JAPAN
Avalanche warning issued
Officials yesterday warned of possible avalanches in the northern regions, as the mercury suddenly rose after two weeks of extreme snowfall that paralyzed traffic and collapsed houses. Sustained snow since late last month has buried northern communities such as Aomori under drifts of about 2m that left residents struggling to leave home, and forced schools and businesses to close. However, the temperature rose yesterday, reaching 8oC in Aomori, increasing the risk of chunks of heavy, wet snow dropping from rooftops, potentially causing injuries and even death, officials said. By yesterday, extreme snowfall had killed 35 people and caused 393 injuries across the country since Jan. 20, the Fire and Disaster Management Agency said. Many of the cases involve mounds of snow falling on residents from houses or people tumbling from their roofs while trying to clear it.
UNITED STATES
Trump signs budget bill
President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed a spending package of about US$1.2 trillion to end the partial government shutdown, hours after the House of Representatives passed the bill in a bipartisan vote. The measure funds most of the federal government through Sept. 30 while providing the Department of Homeland Security with short-term funding for two weeks. Lawmakers are to return to negotiate potential changes for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as Democrats demand more restrictions on its operations. Earlier in the afternoon, House Speaker Mike Johnson managed to secure near-unanimous Republican support needed to pass the bill through a procedural vote, despite some members of the party trying to tack unrelated priorities onto the funding package.
IRAN
Female bikers allowed
Women can now formally obtain a license to ride a motorcycle, local media reported yesterday, ending years of legal ambiguity surrounding two-wheelers. The law previously did not explicitly prohibit women from riding motorbikes and scooters, but in practice authorities refused to issue licenses. Due to the legal gray area, women have been held legally responsible for accidents even when victims. First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref on Tuesday signed a resolution aimed at clarifying the traffic code, which was approved by the Cabinet late last month, Ilna news agency reported. The resolution obliges traffic police to “provide practical training to female applicants, organize an exam under the direct supervision of the police, and issue motorcycle driver’s licenses to women,” Ilna said.
UNITED STATES
Jill Biden’s ex arrested
The ex-husband of former first lady Jill Biden has been arrested and charged with murder in the death of his wife at their Delaware home on Dec. 28, local police said on Tuesday. William Stevenson, 77, was married to Jill Biden from 1970 until their divorce in 1975. Jill Biden married former president Joe Biden in 1977. Stevenson is facing a first-degree murder charge in connection to the death of his wife, 64-year-old Linda Stevenson, New Castle County Police in Delaware said. He was arrested on Monday and remained in jail after failing to post US$500,000 cash bail. Police said they found Linda Stevenson unresponsive in her living room after responding to a report of a domestic dispute at the couple’s home in Wilmington shortly after 11pm. Life-saving measures were unsuccessful, and she was later pronounced dead.
ROCKY RELATIONS: The figures on residents come as Chinese tourist numbers drop following Beijing’s warnings to avoid traveling to Japan The number of Chinese residents in Japan has continued to rise, even as ties between the two countries have become increasingly fractious, data released on Friday showed. As of the end of December last year, the number of Chinese residents had increased by 6.5 percent from the previous year to 930,428. Chinese people accounted for 22.6 percent of all foreign residents in Japan, making them by far the largest group, Japanese Ministry of Justice data showed. Beijing has criticized Tokyo in increasingly strident terms since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi last year suggested that a military conflict around Taiwan could
A pro-Iran hacking group claimed to breach FBI Director Kash Patel’s personal e-mail inbox and posted some of the contents online. The e-mails provided by the hacking group include travel details, correspondence with leasing agents in Washington and global entry, and loyalty account numbers. The e-mail address the hackers claim to have compromised has been previously tied to Patel’s personal details, and the leaked e-mails contain photos of Patel and others, in addition to correspondence with family members and colleagues. “The FBI is aware of malicious actors targeting Director Patel’s personal email information,” the agency said in a statement on
RIVALRY: ‘We know that these are merely symbolic investigations initiated by China, which is in fact the world’s most profligate disrupter of supply chains,’ a US official said China has started a pair of investigations into US trade practices, retaliating against similar probes by US President Donald Trump’s administration as the superpowers stake out positions before an expected presidential summit in May. The move, announced by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce on Friday, is a direct mirror of steps Trump took to revive his tariff agenda after the US Supreme Court last month struck down some of his duties. “China expresses its strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition to these actions,” a ministry spokesperson said in a statement, referring to the so-called Section 301 investigations initiated on March 11.
When a hiker fell from a 55m waterfall in wild New Zealand bush, rescuers were forced to evacuate the badly hurt woman without her dog, which could not be found. After strangers raised thousands of dollars for a search, border collie Molly was flown to safety by a helicopter pilot who was determined to reunite the pet and the owner. A week earlier, an emergency rescue helicopter found the woman with bruises and lacerations after a fall at a rocky spot at the waterfall on the South Island’s West Coast. She was airlifted on March 24, but they were forced to
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