JAPAN
Test rocket catches fire
A lightweight rocket yesterday failed its second test run after catching fire in the latest setback for the nation’s space program. The Epsilon S rocket’s second-stage engine suffered a malfunction 49 seconds into a ground test at Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said in a statement. A live feed from the national broadcaster showed plumes of smoke rising from the site. No injuries were reported and the cause of the fire has yet to be determined, the agency said. The Epsilon is scheduled to make its debut launch in March next year, but the failed test could trigger further delays in the program.
CHILE
Boric rejects sex complaint
President Gabriel Boric was accused in a criminal complaint of sexually harassing a woman in 2013, an allegation he “rejects and categorically denies,” his lawyer, Jonatan Valenzuela, said on Monday. The complaint was filed on Sept. 6 in the local prosecutors’ office of Magallanes. Office head Cristian Crisosto confirmed “there is a criminal case related to the facts listed,” adding that there was a special team at the agency investigating the complaint. Valenzuela said the complaint was filed by a woman who at the time sent Boric 25 e-mails that were “unsolicited and non-consensual,” including one with explicit images. More than 10 years later, the woman “filed a complaint without any basis whatsoever against now-president Gabriel Boric.” Boric, now 38, was 27 at the time and had just completed his law degree.
UNITED KINGDOM
Scrooge’s tomb smashed
If life imitates art, a vandal in the English countryside might be haunted by The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. Police in the town of Shrewsbury are investigating how a tombstone that marked the fictional grave of Ebenezer Scrooge was destroyed. The movie prop used in the 1984 adaption of A Christmas Carol was kept in place and became a tourist attraction. Town Clerk Helen Ball said the town is discussing what should be done to fix or replace the stone that is “hugely popular” with residents and visitors. This time of year, organized tours of locations used in the movie visit the grounds of St Chad’s Church to see the marker. “There’s not much to see other than broken bits of the gravestone,” Ball said. “You can’t see that it says Ebenezer Scrooge at the moment because it’s so damaged. It’s hugely disrespectful... If the ghosts of past, present and future would like to visit [the vandals] in the middle of the night and drop them and break them in pieces, I think that would be a perfect punishment.”
UKRAINE
Drone attacks reach record
Russia launched a record number of drones at Ukraine overnight, the air force said yesterday, damaging buildings and “critical infrastructure” in several regions. “During the night attack, the enemy launched a record number of Shahed strike uncrewed aerial vehicles and unidentified drones,” the air force said, referring to Iranian-designed drones and putting the overall number fired at 188. The air force said it had shot down 76 Russian drones in 17 regions, while another 95 were either lost from their radars or downed by electronic jamming defensive systems. Moscow also fired four Iskander-M ballistic missiles, the air force said. “Unfortunately, critical infrastructure facilities were hit, private and apartment buildings were damaged in several regions due to massive drone attacks,” the statement said.
Australia has announced an agreement with the tiny Pacific nation Nauru enabling it to send hundreds of immigrants to the barren island. The deal affects more than 220 immigrants in Australia, including some convicted of serious crimes. Australian Minister of Home Affairs Tony Burke signed the memorandum of understanding on a visit to Nauru, the government said in a statement on Friday. “It contains undertakings for the proper treatment and long-term residence of people who have no legal right to stay in Australia, to be received in Nauru,” it said. “Australia will provide funding to underpin this arrangement and support Nauru’s long-term economic
‘NEO-NAZIS’: A minister described the rally as ‘spreading hate’ and ‘dividing our communities,’ adding that it had been organized and promoted by far-right groups Thousands of Australians joined anti-immigration rallies across the country yesterday that the center-left government condemned, saying they sought to spread hate and were linked to neo-Nazis. “March for Australia” rallies against immigration were held in Sydney, and other state capitals and regional centers, according to the group’s Web site. “Mass migration has torn at the bonds that held our communities together,” the Web site said. The group posted on X on Saturday that the rallies aimed to do “what the mainstream politicians never have the courage to do: demand an end to mass immigration.” The group also said it was concerned about culture,
ANGER: Unrest worsened after a taxi driver was killed by a police vehicle on Thursday, as protesters set alight government buildings across the nation Protests worsened overnight across major cities of Indonesia, far beyond the capital, Jakarta, as demonstrators defied Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto’s call for calm. The most serious unrest was seen in the eastern city of Makassar, while protests also unfolded in Bandung, Surabaya, Solo and Yogyakarta. By yesterday morning, crowds had dispersed in Jakarta. Troops patrolled the streets with tactical vehicles and helped civilians clear trash, although smoke was still rising in various protest sites. Three people died and five were injured in Makassar when protesters set fire to the regional parliament building during a plenary session on Friday evening, according to
STILL AFLOAT: Satellite images show that a Chinese ship damaged in a collision earlier this month was under repair on Hainan, but Beijing has not commented on the incident Australia, Canada and the Philippines on Wednesday deployed three warships and aircraft for drills against simulated aerial threats off a disputed South China Sea shoal where Chinese forces have used risky maneuvers to try to drive away Manila’s aircraft and ships. The Philippine military said the naval drills east of Scarborough Shoal (Huangyan Island, 黃岩島) were concluded safely, and it did not mention any encounter with China’s coast guard, navy or suspected militia ships, which have been closely guarding the uninhabited fishing atoll off northwestern Philippines for years. Chinese officials did not immediately issue any comment on the naval drills, but they
RSS