PHILIPPINES
Joint drills with US on
The US and Manila are conducting joint air and maritime patrols in the South China Sea. The air force yesterday said that its aircraft had taken part in joint patrols on Tuesday in the vicinity of Batanes, which is about 200km from Taiwan. The patrols run through today and also include the US and Philippine navies. In announcing the start of the joint patrols, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr wrote on X that they were “testament to our commitment to bolster the interoperability of our military forces.”
Photo: AP
THAILAND
Rogue iguanas captured
Officers have captured more than 150 rogue iguanas that were raiding farms, officials said on Tuesday. The lizards are not native to the kingdom, hailing originally from Central and South America, but are increasingly popular as pets. The Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation said that 134 iguanas had been captured in Lopburi. A further six were discovered in Udon Thani and 23 more elsewhere in the nation, it said. The animals are to be kept at wildlife centers.
AUSTRALIA
Pacific cyberteam to form
Canberra yesterday said that it would spend A$26.2 million (US$17 million) to establish “rapid assistance” teams to respond to cybercrises in the Pacific region, and another A$16.7 million to identify cybervulnerabilities in the Pacific islands. The cybersecurity boost comes after Canberra and the US last month committed to funding two new undersea cables to be rolled out by Google in the Pacific islands to increase connectivity for eight remote countries. Minister for International Development and the Pacific Pat Conroy said that the rapid response teams would “build long-term resilience in the Pacific” and provide critical support.
AUSTRALIA
Hitchhiker gets long ride
A man confessed to having “a bit to drink” before stashing himself in the undercarriage of a freight truck to hitch a quick ride home. By the time he climbed out about five hours later, the 43-year-old was disoriented, disheveled and stranded about 400km from his intended stop. A Queensland police officer summed up the man’s predicament in footage released to the media after finding him on the side of the road late last week. “You had a big session, you’ve lost all control, and you’ve ended up here somehow trying to work your way back?” he asked. “Pretty much,” said the stowaway, who was clad in a soiled blue shirt. Police said the “intoxicated” man climbed onto metal racks underneath the B-Double freight truck — which can weigh upward of 50 tonnes — when it stopped in Nambucca Heads, New South Wales. He planned to clamber out when the truck stopped at a red light about 40 minutes away in Coffs Harbour, police said. However, the plan went awry when the truck sailed through a string of green lights, finally stopping to refuel in Queensland. “I’m really stressed out. I had a bit to drink,” the man told police. “I jumped in the undercarriage thinking he was going to stop in Coffs Harbour, and he got a green light the whole way through and never stopped until here.” The police officer suggested it must have an uncomfortable ride. “I didn’t have to worry about the air con, there was a pretty breeze through there,” the man said. “It was just stupidity to be honest with you.” Queensland police said the man had been fined A$288 for riding in a “part of a motor vehicle not designed for passengers or goods.”
KINGPIN: Marset allegedly laundered the proceeds of his drug enterprise by purchasing and sponsoring professional soccer teams and even put himself in the starting lineups Notorious Latin American narco trafficker Sebastian Marset, who eluded police for years, was handed over to US authorities after his arrest on Friday in Bolivia. Marset, a Uruguayan national who was on the US most-wanted list, was passed to agents of the US Drug Enforcement Administration at Santa Cruz airport in Bolivia, then put on a US airplane, Bolivian state television showed. “The arrest and deportation were carried out pursuant to a court order issued by the US justice system,” Bolivian Minister of Government Marco Antonio Oviedo told reporters. The alleged kingpin was arrested in an upscale neighborhood of Santa
FAKE NEWS? ‘When the government demands the press become a state mouthpiece under the threat of punishment, something has gone very wrong,’ a civic group said The top US broadcast regulator on Saturday threatened media outlets over negative coverage of the Middle East war, after US President Donald Trump slammed critical headlines from the “Fake News Media.” The US president since his first term has derided mainstream media as “fake news” and has sued major outlets over what he sees as unfair coverage. Brendan Carr, head of the US Federal Communications Commission — which oversees the nation’s radio, television and Internet media — said broadcasters risked losing their licenses over news coverage. “The law is clear. Broadcasters must operate in the public interest, and they will
SCANDAL: Other images discovered earlier show Andrew bent over a female and lying across the laps of a number of women, while Mandelson is pictured in his underpants A photograph of former British prince Andrew and veteran politician Peter Mandelson sitting in bathrobes alongside late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was unearthed on Friday in previously published documents. The image is believed to be the first known photograph of the two men with Epstein. They are currently engulfed in scandal in the UK over their ties to their mutual friend. The undated photograph, first reported by ITV News, shows King Charles III’s disgraced brother and former British ambassador to the US sitting barefoot outside on a wooden deck. They appear to have mugs with a US flag on them
NASA on Thursday said that the long-delayed launch of Artemis 2, the first crewed flyby mission to the moon in more than 50 years, could come as soon as April 1. “We are on track for a launch as early as April 1, and we are working toward that date,” Lori Glaze, a senior NASA official, told a news conference, after technical difficulties delayed a launch originally expected last month. “It’s a test flight, and it is not without risk, but our team and our hardware are ready,” she said. “Just keep in mind we still have work” to do. The US space
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