MOSCOW: Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Sunday its air defense systems destroyed 42 Ukrainian drones over five Russian regions during the night.
Twenty drones were shot down over the Oryol region, eight drones each were destroyed in the Rostov and Bryansk regions, five in the Kursk region and one over Krasnodar Krai, the ministry said in a post on the Telegram messaging app.
One attack triggered a fire at a fuel infrastructure facility in the village of Stalnoi Kon, said Andrei Klychkov, the governor of Oryol.
“Fortunately, thanks to the quick response, the consequences of the attack were avoided — the fire was promptly localized and is now fully extinguished. There were no casualties or significant damage,” he said.
It was the second week in a row where fuel infrastructure facilities in Oryol have been attacked.
The heads of the Rostov and Bryansk regions said there were no casualties or damage after the latest drone attacks.
Reuters could not independently verify the battlefield accounts.
Russian defense ministry says it downed 42 Ukrainian drones overnight
https://arab.news/nzzra
Russian defense ministry says it downed 42 Ukrainian drones overnight
- The heads of the Rostov and Bryansk regions said there were no casualties or damage after the latest drone attacks
Pro-Palestinian protesters at Stanford charged with felonies
- Those charged were arrested in June 2024 during a protest action that turned violent, with a police officer injured and school building suffering “extensive” damage
WASHINGTON: Twelve protesters were charged on Thursday with felony vandalism for their actions during a June 2024 pro-Palestinian protest at Stanford University in which demonstrators barricaded themselves inside the office of the school president.
Those charged, ranging in age from 19 to 32, entered the building and demonstrated a “conspiracy to occupy” it, prosecutors said, adding that at least one suspect entered the building by breaking a window. All suspects wore masks, they said. Dozens of other protesters surrounded the building and chanted: “Palestine will be free.” At the time, the university said 13 people were arrested during the protest, one police officer was injured and the building suffered “extensive” damage.
Protesters renamed the building “Dr. Adnan’s Office” in honor of Adnan Al-Bursh, a Palestinian doctor who died in an Israeli prison after months of detention.
Those charged could not immediately be reached and it was not clear if they retained legal representation.
President Donald Trump’s administration has threatened to withhold federal funding from universities, including Stanford, over allegations that they failed to stop antisemitism and intimidation of Jewish students.
Protesters say their criticism of Israel’s military assault on Gaza has been wrongly conflated with antisemitism.
Beijing bites back at US tariffs by curbing Hollywood film imports
- Hollywood’s share in China’s box office drops to 5 percent
- Domestic films dominate China’s box office, accounting for 80 percent of revenue
BEIJING: China said on Thursday it would immediately restrict imports of Hollywood films in retaliation for President Donald Trump’s escalation of US tariffs on imported Chinese goods, targeting one of the most high-profile American exports.
Industry analysts said the financial impact was likely to be minimal, however, because Hollywood’s box office returns in China have declined significantly in recent years.
After three decades during which China imported 10 Hollywood movies per year, Beijing’s National Film Administration said Trump’s tariff actions would further sour domestic demand for US cinema in China.
“We will follow market rules, respect the audience’s choices, and moderately reduce the number of American films imported,” the NFA said on its website.
Hollywood studios once looked to China, the world’s second-largest film market, to help boost box office performance of movies. But domestic movies increasingly have outperformed Hollywood’s fare in China, with “Ne Zha 2” this year eclipsing Pixar’s “Inside Out 2” to become the highest-grossing animated film of all time.
Chris Fenton, author of “Feeding the Dragon: Inside the Trillion Dollar Dilemma Facing Hollywood, the NBA, and American Business,” said limiting US-made films was a “super high-profile way to make a statement of retaliation with almost zero downside for China.”
Hollywood films account for only 5 percent of overall box office receipts in China’s market. And Hollywood studios receive only 25 percent of ticket sales in China, compared with double that in other markets, Fenton said.
“Such a high-profile punishment of Hollywood is an all-win motion of strength by Beijing that will surely be noticed by Washington,” Fenton added.
Trump did not jump to Hollywood’s defense. “I think I’ve heard of worse things,” the president said when asked about China’s restrictions.
Many Hollywood celebrities supported Trump’s Democratic opponent in last year’s election.
