SOUTH KOREA
Rocket test successful
The nation yesterday successfully conducted a test flight of a solid-fuel space rocket over the sea near Jeju Island, the Ministry of National Defense said, amid a growing space race with North Korea. It was the third test of its kind following two others in December and March last year. The launch involved technology developed at the state-run Agency for Defense Development, and a space rocket and a satellite produced by Hanwha Systems, the ministry said in a statement. The ministry hailed the launch as achieving a milestone at a time when Pyongyang recently launched a military spy satellite, which the US and its allies have condemned for using missile technology contravening a UN security resolution. Seoul’s successful launch would accelerate the nation’s intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities, the ministry said.
SOUTH KOREA
Yoon reshuffling Cabinet
President Yoon Suk-yeol is replacing about one-third of his Cabinet ministers in the biggest government shakeup of his tenure, hoping to boost support for his party ahead of April parliamentary elections. Yoon has named new ministers for finance, agriculture, land, oceans, small and medium enterprises and veterans affairs, chief of staff Kim Dae-ki told reporters in a briefing yesterday. The six candidates face parliamentary hearings for confirmation, but the president has the power to appoint them even if the opposition-dominated body vote them down. Outgoing Minister of Finance Choo Kyung-ho is likely to run for a parliamentary seat in April, Yonhap News Agency reported. Yoon has tapped his economic adviser, Choi Sang-mok, to replace Choo, and he has not signaled any intention to use the change to embark on new economic policies. Last week, Yoon created a new position for policy and replaced all five of his senior secretaries, in a bid to consolidate power ahead of the vote for all members of the unicameral parliament.
NORTH KOREA
Kim raises birthrate alarm
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has called for efforts to tackle the country’s falling birthrate, describing the challenge as “everyone’s housekeeping,” the Korean Central News Agency reported yesterday. Kim made the comments during an event for mothers in Pyongyang on Sunday. “Preventing a decline in birthrates and good childcare are all of our housekeeping duties we need to handle while working with mothers,” Kim said. The UN Population Fund estimates that as of this year, the nation’s fertility rate stood at 1.8, amid an extended fall in the rate during recent decades. The fertility rate remains higher than in some of its neighbors, including South Korea, which dropped to a record low of 0.78 last year, while Japan saw its figure drop to 1.26.
UKRAINE
Drones, missile shot down
The air force yesterday said that it shot down 18 out of 23 Iranian-made Shahed drones and one missile that Russia fired at its territory overnight. Moscow typically fires dozens of drones at Ukraine every week in waves of overnight attacks targeting energy facilities and military sites deep behind the frontlines. “As a result of combat operations, 18 attack drones and one X-59 guided missile were destroyed,” the air force said in a social media post. Local officials reported attempted attacks on the western regions of Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk and Khmelnytskyi, as well as Mykolaiv and Kherson in the south. In Kherson, a cultural center and a shop were hit, the army said, adding that there was no information on possible casualties.
FLYBY: The object, appears to be traveling more than 60 kilometers per second, meaning it is not bound by the sun’s orbit, astronomers studying 3I/Atlas said Astronomers on Wednesday confirmed the discovery of an interstellar object racing through the solar system — only the third-ever spotted, although scientists suspect many more might slip past unnoticed. The visitor from the stars, designated 3I/Atlas, is likely the largest yet detected, and has been classified as a comet, or cosmic snowball. “It looks kind of fuzzy,” said Peter Veres, an astronomer with the International Astronomical Union’s Minor Planet Center, which was responsible for the official confirmation. “It seems that there is some gas around it, and I think one or two telescopes reported a very short tail.” Originally known as A11pl3Z before
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
‘CONTINUE TO SERVE’: The 90-year-old Dalai Lama said he hoped to be able to continue serving ‘sentient beings and the Buddha Dharma’ for decades to come The Dalai Lama yesterday said he dreamed of living for decades more, as the Buddhist spiritual leader prayed with thousands of exiled Tibetans on the eve of his 90th birthday. Thumping drums and deep horns reverberated from the Indian hilltop temple, as a chanting chorus of red-robed monks and nuns offered long-life prayers for Tenzin Gyatso, who followers believe is the 14th reincarnation of the Dalai Lama. Looking in good health, dressed in traditional maroon monk robes and a flowing yellow wrap, he led prayers — days after confirming that the 600-year-old Tibetan Buddhist institution would continue after his death. Many exiled Tibetans
BRICS leaders are to meet in Rio de Janeiro from today, with the bloc depleted by the absence of Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), who is skipping the annual summit of emerging economies for the first time in 12 years. The grouping meets as its members face imminent and costly tariff wars with the US. Conceived two decades ago as a forum for fast-growing economies, the BRICS have come to be dominated by Beijing, which grew much faster and larger than the rest. China has not said why Xi would miss the summit, a first since he became president in 2013. “I expect there
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