CHINA
Russian official visits
A Russian defense official attended a military showcase in Zhuhai in a show of unity between the countries as Moscow continues its invasion of Ukraine. Russian Federation Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu viewed Chinese and Russian aircraft and other military hardware at the China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition. Shoigu, a former defense minister, appeared to be on a mission to reaffirm ties between the countries as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has largely stalemated and Moscow has turned to North Korean soldiers to boost its troop numbers.
Photo: EPA-EFE
BRAZIL
Explosion rocks court
A man who attempted to break into the Supreme Court on Wednesday killed himself in explosions outside the building, authorities said. The two blasts were heard at about 7:30pm after the day’s session finished and all the justices and staff left the building safely, the court said in a statement. Local firefighters said that one man died at the scene in the capital, Brasilia, but did not identify him. Celina Leao, the lieutenant governor of the federal district, said the suspect had earlier detonated explosives in a car in a congress parking lot, which did not cause injuries. “His first action was to explode the car. Then he approached the Supreme Court and tried to get in the building. He failed and then there were the other explosions,” Leao told a news conference.
UNITED STATES
Man charged over leaks
A man who worked for the government has been charged with leaking classified information assessing Israel’s earlier plans to attack Iran, court papers filed on Wednesday said. The man, identified as Asif William Rahman, was arrested by the FBI this week in Cambodia and was due to make his first court appearance in Guam. He was indicted last week in a court in Virginia on two counts of willful transmission of national defense information. Officials said Rahman had a top-secret security clearance with access to sensitive compartmented information.
UNITED STATES
Election gambler paid
A man made US$85 million in a series of wagers on Polymarket, a crypto-based prediction market that was a popular platform for betting on the presidential election won by Donald Trump, a blockchain analysis firm said on Wednesday. The Wall Street Journal reported that the man is a French citizen and former trader whose first name is Theo, though he declined to publicize his last name. Last month, Polymarket said a French bettor had wagered a large sum on Trump winning the election on Tuesday last week. Chainanalysis, a New York-based blockchain analysis firm, said it had done cross-checking and identified 11 Polymarket accounts with similar characteristics. The accounts were fed at the same time, made bets at the same time and were emptied simultaneously, Chainanalysis said. The gambler bet US$70 million on Trump winning the election over Vice President Kamala Harris. After the election was called, he got it all back and US$85 million in winnings. Media reported that FBI agents raided the New York home of Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan on Wednesday. The cause and goal of the probe were not known. A Polymarket spokesperson told Axios that the raid was an “obvious political retribution by the outgoing administration against Polymarket for providing a market that correctly called the 2024 presidential election.”
A string of rape and assault allegations against the son of Norway’s future queen have plunged the royal family into its “biggest scandal” ever, wrapping up an annus horribilis for the monarchy. The legal troubles surrounding Marius Borg Hoiby, the 27-year-old son born of a relationship before Norwegian Crown Princess Mette-Marit’s marriage to Norwegian Crown Prince Haakon, have dominated the Scandinavian country’s headlines since August. The tall strapping blond with a “bad boy” look — often photographed in tuxedos, slicked back hair, earrings and tattoos — was arrested in Oslo on Aug. 4 suspected of assaulting his girlfriend the previous night. A photograph
The US deployed a reconnaissance aircraft while Japan and the Philippines sent navy ships in a joint patrol in the disputed South China Sea yesterday, two days after the allied forces condemned actions by China Coast Guard vessels against Philippine patrol ships. The US Indo-Pacific Command said the joint patrol was conducted in the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone by allies and partners to “uphold the right to freedom of navigation and overflight “ and “other lawful uses of the sea and international airspace.” Those phrases are used by the US, Japan and the Philippines to oppose China’s increasingly aggressive actions in the
‘GOOD POLITICS’: He is a ‘pragmatic radical’ and has moderated his rhetoric since the height of his radicalism in 2014, a lecturer in contemporary Islam said Abu Mohammed al-Jolani is the leader of the Islamist alliance that spearheaded an offensive that rebels say brought down Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and ended five decades of Baath Party rule in Syria. Al-Jolani heads Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which is rooted in Syria’s branch of al-Qaeda. He is a former extremist who adopted a more moderate posture in order to achieve his goals. Yesterday, as the rebels entered Damascus, he ordered all military forces in the capital not to approach public institutions. Last week, he said the objective of his offensive, which saw city after city fall from government control, was to
‘KAMPAI’: It is said that people in Japan began brewing rice about 2,000 years ago, with a third-century Chinese chronicle describing the Japanese as fond of alcohol Traditional Japanese knowledge and skills used in the production of sake and shochu distilled spirits were approved on Wednesday for addition to UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list, a committee of the UN cultural body said It is believed people in the archipelago began brewing rice in a simple way about two millennia ago, with a third-century Chinese chronicle describing the Japanese as fond of alcohol. By about 1000 AD, the imperial palace had a department to supervise the manufacturing of sake and its use in rituals, the Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association said. The multi-staged brewing techniques still used today are
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