One entertainment industry source predicted that big Hollywood blockbusters, which continue to attract moviegoers in China, may still reach the big screen. Walt Disney’s Marvel superhero movie “Thunderbolts,” which kicks off the summer blockbuster season, recently received permission to debut in China on April 30.
It was not clear if China would approve the entry of other major releases this summer, such as Paramount’s “Mission Impossible — The Final Reckoning,” which may mark Tom Cruise’s last appearance in the long-running franchise, Warner Bros’ new “Superman” movie from “Guardians of the Galaxy” filmmaker James Gunn, and Marvel’s new take on “The Fantastic Four.
Limited impact
IMAX said it expects the slate for its large-format screens, which includes Hollywood, Chinese and international films, would not be materially impacted by the restrictions.
“We continue to expect a strong year for IMAX in China, coming off our highest-grossing first quarter ever in the country,” an IMAX spokesperson said in a statement to Reuters.
Seth Shafer, principal analyst at S&P Global Market Intelligence Kagan, predicted the restrictions would have limited impact.
“Only roughly 25 percent of domestic wide-release films are now released in China and that percentage has dropped steadily over time due to increasing competition from China’s local film production industry,” Shafer said. “For domestic films that do get a release in China, typically less than 10 percent of the film’s global gross box office revenue comes from China.”
“Captain America: Brave New World,” a Marvel film released in February, took in $14.4 million in China out of its $413 million in global receipts.
In the past, imports including “Titanic” and “Avatar” became box office smashes in the Chinese market, making actors such as Leonardo DiCaprio and directors such as James Cameron household names among Chinese film lovers across generations.
Since 2020, Chinese-made films have consistently accounted for around 80 percent of annual box office revenue, up from around 60 percent previously.
On China’s all-time box office list, only one imported film ranks in the top 20 — “Avengers: Endgame,” with revenue of 4.25 billion yuan ($579.83 million). The remaining films in the top 20 are all domestic productions.
Helicopter crashes into New York’s Hudson River, all six aboard killed
A tourist helicopter crashed into New York City’s Hudson River on Thursday, killing all six aboard including three children, New York Mayor Eric Adams said.
The victims, the pilot and five passengers, were believe to include a family from Spain, Adams told a press conference.
The New York Helicopters tour aircraft departed at 2:59 p.m. and later lost control, hitting the water upside down near Lower Manhattan at around 3:15 p.m. and becoming submerged in the river, officials said.
The pilot, another two adults and three children were on board, an official told reporters.
New York City Police divers and FDNY divers helped remove the victims from the water. Four were pronounced dead at the scene, while two others were taken to area hospitals where they succumbed to their injuries. The helicopter hit the water inverted, officials said.
The Federal Aviation Administration said the helicopter was a Bell 206. The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate, with the NTSB leading the investigation.
A New York City Police spokesperson said that police boats had assisted in the rescue efforts on the Hudson.
News video of the crash site showed several emergency and police boats circling around a patch of river where the helicopter was submerged.
The accident took place in the river off the Tribeca neighborhood. New York police said residents should expect emergency vehicles and traffic delays in the surrounding areas.
US national intelligence head says MLK and RFK assassination records will soon be public
WASHINGTON: Documents related to the 1968 assassinations of civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr. and Sen. Robert F. Kennedy will soon be made public as more than 100 people have been working “around the clock” to scan them, US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said during a Cabinet meeting Thursday.
The documents had been in boxes in storage for decades, Gabbard said.
“I’ve had over 100 people working around the clock to scan the paper around Sen. Robert F Kennedy’s assassination, as well as Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination ... They have never been scanned or seen before,” she said. “We’ll have those ready to release here within the next few days.”
When Kennedy’s son, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who also was at the meeting, was asked by President Donald Trump about the impending release of the documents, he said, “I’m very grateful to you Mr. President.”
Trump asked Gabbard if the health secretary had any concerns about releasing the documents.
“His response is, ‘Put it out. The world needs to know the truth,’” Gabbard said.
Searches were also being done of storage lockers at the FBI, CIA and other agencies to see if other documents can be found, Gabbard said.
“We want to get it all out,” Trump said.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence did not immediately respond to questions seeking information about the effort to identify records about the MLK or RFK assassinations.
