KOREAS
North tests rocket system
North Korea yesterday said that it had developed a new control system for a multiple rocket launcher that would lead to a “qualitative change” in its defense capabilities. Pyongyang’s Academy of Defense Science successfully carried out a “ballistic control test firing of 240mm caliber multiple rocket launcher shells” on Saturday to develop a “controllable shell and ballistic control system” for the launcher, state news agency KCNA reported. The new rocket launcher would now be “reevaluated” and its battlefield role “increased,” KCNA said. Nuclear-armed North Korea this year declared South Korea as its “principal enemy,” closing agencies dedicated to reunification and outreach, and threatening war over “even 0.001 millimeters” of territorial infringement.
INDIA
Qatar frees Indian officers
Qatar has freed eight retired Indian navy officers who had been given death sentences for alleged spying that were commuted last year, the Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday. The eight men were accused of spying while working at Al Dahra, a consulting company in the oil-rich Gulf state that advises the Qatari government on submarine acquisitions. They were imprisoned in 2022 and handed death sentences in October that were reduced to prison sentences after New Delhi said it was exploring legal options and filed an appeal. “We appreciate the decision by the Amir of the State of Qatar to enable the release and home-coming of these nationals,” the ministry said in a statement, adding that seven of the men had returned to India. It gave no further details. The news came after Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Qatar’s Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on the sidelines of the COP28 climate talks in Dubai in December.
UNITED STATES
NY expands migrant curfew
New York is expanding a curfew to additional migrant shelters after violent incidents attributed to migrant shelter residents gained national attention in recent weeks. Starting yesterday, Mayor Eric Adams’ administration imposed an 11pm to 6am curfew at 20 migrant shelters, after initially placing the restrictions at four other locations, the Daily News reported. The curfew impacts about 3,600 migrants, with the largest of the emergency centers housing about 1,000 migrants in Long Island City, Queens. City officials initially placed a curfew on four shelters last month in response to neighborhood complaints.
MEXICO
Skydivers’ plane kills man
A plane carrying four Canadian skydivers came down on a beach on Sunday in the south, killing one man who was on the beach. There was no immediate information on why the plane went down, but it appeared to have made a forced landing and was largely intact. However, it fell in a relatively populated section of the beach at the Pacific coast town of Puerto Escondido, and landed almost on top of the victim, whose nationality was not disclosed. The four Canadians and one Mexican man aboard the small aircraft were removed from the plane and taken for treatment. The Oaxaca state civil defense office said they were in “stable” condition. There was no immediate information on the names or hometowns of the Canadians. The office said the dead man’s wife had been nearby, but was unharmed. The accident happened just meters away from the water and even closer to a wood beach structure of the kind frequently used in Puerto Escondido for restaurants.
OPTIMISTIC: A Philippine Air Force spokeswoman said the military believed the crew were safe and were hopeful that they and the jet would be recovered A Philippine Air Force FA-50 jet and its two-person crew are missing after flying in support of ground forces fighting communist rebels in the southern Mindanao region, a military official said yesterday. Philippine Air Force spokeswoman Colonel Consuelo Castillo said the jet was flying “over land” on the way to its target area when it went missing during a “tactical night operation in support of our ground troops.” While she declined to provide mission specifics, Philippine Army spokesman Colonel Louie Dema-ala confirmed that the missing FA-50 was part of a squadron sent “to provide air support” to troops fighting communist rebels in
PROBE: Last week, Romanian prosecutors launched a criminal investigation against presidential candidate Calin Georgescu accusing him of supporting fascist groups Tens of thousands of protesters gathered in Romania’s capital on Saturday in the latest anti-government demonstration by far-right groups after a top court canceled a presidential election in the EU country last year. Protesters converged in front of the government building in Bucharest, waving Romania’s tricolor flags and chanting slogans such as “down with the government” and “thieves.” Many expressed support for Calin Georgescu, who emerged as the frontrunner in December’s canceled election, and demanded they be resumed from the second round. George Simion, the leader of the far-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR), which organized the protest,
ECONOMIC DISTORTION? The US commerce secretary’s remarks echoed Elon Musk’s arguments that spending by the government does not create value for the economy US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on Sunday said that government spending could be separated from GDP reports, in response to questions about whether the spending cuts pushed by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency could possibly cause an economic downturn. “You know that governments historically have messed with GDP,” Lutnick said on Fox News Channel’s Sunday Morning Futures. “They count government spending as part of GDP. So I’m going to separate those two and make it transparent.” Doing so could potentially complicate or distort a fundamental measure of the US economy’s health. Government spending is traditionally included in the GDP because
Hundreds of people in rainbow colors gathered on Saturday in South Africa’s tourist magnet Cape Town to honor the world’s first openly gay imam, who was killed last month. Muhsin Hendricks, who ran a mosque for marginalized Muslims, was shot dead last month near the southern city of Gqeberha. “I was heartbroken. I think it’s sad especially how far we’ve come, considering how progressive South Africa has been,” attendee Keisha Jensen said. Led by motorcycle riders, the mostly young crowd walked through the streets of the coastal city, some waving placards emblazoned with Hendricks’s image and reading: “#JUSTICEFORMUHSIN.” No arrest
RSS