ISRAEL
Palestinian teen killed
Israeli security forces yesterday stormed into a town in the northern West Bank, leading to fighting that killed a 17-year-old Palestinian, Palestinian health officials said. The Israeli military conducted an arrest raid before dawn in the town of Zababdeh south of Jenin, local medics said. The Palestinian health ministry reported that 17-year-old Othman Abu Kharj was fatally shot in the head. The raid came as Israeli security forces were still searching for the Palestinian gunman who carried out a shooting on Saturday in the northern Palestinian city of Hawara that killed an Israeli father and son on Saturday. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the raid in Zababdeh.
SOUTH KOREA
Activist arrives by jet ski
The coast guard yesterday said it had arrested a Chinese national who tried to enter the country after traveling by jet ski from China — a journey of more than 300km. Wearing a life vest and helmet, the man crossed the Yellow Sea on a 1,800cc jet ski from Shandong Province, using binoculars and a compass to navigate and towing five barrels of fuel. When his jet ski got stuck in tidal flats near the western port city of Incheon’s cruise terminal, he called for rescue, the coast guard said in a press release. The man, who they did not identify, was arrested after he “attempted to smuggle himself into” Incheon, it said. The jet-ski escapee is Chinese rights activist Kwon Pyong (權平), Lee Dae-seon of the non-governmental organization Dialogue China said yesterday. Kwon, 35, had posted pictures on social media mocking Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), and spent time in jail in China for subversion, Lee said, adding that Kwon was considering applying for refugee status in South Korea or a third country.
RUSSIA
Wagner leader in Africa
Wagner mercenary group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin said in a video published on Monday that his group was making Africa “freer” and suggested he was on the continent. Prigozhin, a former Kremlin ally whose group rebelled against Russia’s military leadership in June, has made few public appearances since the mutiny. The group maintains a strong military presence in Africa, where it has partnered with several nations, including Mali and the Central African Republic. “We are working. The temperature is above 50°C. Just how we like it,” Prigozhin said in the video, which Agence France-Presse was unable to immediately verify. “The Wagner Group is conducting reconnaissance and search activities. Making Russia even greater on every continent — and Africa even freer,” Prigozhin said.
SINGAPORE
Three to run for president
The city-state yesterday named the three candidates for the largely ceremonial role of president. The candidates include former deputy prime minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam, 66, widely regarded as the pick of the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP), even though the party has no official say in the voting process nor has it named a preferred candidate. Earlier this month, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (李顯龍) said the PAP had “taken a hit” over a spate of scandals. The other two candidates are Ng Kok Song (黃國松), 75, the former chief investment officer at sovereign wealth fund GIC, and Tan Kin Lian (陳欽亮), 75, a former chief executive of insurer NTUC Income. The winner is to take over from the city-state’s first female president, Halimah Yacob.
Seven people sustained mostly minor injuries in an airplane fire in South Korea, authorities said yesterday, with local media suggesting the blaze might have been caused by a portable battery stored in the overhead bin. The Air Busan plane, an Airbus A321, was set to fly to Hong Kong from Gimhae International Airport in southeastern Busan, but caught fire in the rear section on Tuesday night, the South Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said. A total of 169 passengers and seven flight attendants and staff were evacuated down inflatable slides, it said. Authorities initially reported three injuries, but revised the number
‘BALD-FACED LIE’: The woman is accused of administering non-prescribed drugs to the one-year-old and filmed the toddler’s distress to solicit donations online A social media influencer accused of filming the torture of her baby to gain money allegedly manufactured symptoms causing the toddler to have brain surgery, a magistrate has heard. The 34-year-old Queensland woman is charged with torturing an infant and posting videos of the little girl online to build a social media following and solicit donations. A decision on her bail application in a Brisbane court was yesterday postponed after the magistrate opted to take more time before making a decision in an effort “not to be overwhelmed” by the nature of allegations “so offensive to right-thinking people.” The Sunshine Coast woman —
BORDER SERVICES: With the US-funded International Rescue Committee telling clinics to shut by tomorrow, Burmese refugees face sudden discharge from Thai hospitals Healthcare centers serving tens of thousands of refugees on the Thai-Myanmar border have been ordered shut after US President Donald Trump froze most foreign aid last week, forcing Thai officials to transport the sickest patients to other facilities. The International Rescue Committee (IRC), which funds the clinics with US support, told the facilities to shut by tomorrow, a local official and two camp committee members said. The IRC did not respond to a request for comment. Trump last week paused development assistance from the US Agency for International Development for 90 days to assess compatibility with his “America First” policy. The freeze has thrown
TESTING BAN: Satellite photos show a facility in the Chinese city of Mianyang that could aid nuclear weapons design and power generation, a US researcher said China appears to be building a large laser-ignited fusion research center in the southwestern city of Mianyang, experts at two analytical organizations said, a development that could aid nuclear weapons design and work exploring power generation. Satellite photos show four outlying “arms” that would house laser bays, and a central experiment bay that would hold a target chamber containing hydrogen isotopes the powerful lasers would fuse together, producing energy, said Decker Eveleth, a researcher at US-based independent research organization CNA Corp. It is a similar layout to the US$3.5 billion US National Ignition Facility (NIF) in northern California, which in 2022 generated
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