GERMANY
Agency warns companies
The domestic spy agency on Wednesday told companies that they should be on guard against industrial espionage by Beijing, warning them not to be naive or overreliant on China. The warning from the agency’s deputy head Sinan Selen came days after three German nationals were arrested on suspicion of handing over technology with military applications — a case which has highlighted mounting anxiety across Western Europe about Chinese spying. Germany is seen as particularly under threat due to its strong industrial sector and good business relations with China, its top trade partner. Chancellor Olaf Scholz visited China 10 days ago with a business delegation in tow.
UNITED NATIONS
Resolution rejected
Russia on Wednesday vetoed a UN resolution sponsored by the US and Japan calling on all nations to prevent a dangerous nuclear arms race in outer space, calling it “a dirty spectacle” that cherry-picks weapons of mass destruction from all other weapons that should also be banned. The vote in the 15-member UN Security Council was 13 in favor, Russia opposed and China abstaining. The resolution would have called on all countries not to develop or deploy nuclear arms or other weapons of mass destruction in space, as banned under a 1967 international treaty that included the US and Russia, and to agree to the need to verify compliance.
UNITED STATES
Chinese man sentenced
A former Berklee College of Music student from China was on Wednesday sentenced to nine months in prison for stalking and threatening a person who posted a flyer in support of democracy in the Asian country, authorities said. The leaflet that was posted on the campus in Boston on Oct. 22 read: “Stand with Chinese People,” along with other statements such as “We Want Freedom” and “We Want Democracy,” the Attorney’s Office in Boston said. In response, Wu Xiaolei, 26, threatened to chop off the person’s hands, reported their family to China’s public security agency, asked others to find out where the person was living and publicly posted their e-mail address, prosecutors said. “Mr. Wu’s criminal conduct is very serious. He harnessed the fear of potential retribution from the PRC government to harass and threaten an innocent individual who had posted an innocuous, pro-democracy flier on the Berklee campus,” acting Attorney Joshua Levy said in a statement.
IRAN
Rapper sentenced to death
The judiciary confirmed the death sentence of well-known rapper Toomaj Salehi, but added that he is entitled to a sentence reduction, state media reported yesterday. Salehi’s lawyer Amir Raisian told the Sharq newspaper on Wednesday that an Iranian Revolutionary Court had sentenced his client to death for charges linked to Iran’s unrest in 2022 and last year. Salehi was arrested in October 2022 after making public statements in support of the nationwide protests, sparked by the death in police custody of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian woman arrested over wearing an “improper” hijab. Yesterday, the judiciary’s media department confirmed Salehi’s death sentence based on charges of “corruption on Earth,” adding that the verdict entitled the defendant to a sentence reduction due to “his expression of remorse and cooperation with authorities.” Salehi has 20 days to appeal his sentence with the Supreme Court.
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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