INDIA
Kashmir attack kills nine
The government is investigating an attack in which suspected militants fired at a bus carrying Hindu pilgrims in Kashmir, killing nine and injuring 33, officials said yesterday. The attack on Sunday caused the vehicle to fall into a deep gorge in Jammu Province’s Reasi District. The bus was carrying pilgrims to the base camp of the Hindu temple Mata Vaishno Devi. A team from the National Investigation Agency has reached the site of the attack, the Press Trust of India news agency reported. Security forces were also trying to track down those suspected to be responsible. Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha announced compensation of US$11,975 each for families of those killed, as well as nearly US$600 to those who were injured. Federal Minister Amit Shah said he was in touch with Sinha and the local administration was providing speedy medical attention. A police officer said some of the victims had gunshot wounds and blamed the attack on Muslim militants who are fighting Indian rule in Kashmir.
AUSTRALIA
US consulate vandalized
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese yesterday urged activists on both sides of the Israel-Palestinian debate to “turn the heat down” after the US consulate in Sydney was vandalized earlier in the day. CCTV footage showed a person wearing a dark hoodie using a small sledgehammer to smash nine holes in the reinforced glass windows of the building in North Sydney after 3am, a police statement said. Two inverted red triangles, seen by many as a symbol of Palestinian resistance, were also painted on the front of the building. Calling for “respectful political debate and discourse,” Albanese told reporters: “People are traumatized by what is going on in the Middle East, particularly those with relatives in either Israel or in the Palestinian Occupied Territories.” However, “measures such as painting the US consulate do nothing to advance the cause of those who have committed what is, of course, a crime to damage property,” he said. The consulate was closed yesterday because of a public holiday in New South Wales state, but would reopen today, a consulate statement said. New South Wales Premier Chris Minns said an overwhelming majority of Australians did not approve of such vandalism.
JAPAN
Deportation rules tightened
Japanese laws making it easier for the country to deport failed asylum seekers took effect yesterday, with campaigners warning that the new system would put lives at risk. The world’s fourth-largest economy has long been criticized for the low number of asylum applications it accepts. Last year, refugee status was granted to a record 303 people, mostly from Afghanistan. Now the government can deport asylum seekers rejected three times, under immigration law changes enacted last year. Previously, those seeking refugee status had been able to stay in the country while they appealed decisions, regardless of the number of attempts made. The revised law is “meant to swiftly deport those without permission to stay, and help reduce long-term detentions,” Minister of Justice Ryuji Koizumi said last month. Critics have raised concerns over the transparency of the screening process, saying the new rules could heighten the risk of applicants facing persecution after repatriation. “We’re strongly concerned that the enforcement of this law will allow refugees who have fled to Japan to be deported, and endanger their lives and safety,” the Japan Association for Refugees said on X.
Malaysia yesterday installed a motorcycle-riding billionaire sultan as its new king in lavish ceremonies for a post seen as a ballast in times of political crises. The coronation ceremony for Malaysia’s King Sultan Ibrahim, 65, at the National Palace in Kuala Lumpur followed his oath-taking in January as the country’s 17th monarch. Malaysia is a constitutional monarchy, with a unique arrangement that sees the throne change hands every five years between the rulers of nine Malaysian states headed by centuries-old Islamic royalty. While chiefly ceremonial, the position of king has in the past few years played an increasingly important role. Royal intervention was
X-37B COMPARISON: China’s spaceplane is most likely testing technology, much like US’ vehicle, said Victoria Samson, an official at the Secure World Foundation China’s shadowy, uncrewed reusable spacecraft, which launches atop a rocket booster and lands at a secretive military airfield, is most likely testing technology, but could also be used for manipulating or retrieving satellites, experts said. The spacecraft, on its third mission, was last month observed releasing an object, moving several kilometers away and then maneuvering back to within a few hundred meters of it. “It’s obvious that it has a military application, including, for example, closely inspecting objects of the enemy or disabling them, but it also has non-military applications,” said Marco Langbroek, a lecturer in optical space situational awareness at Delft
The Philippine Air Force must ramp up pilot training if it is to buy 20 or more multirole fighter jets as it modernizes and expands joint operations with its navy, a commander said yesterday. A day earlier US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said that the US “will do what is necessary” to see that the Philippines is able to resupply a ship on the Second Thomas Shoal (Renai Shoal, 仁愛暗沙) that Manila uses to reinforce its claims to the atoll. Sullivan said the US would prefer that the Philippines conducts the resupplies of the small crew on the warship Sierra Madre,
AIRLINES RECOVERING: Two-thirds of the flights canceled on Saturday due to the faulty CrowdStrike update that hit 8.5 million devices worldwide occurred in the US As the world continues to recover from massive business and travel disruptions caused by a faulty software update from cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, malicious actors are trying to exploit the situation for their own gain. Government cybersecurity agencies across the globe and CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz are warning businesses and individuals around the world about new phishing schemes that involve malicious actors posing as CrowdStrike employees or other tech specialists offering to assist those recovering from the outage. “We know that adversaries and bad actors will try to exploit events like this,” Kurtz said in a statement. “I encourage everyone to remain vigilant