NORTH KOREA
Delegation departs for Iran
A high-level economic delegation was on its way to Iran, state media reported yesterday, for what would be the two countries’ first known talks since August 2019. The delegation, led by Minster of External Economic Relations Yun Jung-ho, flew out on Tuesday for the trip to Iran, the Korean Central News Agency said.
RUSSIA
Navalny priest suspended
A priest who presided over the memorial service last month for late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been suspended from clerical duties for three years, the Moscow Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church said in a statement published on its Web site on Tuesday. The diocese did not say what the reason was for the punishment, which forbids the priest, Dmitry Safronov, from giving blessings, wearing the frock and bearing the church’s priestly cross until 2027. Safronov was also to be moved to another church in Moscow to perform the duties of a psalm-reader, it said. “At the end of the period of penance, based on feedback from the place of obedience, a decision will be made on the possibility of his further priestly service,” the statement said. On March 26, Safronov held a memorial service for Navalny, a critic of President Vladimir Putin. Navalny died in a penal colony in February.
JAPAN
Moon lander wakens again
A Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) moon lander woke up for a third time after its main functions survived another frigid two-week lunar night, the agency said yesterday. The Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM), dubbed the “Moon Sniper” for its landing precision, touched down in January, but landed at a wonky angle that left its solar panels facing the wrong way. However, the probe was revived in late February once the lunar night, which lasts about 14 Earth days, came to an end. Despite facing temperatures as low as minus-130°C, it repeated the feat late last month and transmitted new images back to Earth. JAXA said it had succeeded again in communicating with the probe after it woke up for the third time. It posted on X a new image of the moon’s surface that it had received from the lander.
JAPAN
Fukushima release paused
The release of treated wastewater into the ocean from Japan’s wrecked Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant was suspended yesterday as a partial power outage affected the site, Tokyo Electric Power Co said. The system to cool reactors remained operational and “no meaningful change” had been detected at plant facilities that monitor radioactivity, it added.
UNITED STATES
Virus fragments detected
Health authorities on Tuesday said that they had discovered fragments of bird flu virus in the nation’s pasteurized cow milk supply during the course of a large study, but the samples likely posed no health risk to humans. An outbreak of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) has spread among dairy cattle herds throughout the country and infected one human, who had mild symptoms. The Food and Drug Administration said in a statement that it had discovered viral particles in “milk from affected animals, in the processing system, and on the shelves.” However, it said that the samples were run through a highly sensitive test, which is able to detect remnants of the pathogen’s genetic material even if the virus itself was inactivated by the pasteurization process.
DIALOGUE: US president-elect Donald Trump on his Truth Social platform confirmed that he had spoken with Xi, saying ‘the call was a very good one’ for the US and China US president-elect Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) discussed Taiwan, trade, fentanyl and TikTok in a phone call on Friday, just days before Trump heads back to the White House with vows to impose tariffs and other measures on the US’ biggest rival. Despite that, Xi congratulated Trump on his second term and pushed for improved ties, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The call came the same day that the US Supreme Court backed a law banning TikTok unless it is sold by its China-based parent company. “We both attach great importance to interaction, hope for
‘GREAT OPPRTUNITY’: The Paraguayan president made the remarks following Donald Trump’s tapping of several figures with deep Latin America expertise for his Cabinet Paraguay President Santiago Pena called US president-elect Donald Trump’s incoming foreign policy team a “dream come true” as his nation stands to become more relevant in the next US administration. “It’s a great opportunity for us to advance very, very fast in the bilateral agenda on trade, security, rule of law and make Paraguay a much closer ally” to the US, Pena said in an interview in Washington ahead of Trump’s inauguration today. “One of the biggest challenges for Paraguay was that image of an island surrounded by land, a country that was isolated and not many people know about it,”
‘FIGHT TO THE END’: Attacking a court is ‘unprecedented’ in South Korea and those involved would likely face jail time, a South Korean political pundit said Supporters of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol yesterday stormed a Seoul court after a judge extended the impeached leader’s detention over his ill-fated attempt to impose martial law. Tens of thousands of people had gathered outside the Seoul Western District Court on Saturday in a show of support for Yoon, who became South Korea’s first sitting head of state to be arrested in a dawn raid last week. After the court extended his detention on Saturday, the president’s supporters smashed windows and doors as they rushed inside the building. Hundreds of police officers charged into the court, arresting dozens and denouncing an
CYBERSCAM: Anne, an interior decorator with mental health problems, spent a year and a half believing she was communicating with Brad Pitt and lost US$855,259 A French woman who revealed on TV how she had lost her life savings to scammers posing as Brad Pitt has faced a wave of online harassment and mockery, leading the interview to be withdrawn on Tuesday. The woman, named as Anne, told the Seven to Eight program on the TF1 channel how she had believed she was in a romantic relationship with the Hollywood star, leading her to divorce her husband and transfer 830,000 euros (US$855,259). The scammers used fake social media and WhatsApp accounts, as well as artificial intelligence image-creating technology to send Anne selfies and other messages
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