JAPAN
JAL hit by cyberattack
Japan Airlines (JAL) said it was hit by a cyberattack yesterday, causing delays to more than 20 domestic flights, but the carrier said it was able to stop the onslaught and restore its systems hours later. There was no impact on flight safety, it said. JAL said that the problem started yesterday morning when the company’s network connecting internal and external systems began malfunctioning. The airline said it was able to identify the cause as an attack intended to overwhelm the network with massive transmissions of data. Such attacks flood a system or network with traffic until the target cannot respond or crashes. The attack did not involve a virus or cause any customer data leaks, JAL said. It said that as of late morning, the cyberattack had delayed 24 domestic flights for more than 30 minutes. JAL’s ticket sales for domestic and international fights scheduled for departure yesterday were suspended temporarily, but resumed several hours later. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told a regular news conference that the Ministry of Transportation told JAL to hasten efforts to restore the system and to accommodate affected passengers. Other Japanese airlines, including ANA Holdings, Skymark and Starflyer, were not affected. Television footage showed many passengers at Tokyo’s Haneda airport crowded into its terminals as the attack hit the year-end holiday travel season.
Photo: AFP
CAMBODIA
Opposition leader sentenced
A court yesterday sentenced the head of an opposition party to two years in jail for inciting social disorder, in the latest criminal case against government opponents. The court in Phnom Penh found Nation Power Party president Sun Chanthy guilty of the charge, which has been used repeatedly against critical voices in the nation. Rights groups have long accused the government, headed by Prime Minister Hun Manet, of using legal cases as a tactic to silence opposition voices and legitimate political dissent. As well as the prison term, the court also fined Sun Chanthy 4 million riel (US$997) and removed his right to vote or stand for election. The charges related to social media posts by Sun Chanthy, including a video clip in which he criticised the government during a meeting with supporters in Japan. Defense lawyer Choung Choungy said the ruling was an “injustice” to his client and they were considering whether to appeal. “It is very serious [punishment], as what Sun Chanthy said in Japan wasn’t a mistake, but constructive criticism for development,” he said.
UNITED STATES
Taxi hits six people
A taxicab on Wednesday hit six people in midtown Manhattan, police said, with three people — including a nine-year-old boy — transported to hospitals for their injuries. A New York Police Department spokesperson said that the taxi driver might have had a medical episode, but an investigation had yet to confirm that. Two people, including the boy, were taken to Weill Cornell Medical Center, and one person was taken to Bellevue Hospital, the spokesperson said. The other three people who were hit by the taxi refused medical attention. All were in stable condition. The taxi cab jumped the curb near Macy’s flagship store at Herald Square at about 4pm and hit the pedestrians on the sidewalk, police said, adding that the driver remained at the scene. Video footage at the scene showed a damaged yellow taxi on the sidewalk cordoned off by police tape. The taxi was towed away later in the evening.
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
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