JAPAN
Magnitude 6.8 quake hits
A magnitude 6.8 earthquake yesterday struck off Japan’s northeastern coast, authorities said, but no tsunami warning was issued. At least three people were injured by the jolt, which produced strong shaking along parts of the eastern coast and was also felt in Tokyo. There were no immediate reports of major damage, local media said. An official from the meteorological agency said strong aftershocks could hit the region in about a week, adding that expected bad weather might trigger landslides following the latest quake.
CHINA
At least 11 dead in storm
At least 11 people were killed and 102 were injured after a violent storm battered a town close to Shanghai, Chinese authorities said yesterday. Nine crew members from a fishing boat that capsized during the gale on Friday night were still missing after two others were rescued. Strong winds pounded Nantong, a town of 8 million on the north bank of the Yangtze River, accompanied by hailstones the size of large marbles, the Web site Toutiao.com said. Those killed were hit by falling trees and electricity poles, or had been blown into the water by the wind, local authorities said on Sina Weibo.
KYRGYZSTAN
Tajikistan violence calms
The country on Friday said that shooting at its disputed border with Tajikistan had stopped, boosting peacemaking efforts of top officials after the worst frontier violence between the two Central Asian nations in years broke out on Thursday. The Kyrgyz Ministry of Health said the country had suffered at least 154 casualties, including 31 deaths in the latest conflict. A representative of the Kyrgyz State Committee for National Security said that shooting had “ceased from around 6pm” on Friday and the border region was now “fairly quiet.”
RUSSIA
Navalny group blacklisted
Moscow on Friday added Alexei Navalny’s political network to its database of terrorist and extremist organizations, as it moves closer to shutting down the jailed opposition politician’s movement against President Vladimir Putin. The network of Navalny’s regional offices appeared on a list maintained by Russia’s financial monitoring service after Rosfinmonitoring said it had updated the list. Navalny’s network had disbanded Thursday in anticipation of the move. Organisations on the list include the Islamic State group and al-Qaeda. Being listed bans them in Russia, with members and supporters facing lengthy jail terms.
UNITED STATES
Biden decides N Korea plan
President Joe Biden has settled on a new approach to pressuring North Korea to give up nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles that would explore diplomacy, but not seek a grand bargain with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, the White House said on Friday. White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters that US officials had completed a months-long review of North Korean policy. Complete denuclearization of North Korea remains the goal, she said. The Biden policy attempts to strike a middle ground between the policy pursued by his most recent predecessors. “Our policy will not focus on achieving a grand bargain, nor will it rely on strategic patience,” Psaki said. Instead, the US would pursue a “calibrated practical approach that is open to and will explore diplomacy with” North Korea and making “practical progress” that increases the security of the US and its allies, she said.
REBUILDING: A researcher said that it might seem counterintuitive to start talking about reconstruction amid the war with Russia, but it is ‘actually an urgent priority’ Italy is hosting the fourth annual conference on rebuilding Ukraine even as Russia escalates its war, inviting political and business leaders to Rome to promote public-private partnerships on defense, mining, energy and other projects as uncertainty grows about the US’ commitment to Kyiv’s defense. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy were opening the meeting yesterday, which gets under way as Russia accelerated its aerial and ground attacks against Ukraine with another night of pounding missile and drone attacks on Kyiv. Italian organizers said that 100 official delegations were attending, as were 40 international organizations and development banks. There are
TARIFF ACTION: The US embassy said that the ‘political persecution’ against former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro disrespects the democratic traditions of the nation The US and Brazil on Wednesday escalated their row over US President Donald Trump’s support for former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, with Washington slapping a 50 percent tariff on one of its main steel suppliers. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva threatened to reciprocate. Trump has criticized the prosecution of Bolsonaro, who is on trial for allegedly plotting to cling on to power after losing 2022 elections to Lula. Brasilia on Wednesday summoned Washington’s top envoy to the country to explain an embassy statement describing Bolsonaro as a victim of “political persecution” — echoing Trump’s description of the treatment of Bolsonaro as
The tale of a middle-aged Chinese man, or “uncle,” who disguised himself as a woman to secretly film and share videos of his hookups with more than 1,000 men shook China’s social media, spurring fears for public health, privacy and marital fidelity. The hashtag “red uncle” was the top trending item on China’s popular microblog Sina Weibo yesterday, drawing at least 200 million views as users expressed incredulity and shock. The online posts told of how the man in the eastern city of Nanjing had lured 1,691 heterosexual men into sexual encounters at his home that he then recorded and distributed online. The
Hundreds of protesters marched through the Mexican capital on Friday denouncing gentrification caused by foreigners, with some vandalizing businesses and shouting “gringos out!” The demonstration in the capital’s central area turned violent when hooded individuals smashed windows, damaged restaurant furniture and looted a clothing store. Mexico City Government Secretary Cesar Cravioto said 15 businesses and public facilities were damaged in what he called “xenophobic expressions” similar to what Mexican migrants have suffered in other countries. “We are a city of open arms... there are always ways to negotiate, to sit at the table,” Cravioto told Milenio television. Neighborhoods like Roma-Condesa
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