AI, Health, Policy & regulation, Crime & justice
698 storiesFormer Sochi mayor Kopaygorodsky sentenced to 15 years in strict-regime colony
A Moscow court sentenced former Sochi mayor Alexey Kopaygorodsky to 15 years in a strict-regime penal colony, fined him 500 million rubles and stripped him of a state award in a corruption case. His wife, Yanina Kopaygorodskaya, was also co…
Christa Pike regains consciousness after failed Tennessee execution
Christa Pike, an American woman who survived a failed execution attempt in Tennessee, has regained consciousness, according to reports cited by RBC. TASS reported that she is conscious, speaking and receiving medical care. Her lawyers descr…
South Korean court acquits former president Yoon Suk Yeol in political funds appeal
The Seoul High Court acquitted former South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol on October 7 in the appeal of a case under the Political Funds Act, overturning his first-instance conviction. Prosecutors had alleged he and his wife Kim Keon Hee r…
Russia drops “fake army news” case against hospice founder Moniava
Russia's Investigative Committee has closed the criminal case against Lida Moniava, founder of the Dom s Mayakom children's hospice and charity fund, for lack of corpus delicti, her lawyer and support group said on 6 October. She had been c…
Ex-CIA official found with gold bars pleads guilty to $194 million fraud
David J. Rush, a former senior CIA official, pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, to one count of wire fraud in a scheme prosecutors say cost the federal government about $194 million. Prosecutors said Rush fabri…
Russian anti-plague lab researcher dies; US and EU say they are monitoring
A 28-year-old female researcher at the Irkutsk anti-plague research institute in Shelekhov, Russia, died after being diagnosed with pneumonia of unknown cause, the state agency Rospotrebnadzor said. About 200 people who may have had contact…
Japan protests after U.S. Marine is arrested over killing of woman in Okinawa
Japanese police have arrested U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Devin Jacob Ballard, 20, on suspicion of robbing and killing Anna Yagi, 39, at a hotel in Naha, Okinawa, police say. Japan lodged a strong protest with the United States, and Prime Minist…
Defense minister: arts, sports military service exemption to be cut and abolished
South Korea's defense minister said on Oct 7 that the goal is to gradually reduce the arts and sports military service exemption and ultimately abolish it, after controversy over remarks by Asian Games football gold medallists about the exe…
Okinawa police send US Marine to prosecutors over Naha hotel robbery-murder
Okinawa prefectural police arrested US Marine lance corporal Devin Jacob Ballard, 20, of Futenma base, on suspicion of robbing and killing a 39-year-old woman at a hotel in Naha, and sent him to the Naha district prosecutors’ office on Oct …
Japan detains alleged Qilin ransomware member, hands him to Germany
Japanese investigative authorities detained a 28-year-old Russian national described as a central member of the ransomware group Qilin and handed him to Germany, several outlets reported on October 6. Germany is investigating him on suspici…
US Marine arrested in Naha hotel killing; Japan protests, Okinawa governor speaks out
A 20-year-old US Marine was arrested on suspicion of robbery-murder after a 39-year-old woman was found dead at a hotel in Naha, Okinawa Prefecture, and Japanese officials protested to the US side. Foreign Ministry Senior Deputy Minister Ta…
Osaka police re-arrest ex-Takenaka official over Expo Grand Ring billing
Osaka prefectural police on Oct 7 re-arrested Kawai Tatsumi, 61, a former general construction office manager at Takenaka Corporation, on suspicion of breach of trust over inflated billing on Expo 2025 Osaka-Kansai work, this time on the Gr…
Okinawa US forces order 48-hour pause and overnight curfew after Marine arrest
The top US commander in Okinawa, Lt. Gen. Watson, issued an emergency statement ordering a 48-hour “training period” for US military-related personnel in the prefecture from noon on 7 October to noon on 9 October, with off-base outings and …
Boston Dynamics names former Amazon AI executive Rohit Prasad as CEO
Boston Dynamics, described by Korean outlets as Hyundai Motor Group's robot affiliate, said it has appointed Rohit Prasad, a former Amazon executive who led work on the Alexa voice assistant, as its new chief executive. The company said the…
Christa Pike conscious and speaking after failed Tennessee execution, lawyers say
Christa Pike, 50, is conscious and speaking and receiving critical medical care nearly a week after Tennessee's attempt to execute her with the drug pentobarbital failed, her attorneys said Tuesday. They said her prognosis remains unclear, …
South Korea re-designates 92 population decline regions, adding Busan Geumjeong, Dongducheon and Tongyeong
South Korea's Ministry of the Interior and Safety re-designated 92 cities, counties and districts as population decline regions on Oct. 7, up from 89 in the first designation five years ago. Busan's Geumjeong-gu, Gyeonggi's Dongducheon and …
Trump signs order allowing tax-free red-dyed diesel on highways
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday temporarily allowing off-road red-dyed diesel to be used for highway driving and deferring the federal excise tax on that fuel through the end of 2026 without interest or penalties.…
Russia quarantines hospital as lab worker’s death puts nearly 200 under observation
A female employee of the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute of Siberia and the Far East died last week of pneumonia of unknown cause, Russian authorities said, and a hospital in the town of Shelekhov was placed under quarantine. Officia…
Google releases Nano Banana 2.1 image AI, API image output at about half the price
Google released Nano Banana 2.1, an image generation and editing AI model built on Gemini 3.6 Flash, on October 6 US time and is rolling it out across the Gemini app, Google AI Studio, the Gemini API and Google Search's AI mode, among other…
US military in Okinawa pauses operations, imposes curfew after Marine's arrest
The U.S. military in Okinawa is pausing operations for 48 hours and restricting personnel from leaving base after a Marine was arrested on suspicion of killing a local woman. Bloomberg reported the pause begins at noon Wednesday and is pair…