provincial council member Ajmal Omar said.
UNITED STATES
Court probes bodycam leak
A Minnesota court is investigating how the British newspaper the Daily Mail obtained police body-camera footage showing the arrest and death of George Floyd on May 25. The paper on Monday published parts of videos from two Minneapolis police officers involved in Floyd’s arrest. A Hennepin County judge last month allowed journalists and members of the public to view the footage by appointment, but has not yet ruled on a motion by a coalition of news organizations seeking public access to the videos. The paper said the videos were leaked to DailyMail.com.
UNITED STATES
Telehealth services expand
President Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order expanding access to telehealth services for 57 million people in under-served rural areas and elsewhere, after virtual visits soared during the COVID-19 pandemic. Trump said the order would ensure that telehealth services expanded during the pandemic remain in place even after the public health emergency ends. He also directed the Department of Health and Human Services to cut regulatory burdens and develop a new payment model that allows rural providers to waive some existing Medicare rules and ensure more predictable financial payments.
UNITED STATES
Aid for trafficking survivors
The Trump administration is awarding more than US$35 million in Department of Justice grants to organizations that provide safe housing for survivors of human trafficking. The funds are being provided by the Office for Victims of Crime within the department’s Office of Justice Programs and are to be shared by 73 organizations in 33 states to provide anywhere from six to 24 months of transitional or short-term housing assistance to survivors, the White House said. The money can also be used to help victims find permanent housing, get a job and receive occupational training and counseling.
UNITED STATES
New wall contract awarded
A construction company whose chief executive has made direct appeals on Fox News to build Trump’s border wall won another major contract on Monday, this time for nearly US$300 million of new barriers in south Texas. Fisher Industries was awarded a US$289 million contract for 27km in Laredo, a border city next to the Rio Grande. The announcement came the same day as a court-ordered inspection of a 4.83km section of private border wall Fisher built further down the Rio Grande that has partially collapsed to due to land erosion.
UNITED STATES
Score hurt as balloons crash
Three sightseeing balloons crashed on Monday in a popular Wyoming tourist destination, injuring as many as 20 people in what one passenger called a terrifying few minutes. The balloons, owned by the same tour operator, went down separately near Jackson Hole and did not crash into each other, Teton County Sheriff Matt Carr said. The exact cause was under investigation, but the weather was apparently a factor, he said. “I couldn’t believe how beautiful everything was,” passenger Clinton Phillips told local media. “And then we were in hell a few minutes later. It was crazy... It was lifting us up and slamming us back down again.” Another balloon carrying 12-year-old Robert Krayevski and his family was dragged across a field and crashed into a fence. “Our captain fell off while we were in it,” Krayevski said.
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