NORTH KOREA
US, SK accused of spying
Pyongyang yesterday accused the US and South Korea of conducting more aerial espionage around the Korean Peninsula, saying it would take “immediate action” if its sovereignty was breached. The US has deployed dozens of military planes “in air espionage against the DPRK [Democratic People’s Republic of Korea] from May 13 to 24,” Vice Minister of Defense Kim Kang-il said in a statement, referring to his country by its official name. The espionage activities observed over the 12-day time frame were “at a level beyond the wartime situation,” he said in the statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency. He also lashed out at the South Korean navy for what he called “enemy intrusion across our maritime border.”
PAPUA NEW GUINEA
Landslide death toll spikes
The UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM) yesterday increased its estimate of the death toll from a massive landslide to more than 670. Serhan Aktoprak, chief of the IOM Mission in Papua New Guinea, said the revised death toll was based on calculations by Yambali village and Enga provincial officials that more than 150 homes had been buried by Friday’s landslide. “They are estimating that more than 670 people [are] under the soil at the moment,” Aktoprak said.
BANGLADESH
Thousands flee cyclone
Tens of thousands of people yesterday left their coastal villages for concrete storm shelters further inland as the low-lying nation prepared for the expected landfall of an intense cyclone, officials said. Cyclone Remal is set to hit the country and parts of neighboring India between 6pm and midnight, with the Meteorological Department predicting crashing waves and howling gales with gusts of up to 130kph. “Our plan is to evacuate hundreds of thousands of people from unsafe and vulnerable homes to the cyclone shelters,” Secretary of the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief Kamrul Hasan said.
THE NETHERLANDS
Nicki Minaj detained
A concert by US rapper Nicki Minaj in England was called off at the last minute on Saturday night, after the superstar was detained at Amsterdam’s main airport on suspicion of possessing “soft drugs.” The artist was due to perform in Manchester on Saturday, but wrote on X that authorities “said they found weed” in her luggage before briefly taking her into custody. Minaj said the “pre-rolls” belonged to her security guard and that her bags had been searched “without consent.” Police said that they had detained a 41-year-old American woman on suspicion of trying to export soft drugs. Military police spokesman Robert Kapel later said that the suspect had been released after the payment of a “reasonable” fine. Transporting drugs from the Netherlands to another country is illegal.
UNITED STATES
Richard Sherman dies
Richard Sherman, 95, a man behind famed Disney songs that delighted generations, such as It’s a Small World (After all) and Mary Poppins’ songs Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, Chim Chim Cher-ee and Spoon full of Sugar died on Saturday, the Walt Disney Co announced on its Web site. He passed at a Beverly Hills California, hospital. The cause was only listed as an “age-related illness,” a Disney obituary said. Sherman was one half of the famed songwriting team “the Sherman Brothers” along with his late brother Robert Sherman, and was regarded as part of Walt Disney’s inner creative circle.
SURVEYED CONCERN: A poll showed 74 percent of respondents believe Australia is too economically reliant on China and 71 percent say Beijing is a security threat Regional security concerns are expected to overshadow lucrative trade ties when Chinese Premier Li Qiang (李強) visits New Zealand and Australia this week, with the mood markedly different from the Chinese premier’s visit seven years ago. Li is to arrive in New Zealand today, before traveling to Australia at the weekend, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. Australia is the top supplier of iron ore to China, its largest trading partner, but there is competition for Australia’s rare earths needed for electric vehicles and defense from Western security allies. New Zealand was the first Western nation to strike a free-trade agreement with
Down a Tokyo street lined with bright signs, up narrow stairs and behind a windowless door is a “snack bar” long cherished by regulars but hidden from tourists — until now. Snack bars are cozy, retro establishments found across Japan, often crammed into small buildings and equipped with karaoke systems that echo late into the night. They are typically run by a woman nicknamed “mama” who chats to customers while serving drinks with nibbles such as nuts, dried squid or simple cooked dishes. Despite being a fixture of Japanese nightlife since the post-war era, the tucked-away bars’ tight space can be intimidating, especially
‘FRESH INFILTRATION’: A man was killed in a gun battle with security forces and later suspected rebels lobbed grenades and fired at a checkpoint in the Doda area A suspected militant was killed and seven members of security forces were wounded in clashes in Indian-administered Kashmir, police said yesterday. The first incident occurred late on Tuesday night in Hiranagar, a village near the frontier with Pakistan, which, like India, claims the Himalayan region in full. Security forces rushed to the border village, with a man killed in the resulting gunfight who police believed had crossed over from the Pakistan side. “This appears to be a fresh infiltration in which one terrorist was killed and the search for one more is ongoing,” Anand Jain, a top police officer, told reporters. Hours later, suspected
A brief boat ride from the thrumming nightclubs of Mykonos lies the UNESCO heritage site of Delos, one of the most important sanctuaries of the ancient Greek and Roman world. Surrounded by piercing azure waters, Delos’ 2,000-year-old buildings offer a microcosm of information on daily life during the Hellenistic and Roman periods. However, the site known for its temples guarded by stone lions could be gone forever in half a century, scientists warn. “Delos is condemned to disappear in around 50 years,” said Veronique Chankowski, head of the French archeological school of Athens, which has been excavating the site for the past 150