JAPAN
Elderly man held for graffiti
Police yesterday arrested a man in his 90s for allegedly graffitiing a sign at a prosecutor’s office in Osaka, a local officer said. A security guard at the government building made an emergency call saying “graffiti had been scrawled on a sign with red lacquer paint,” the senior Osaka police officer said. The stone sign at the front of the building bearing the words “Public Prosecutor’s Office” had been defaced, the officer said. The elderly man — who the officer said was in his 90s, but declined to specify his exact age — later admitted to investigators that he had “dirtied” the sign. The man did not appear to be politically motivated, the officer said.
Photo: AFP
KENYA
Recruiter for Russia arrested
Police have arrested a key figure in a network that sent more than 1,000 Kenyans to Russia, where many were forcibly conscripted into the army and sent to Ukraine. Festus Omwamba, 33, was caught in Moyale, a border town with Ethiopia, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations wrote on X late on Wednesday. He is “believed to be a key player in [an] extensive human trafficking syndicate,” it said. Omwamba founded a recruitment agency, Global Face Human Resources, used to funnel Kenyans to Russia. More than 1,000 Kenyans have joined the Russian army in the past few months, lawmaker Kimani Ichung’wah told parliament last week, citing a report from the intelligence services and directorate.
JAPAN
Births fall for 10th year
The number of births in Japan fell for the 10th consecutive year last year, official data showed yesterday, highlighting the challenges for Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. A total of 705,809 babies were born, the preliminary health ministry data showed, down 2.1 percent from 2024. The data include births to Japanese nationals in Japan, foreign births in Japan and babies born to Japanese nationals overseas.
UNITED STATES
Astronaut reveals he was ill
NASA’s Mike Fincke on Wednesday identified himself as the astronaut whose medical condition prompted the space agency’s first medical evacuation. In a written statement, the 58-year-old spaceflight veteran revealed he was the ailing crew member last month aboard the International Space Station. He did not say what was wrong with him, but explained that his condition quickly stabilized thanks to his crewmates and flight surgeons on the ground. “Spaceflight is an incredible privilege, and sometimes it reminds us just how human we are,” he said in the statement, adding that he is well.
AUSTRALIA
Albanese sorry for comment
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese yesterday apologized for any “misinterpretation” after describing a sexual assault survivor who became an advocate for women as “difficult.” The comments were condemned by the outspoken activist Grace Tame who labeled them a “patronizing cop out from a total coward.” The prime minister was asked at a forum the previous day to give one-word reactions to various personalities. When the host named Tame, who was the 2021 Australian of the Year, Albanese said: “difficult.” The prime minister yesterday attempted to clarify his remarks. “I was asked to describe people in one word and Grace Tame, you certainly can’t describe in one word,” he told reporters. “She has had a difficult life and that was what I was referring to.”
FEROCIOUS FISH-EATER Scientists have found a new species of dinosaur from the Cretaceous Period, a ‘hell heron’ that stalked the rivers, deep in the Saharan desert At a remote Sahara desert site in Niger, scientists have unearthed fossils of a new species of Spinosaurus, among the biggest of the meat-eating dinosaurs, notable for its large blade-shaped head crest and jaws bearing interlocking teeth for snaring fish. It prowled a forested inland environment and strode into rivers to catch sizable fish like a modern-day wading bird — a “hell heron,” as one of the researchers put it, considering it was about 12 meters long and weighed 5-7 tons. The dinosaur presented a striking profile on the Cretaceous Period landscape of Africa some 95 million years ago as it hunted
THE TRAGEDY OF PUNCH: Footage of the seven-month-old Japanese macaque has gone viral online after he was rejected by his mother and formed a bond with a soft toy A baby monkey in Japan has captured hearts around the world after videos of him being bullied by other monkeys and rejected by his mother went viral last week. Punch, a Japanese macaque, was born in July last year at Ichikawa City Zoo. He has drawn international attention after zookeepers gave him a stuffed orangutan toy after he was abandoned by his mother. Without maternal guidance to help him integrate, Punch has turned to the toy for comfort. He has been filmed multiple times being dragged and chased by older Japanese macaques inside the enclosure. Early clips showed him wandering alone with
DRUG WAR: The former president said there was no campaign to kill addicts, but his speeches called for violence and told police to use lethal force if necessary Former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte earned global infamy for the deadly drug crackdown that led to his arrest over crimes against humanity charges, despite his huge popularity at home. A profane-lipped populist and self-professed killer, Duterte’s anti-crime campaign resulted in the deaths of thousands of alleged dealers and addicts. Rights groups said many of those killed were poor men, often without any proof they were linked to drugs. Yet, while drawing condemnation abroad, tens of millions of Filipinos backed his swift brand of justice — even as he joked about rape in his rambling speeches, locked up his critics and failed to
GAME CHANGER The Russian invasion of Ukraine has shown the utility of small drones for recon, for supporting logistics and for killing across the modern battlefield Five European nations have announced a new program to produce low-cost air defense systems and autonomous drones using Ukrainian expertise, hard-won over the past four years fighting against Russia. Friday’s initiative of the five nations — France, Poland, Germany, the UK and Italy — comes as one of many European efforts to bolster defense along their borders, like a “drone wall ” with Russia and Ukraine to better detect, track and intercept drones violating Europe’s airspace. Both Moscow and Kyiv have cutting-edge drone warfare capabilities forged in the grim laboratory of war where battlefield innovations have rewritten modern battle tactics. Poland is
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