ISRAEL
Spy satellite launched
Jerusalem yesterday launched a new version of its Ofek spy satellite, saying it would enhance around-the-clock regional monitoring as the country braces for a possible showdown with Iran. The Ofek-13, manufactured by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), is the latest in a series of locally produced satellites first put into orbit in 1988. It was launched on a Shavit missile over the Mediterranean Sea, a westward trajectory Israel usually opts for as a precaution against sensitive technologies falling into the hands of hostile Middle East neighbors should there be a malfunction. “The Ofek-13 is the most advanced of its kind, with unique radar observation capabilities, and will enable intelligence collection in any weather and conditions of visibility,” IAI chief executive officer Boaz Levy said in a statement.
GREECE
General election announced
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Tuesday called a May 21 general election as his party’s longstanding lead in opinion polls has declined in the aftermath of the country’s worst train disaster. A Feb. 28 collision between a passenger train and a freight train in northern Greece left 57 people dead. The disaster stirred public anger, cutting the New Democracy party’s support by a half-point to 4 points over its main rival, Syriza, opinion polls showed. “The country and its citizens need clear skies ... our work continues more boldly and with fewer compromises,” Mitsotakis said during a televised Cabinet meeting. The election he called is not considered early because it is within six months of the end of his mandate. Greece is moving to a proportional representation system that is likely to result in six parties with seats in parliament.
MEXICO
Tiger hunt ensues
Prosecutors in Sonora state on Tuesday said that they are searching for a full-grown Bengal tiger named Baluma. The five-year-old male tiger was stolen on Monday from a home in the state capital, Hermosillo, they said. The owners had the proper paperwork needed to keep the animal, they said. Prosecutors distributed photographs of the big cat resting in its cage alongside a dog, hoping that residents would phone police if they see the tiger.
UNITED STATES
Scary carers not charged
A grand jury on Tuesday declined to bring felony charges against four former Mississippi daycare workers who were filmed scaring young children while wearing Halloween masks, Monroe County Sheriff Kevin Crook said. However, the charges were sent to the Monroe County Justice Court as misdemeanors and would go before a judge later, the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal reported. The videos — one filmed in September last year and another in October — were posted on social media. They show a daycare worker at the Lil’ Blessings Child Care & Learning Center in Hamilton wearing a Halloween mask similar to the one in the Scream movies and yelling at children who did not “clean up” or “act good.” Children can be seen bawling, cowering in fear and at times running from the masked employee. Another employee gives directions, singling out which children have acted good or bad. The employee in the mask screams right in front of children’s faces, the video showed. The sheriff’s office had previously charged four women with three counts of felony child abuse. Another woman faces charges of failure to report abuse by a mandatory reporter and simple assault against a minor — both misdemeanors.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At 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
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese