UNITED STATES
Weapons sale approved
Washington has approved US$20 billion in arms sales to Israel, including scores of fighter jets and advanced air-to-air missiles, the Department of State announced on Tuesday. Congress was notified of the impending sale, which includes more than 50 F-15 jets, Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles, or AMRAAMs, 120mm tank ammunition, high-explosive mortars and tactical vehicles. The contracts are expected to take years to fulfill. Much of what is being sold is to help Israel increase its military capability in the long term, the earliest systems being delivered under the contract are not expected until 2026. “The United States is committed to the security of Israel, and it is vital to US national interests to assist Israel to develop and maintain a strong and ready self-defense capability. This proposed sale is consistent with those objectives,” the State Department said. The contracts cover not only the sale of new 50 aircraft to be produced by Boeing, they also include upgrade kits for Israel to modify its fleet of two dozen F-15s with new engines and radars, among other upgrades. The jets comprise the biggest portion of the sales, with the first deliveries expected in 2029.
Photo: AFP / New Zealand Police
JAPAN
Detained executive returns
A business executive has returned home from Myanmar following his release from more than a month of detention after being convicted of contravening rice pricing rules, his company said yesterday. Hiroshi Kasamatsu, a director of Myanmar-based supermarket Aeon Orange, was in custody in Myanmar since his June 30 arrest for selling rice at prices above the official regulations. He was sentenced to one year in prison and fined 500,000 kyat (US$150). His parent company, Aeon, said that retailers operating in Myanmar had no way of knowing the change of law in that country about the rice pricing, which caused Aeon Orange’s rice prices to “deviate” from the controlled price in violation to the related law.
NEW ZEALAND
Charity says sorry for candy
A charity yesterday apologized for distributing dozens of pineapple-flavored candies that were found to be laced with potentially lethal amounts of methamphetamine. The Auckland City Mission, which donates parcels of essentials to people who cannot afford food, said that it first became aware of the issue on Tuesday afternoon when some recipients complained about the foul-tasting candies. Three people — a child, a teenager and a charity worker — sought medical treatment after tasting the boiled sweets, although none were hospitalized, Detective Inspector Glenn Baldwin from Auckland police told reporters. There was no suggestion of wrongdoing by the charity, Baldwin added. “To say we are devastated is an understatement,” Auckland City Mission said in a statement. The candy, which was donated by an unknown member of the public, was tested by the New Zealand Drug Foundation charity, which found they contained a potentially lethal 3g of methamphetamine. “A common dose to swallow is between 10-25mg, so this contaminated lolly contained up to 300 doses,” foundation executive director Sarah Helm said. Police said that they believed the candies were the byproduct of an international drug trafficking operation and have called for them to be handed them over to the authorities.
Women’s accessories sold by some of the world’s most popular online shopping firms contained toxic substances sometimes hundreds of times above acceptable levels, authorities in Seoul said yesterday. Chinese giants including Shein, Temu and AliExpress have skyrocketed in popularity around the world in the past few years, offering a vast selection of trendy clothes and accessories at low prices. The explosive growth has led to increased scrutiny of their business practices and safety standards, including in the EU and South Korea, where Seoul officials have been conducting weekly inspections of items sold by online platforms. In the most recent inspection, 144 products from
The US on Monday confirmed that it would resume sales of offensive weapons to Saudi Arabia, as concerns over human rights in the kingdom’s Yemen war give way to US hopes for it to play a role in resolving the conflict in Gaza. More than three years after imposing limits on human rights grounds over Saudi Arabian strikes in Yemen, the US Department of State said that it would return to weapons sales “in regular order, with appropriate congressional notification and consultation.” “Saudi Arabia has remained a close strategic partner of the United States, and we look forward to enhancing that partnership,”
Russia yesterday ordered more evacuations in a region bordering Ukraine as it battled to contain an unprecedented push onto its territory by Kyiv’s forces. Ukraine last week sent troops into Russia’s border region of Kursk, in the largest cross-border operation by Kyiv since Moscow launched its offensive more than two years ago. The assault, which has sent tens of thousands of people fleeing, marked the most significant attack by a foreign army on Russian territory since World War II. A top Ukrainian official said that the operation was aimed at stretching Moscow troops and destabilizing the nation after months of slow Russian advances
DEMOCRACY: The Brazilian president’s shifting attitude toward leftist authoritarians is because he does not want to be seen as supporting dictatorships, analysts said Brazil and Nicaragua have expelled each other’s ambassadors in a tit-for-tat diplomatic row, as Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva appears to recalibrate his approach to authoritarian leftist rulers who were once seen as allies. The dual expulsions this week came amid growing tensions between Lula and another supposedly progressive leader, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, whose claim of re-election the Brazilian president has yet to acknowledge. Lula and his counterparts in Colombia and Mexico have called on Maduro to release voting tallies from all polling stations to support his win. On Thursday, Brazil announced the expulsion of the Nicaraguan ambassador as