CHINA-US A man has been sentenced to three years and one month in prison for importing counterfeit electronic components from China and Hong Kong for use by American customers, including builders of the U.S. Navy’s nuclear submarines. Peter Picone, 42, was sentenced in federal court in Hartford, Conn. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit military goods. In addition to the prison sentence, the judge ordered him to pay USD352,076 in restitution to 31 companies whose circuits he counterfeited.
CHINA The death toll from a powerful typhoon in southern China has reached 20 people, Chinese state media reported. The official Xinhua News Agency said that the southern region of Guangxi reported an additional two deaths, in addition to the 18 deaths reported earlier from the neighboring province of Guangdong.
JAPANESE Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has reshuffled his Cabinet to focus on reviving the world’s No. 3 economy. A newly appointed minister will steer programs aimed at achieving a strong economy and increased birth rate so the population stabilizes and the country can stay afloat. Nine ministers were replaced in the reshuffle.
SOUTH KOREA Prosecutors are investigating a New York University student freed this week by North Korea on suspicion that he violated a law that prohibits South Korean citizens from traveling to the North without permission, officials said yesterday. The student, Won Moon Joo (pictured, center) was questioned by Seoul’s National Intelligence Service upon his arrival in South Korea on Monday.
AUSTRALIA Police arrested 4 people in connection with the slaying of a civilian police worker in a Sydney suburb that officials have said they believe was linked to terrorism. More than 200 officers swooped into homes in western Sydney and arrested the men, aged 16 to 22, as part of their investigation into the killing of Curtis Cheng, New South Wales police said. A fifth man was also arrested during the raids on unrelated fraud charges.
RUSSIA-SYRIARussian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu says Russia is using warships in the Caspian Sea to target the Islamic State group in Syria. Russia last week began carrying out airstrikes in what it said was a pre-emptive operation against terrorism in the Middle East. Shoigu told President Putin in televised remarks that Russia yesterday carried out 26 missile strikes from four warships of its Caspian Sea flotilla. He insisted the operation destroyed all the targets and did not launch any strikes upon civilian areas.
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