Trump had signed an executive order in January after taking office calling for the release of governmental documents related to the assassinations.
King and Robert F. Kennedy were assassinated within two months of each other in 1968.
King was outside a motel in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968, when shots rang out. The civil rights leader, who had been in town to support striking sanitation workers, was set to lead marches and other nonviolent protests there.
James Earl Ray pleaded guilty to assassinating King. He later though renounced that plea and maintained his innocence up until his death.
Robert F. Kennedy, then a New York senator, was fatally shot on June 5, 1968, at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles moments after giving his victory speech for winning California’s Democratic presidential primary. His assassin, Sirhan Sirhan, was convicted of first-degree murder and is serving life in prison.
Earlier this week Gabbard announced the creation of a task force that will consider whether the government should declassify material about several other issues of public interest, including the origins of COVID-19, federal efforts to influence online speech and investigations into mysterious health symptoms reported by some US diplomats and government employees that were once dubbed ” Havana syndrome.” Gabbard’s office did not specify how the task force would be appointed or when it expects to submit its recommendations.
China, North Korea and Russia military cooperation raises threats in the Pacific, US official warns
- China is providing extensive assistance to Russia to help Moscow “rebuild its war machine”, US Indo-Pacific Command chief tells Senate military committee
- Senator likewise warned that Trump's plan to shrink US troop presence in Korea and Japan will sow “seeds of doubt” about America’s stability and trustworthiness
WASHINGTON: The top US commander in the Pacific warned senators Thursday that the military support China and North Korea are giving Russia in its war on Ukraine is creating a security risk in his region as Moscow provides critical military assistance to both in return.
Admiral Samuel Paparo, head of US Indo-Pacific Command, told the Senate Armed Services Committee that China has provided 70 percent of the machine tools and 90 percent of the legacy chips to Russia to help Moscow “rebuild its war machine.”
In exchange, he said, China is potentially getting help in technologies to make its submarines move more quietly, along with other assistance.
Senators pressed Paparo and Gen. Xavier Brunson, commander of US Forces Korea, on China’s advances in the region, including threats to Taiwan. And they also questioned both on the US military presence in South Korea, and whether it should be shielded from personnel cuts..
Both said the current US force there and across the Indo-Pacific is critical for both diplomacy in the region and America’s national security, as ties between Russia and China grow. The US has 28,500 forces in South Korea.
Paparo said North Korea is sending “thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands of artillery shells” and hundreds of short-range missiles to Russia. The expectation, he said, is that Pyongyang will get air defense and surface-to-air missile support.
“It’s a transactional symbiosis where each state fulfills the other state’s weakness to mutual benefit of each state,” Paparo said.
In his opening comments, Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi, the Republican committee chairman, said the greater alignment of Russia, China and North Korea “should be of great concern to all in the West. This concern should then lead to action. If we are to maintain global peace and stability, we must continue taking steps now to rebuild our military and reestablish deterrence.”
Brunson said North Korea has shown the ability to send munitions and troops to Russia while advancing development of its own military capabilities, including hypersonics. Pyongyang, he said, “boasts a Russian-equipped, augmented, modernized military force of over 1.3 million personnel.”
North Korea’s efforts to develop advanced nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles ”pose a direct threat to our homeland and our allies,” Paparo added.
North Korea also has sent thousands of soldiers to fight with the Russians against Ukraine. And Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Wednesday that Russia is actively recruiting Chinese citizens to fight alongside its forces in the Ukraine war. He said more than 150 such mercenaries are already active in the battle with Beijing’s knowledge.
China has called the accusation “irresponsible.”
In other comments, Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the ranking Democrat on the panel, said observers fear that President Donald Trump will “shrink the US troop presence in Korea and Japan, reduce our military exercises with both nations, and scale back plans for our Joint Force Headquarters in Japan.” Any such actions, he said, will sow “seeds of doubt” about America’s stability and trustworthiness.
He also questioned whether recent moves by the Pentagon to shift an aircraft carrier and Patriot missile battalion from the Pacific region to the Middle East have hurt military readiness in the Indo-Pacific command.
Paparo said he owes the defense chief and the president “constant vigilance” on that matter, including a persistent awareness on whether those forces could get back to the Pacific if there is suddenly a “higher priority threat” in his region.
