JAPAN
Flagship H3 rocket launched
The nation yesterday successfully deployed an upgraded Earth observation satellite for disaster response and security after it was launched on a new flagship H3 rocket. The rocket lifted off from the Tanegashima Space Center and released its payload about 16 minutes later, putting it into a targeted orbit as planned, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said during a livestream. The Advanced Land Observation Satellite, or ALOS-4, is tasked primarily with Earth observation and data collection for disaster response and mapmaking, including for volcanic and seismic activity and other land movements. It is also capable of monitoring military activity, such as missile launches, with an infrared sensor developed by the Ministry of Defense.
SOUTH KOREA
Yoon recall petition surges
An online petition calling for President Yoon Suk-yeol to be impeached experienced delays and disruptions due to the large number of people trying to sign it, National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik said, promising to fix the issue as soon as possible. More than 811,000 people have so far signed the petition, hosted on the National Assembly’s Web site, since it went live on June 20. The petition calls on parliament to introduce a bill to impeach Yoon on the grounds that he is unfit for the job. In a statement late on Sunday, Woo apologized for the disruption, and said parliament would take action to uphold the public’s constitutional right. People trying to access the petition yesterday faced delays that lasted up to four hours. At one point, an error message showed more than 30,000 people were waiting to access the site.
ITALY
Drug ‘precursors’ seized
Customs officials yesterday said they had seized more than 6 tonnes of chemical “precursors” from China that could have been used to make 630 million euros (US$678 million) of narcotics. The seizure was made at Milan’s airport during an inspection of goods, and included enough chemicals to produce more than 63 million MDMA pills, they added. An Italian entrepreneur from Milan was placed under investigation and two Chinese nationals were arrested in the Netherlands as part of investigations carried out with the EU Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation, customs officials said. A lab analysis said that the powder seized that purported to be polyester powder coating turned out to be PMK — a precursor product of ecstasy.
FIJI
Prison officers linked to cult
Fijian prison chiefs yesterday said they had punished 11 officers for receiving free meals and other favors from businesses linked to South Korea’s “Grace Road” cult. Cult founder Shin Ok-ju prophesied that South Korea would be doomed by famine and disaster, persuading hundreds of followers in 2014 to start a new life in Fiji. The movement quickly established political and commercial sway there, but it was also dogged by claims of bizarre rituals, and Shin was imprisoned by a South Korean court in 2019 on a string of criminal charges, including violence, child abuse and fraud in Fiji. The Fiji Corrections Office said it had launched an investigation following reports that some of its prison officers had received “favors” from a Suva Remand Center prisoner, Jung Young Kim. “The investigation revealed that officers and their families were receiving free meals and groceries from Grace Road businesses located in and around the Suva area,” the corrections office said in a statement on social media.
‘SHORTSIGHTED’: Using aid as leverage is punitive, would not be regarded well among Pacific Island nations and would further open the door for China, an academic said New Zealand has suspended millions of dollars in budget funding to the Cook Islands, it said yesterday, as the relationship between the two constitutionally linked countries continues to deteriorate amid the island group’s deepening ties with China. A spokesperson for New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters said in a statement that New Zealand early this month decided to suspend payment of NZ$18.2 million (US$11 million) in core sector support funding for this year and next year as it “relies on a high trust bilateral relationship.” New Zealand and Australia have become increasingly cautious about China’s growing presence in the Pacific
Indonesia’s Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki yesterday erupted again with giant ash and smoke plumes after forcing evacuations of villages and flight cancelations, including to and from the resort island of Bali. Several eruptions sent ash up to 5km into the sky on Tuesday evening to yesterday afternoon. An eruption on Tuesday afternoon sent thick, gray clouds 10km into the sky that expanded into a mushroom-shaped ash cloud visible as much as 150km kilometers away. The eruption alert was raised on Tuesday to the highest level and the danger zone where people are recommended to leave was expanded to 8km from the crater. Officers also
The team behind the long-awaited Vera Rubin Observatory in Chile yesterday published their first images, revealing breathtaking views of star-forming regions as well as distant galaxies. More than two decades in the making, the giant US-funded telescope sits perched at the summit of Cerro Pachon in central Chile, where dark skies and dry air provide ideal conditions for observing the cosmos. One of the debut images is a composite of 678 exposures taken over just seven hours, capturing the Trifid Nebula and the Lagoon Nebula — both several thousand light-years from Earth — glowing in vivid pinks against orange-red backdrops. The new image
ESPIONAGE: The British government’s decision on the proposed embassy hinges on the security of underground data cables, a former diplomat has said A US intervention over China’s proposed new embassy in London has thrown a potential resolution “up in the air,” campaigners have said, amid concerns over the site’s proximity to a sensitive hub of critical communication cables. The furor over a new “super-embassy” on the edge of London’s financial district was reignited last week when the White House said it was “deeply concerned” over potential Chinese access to “the sensitive communications of one of our closest allies.” The Dutch parliament has also raised concerns about Beijing’s ideal location of Royal Mint Court, on the edge of the City of London, which has so
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