NORWAY
Russia accused of hacking
Russia was behind a cyberattack launched against parliament in August, Minister of Foreign Affairs Ine Eriksen Soereide said on Tuesday, an accusation Moscow denied. The parliament on Sept. 1 said that it had sustained a cyberattack the previous week and that the e-mail accounts of several lawmakers and employees had been hacked. “Based on the information available to the government, it is our assessment that Russia stood behind this activity,” Soereide said in a statement. The Russian embassy in Oslo said that the accusations were not backed up with evidence and were unacceptable. “We regard this as a serious deliberate provocation, harmful for bilateral relations,” the embassy said. When authorities announced the incident last month, they did not say who they thought was behind the attack. “The fact that we go out with an attribution is a strong signal ... from Norwegian authorities,” Soereide told reporters. “We cannot accept that parliament is the subject of such attacks.”
KAZAKHSTAN
Three blast off to ISS
Two cosmonauts and a NASA astronaut yesterday blasted off on a high-speed journey to the International Space Station (ISS) in the first such launch aboard a Russian capsule since SpaceX’s game-changing debut manned flight from US soil. Sergey Ryzhikov, Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and NASA’s Kathleen Rubins launched from the Baikonur cosmodrome. Their journey was the first manned flight to the ISS to last just over three hours before docking — a new fast-track profile that takes half the time of standard trips. Only an unmanned cargo ship had previously used the profile, which requires just two orbits of the Earth.
UNITED STATES
Pompeo defends detainees
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo yesterday defended the 12 Hong Kongers who were detained by China while allegedly trying to flee to Taiwan by boat in August, saying that they had “committed no crime.” “They simply believe that they are worthy of freedom and the unalienable rights due to every person,” Pompeo said in a speech from the Department of State delivered virtually at the John S. McCain Freedom Award Ceremony. “They aren’t alone in that belief. America stands with them.” The 12, some of whom are linked to protests and were facing charges in Hong Kong prior to their arrest, are being held in Shenzhen, China, where they await prosecution. Two are suspected of organizing an illegal border crossing, while the other 10 are suspected of entering Chinese waters illegally.
CANADA
Trudeau criticizes China
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday said that China’s “coercive diplomacy,” repressive measures in Hong Kong and detention of Uighurs are counterproductive for itself and the rest of the world. Trudeau took aim at Beijing’s record as he marked the 50th anniversary of the nation’s diplomatic ties with China. “We will remain absolutely committed to working with our allies to ensure that China’s approach of coercive diplomacy, its arbitrary detention of two Canadian citizens alongside other citizens of other countries around the world is not viewed as a successful tactic by them,” he said at a news conference. He also mentioned Ottawa’s “concern for the protection of human rights and places like Hong Kong and ... with the Uighurs.” Former diplomat Michael Kovrig and businessman Michael Spavor have been held in China for nearly two years and have been charged with spying.
The Burmese junta has said that detained former leader Aung San Suu Kyi is “in good health,” a day after her son said he has received little information about the 80-year-old’s condition and fears she could die without him knowing. In an interview in Tokyo earlier this week, Kim Aris said he had not heard from his mother in years and believes she is being held incommunicado in the capital, Naypyidaw. Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, was detained after a 2021 military coup that ousted her elected civilian government and sparked a civil war. She is serving a
‘NO AMNESTY’: Tens of thousands of people joined the rally against a bill that would slash the former president’s prison term; President Lula has said he would veto the bill Tens of thousands of Brazilians on Sunday demonstrated against a bill that advanced in Congress this week that would reduce the time former president Jair Bolsonaro spends behind bars following his sentence of more than 27 years for attempting a coup. Protests took place in the capital, Brasilia, and in other major cities across the nation, including Sao Paulo, Florianopolis, Salvador and Recife. On Copacabana’s boardwalk in Rio de Janeiro, crowds composed of left-wing voters chanted “No amnesty” and “Out with Hugo Motta,” a reference to the speaker of the lower house, which approved the bill on Wednesday last week. It is
‘EAST SHIELD’: State-run Belma said it would produce up to 6 million mines to lay along Poland’s 800km eastern border, and sell excess to nations bordering Russia and Belarus Poland has decided to start producing anti-personnel mines for the first time since the Cold War, and plans to deploy them along its eastern border and might export them to Ukraine, the deputy defense minister said. Joining a broader regional shift that has seen almost all European countries bordering Russia, with the exception of Norway, announce plans to quit the global treaty banning such weapons, Poland wants to use anti-personnel mines to beef up its borders with Belarus and Russia. “We are interested in large quantities as soon as possible,” Deputy Minister of National Defense Pawel Zalewski said. The mines would be part
Cozy knits, sparkly bobbles and Santa hats were all the canine rage on Sunday, as hundreds of sausage dogs and their owners converged on central London for an annual parade and get-together. The dachshunds’ gathering in London’s Hyde Park came after a previous “Sausage Walk” planned for Halloween had to be postponed, because it had become so popular organizers needed to apply for an events licence. “It was going to be too much fun so they canceled it,” laughed Nicky Bailey, the owner of three sausage dogs: Una and her two 19-week-old puppies Ember and Finnegan, wearing matching red coats and silver
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