UNITED STATES
Wildfire burns in California
A wildfire on Tuesday scorched thousands of hectares and burned homes in a California Gold Rush town settled in about 1850 by Chinese miners who were driven out of a nearby camp. The fire rapidly grew to cover 16.1km2, forcing the evacuation of Chinese Camp and surrounding highways, according to CalFire, the state’s chief fire agency. There were no immediate reports of injuries or deaths, but the fire remained uncontained on Tuesday night.
Photo: Reuters
JAPAN
‘Spaceman’ scams woman
An octogenarian was swindled out of thousands of dollars after falling in love online with a self-described astronaut who sought her help to avert a spaceship crisis, police said on Tuesday. The hapless woman in Hokkaido met the fraudster in July on social media. He claimed to be an astronaut, a local police officer told reporters, describing the case as a “romance scam.” After some exchanges, the scammer one day told the woman that he was “in space on a spaceship right now,” but was “under attack and in need of oxygen,” the official said. The scammer urged her to pay him online to help him buy oxygen and successfully hoodwinked about ￥1 million (US$6,700) out of her. The woman lives alone and started developing feelings for him as their online communication progressed, local media including Hokkaido Broadcasting said, quoting investigative sources. “If a person you met on social media ever demanded cash from you, please be suspicious of the possibility of scam and report to police,” the official said.
JAPAN
Travelers warned to behave
The Australian embassy issued a warning to travelers to behave themselves after an Instagrammer drank offerings from a burial site, provoking widespread anger online. Lochie Jones — reportedly an Australian tourist — posted a clip of himself swigging from a can placed on a headstone as an offering. Moments earlier, he is seen flipping a coin to decide whether to open the beverage, likely left as a gift for ancestors. He is then seen burping in front of the grave. The video — which was posted last month — prompted angry comments online. “Graveyards are sacred places in any country... I want [the government] to make sure he can never enter Japan [again],” one person on X wrote. On Tuesday, the Australian embassy warned on Facebook that travelers must ensure “appropriate behavior” while visiting the nation, without explicitly referring to the video.
SOUTH KOREA
Three stabbed to death
A man yesterday stabbed three people to death in Seoul at a pizza restaurant, police said. The attack in Gwanak District was carried out by the restaurant’s owner, who became embroiled in a dispute with contractors before stabbing three people and then attempting to harm himself, police said in a statement.
NICARAGUA
Ortega slams US ‘charade’
President Daniel Ortega on Tuesday said that the deployment of US warships to the Caribbean is not about the “charade” of a drug war, but an attempt to “overthrow governments.” The US has said the deployment of warships to the southern Caribbean, near Venezuela’s territorial waters, was an anti-drug trafficking operation. Ortega accused the administration of US President Donald Trump of deploying warships “to intimidate Latin American governments,” adding: “They do it to intimidate people and to try to overthrow governments.”
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
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