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339 storiesOkinawa governor protests to US commander over Marine held in Naha killing
Okinawa Governor Koja Genta summoned the top US commander in Okinawa, Lt. Gen. Benjamin T. Watson, and other US and Japanese officials to the prefectural office on Oct. 5 and protested over the killing of a woman at a Naha hotel for which a…
Police: bar owner held over girlfriend’s body in Miyagi; staged messages suspected
Police in Tokyo have arrested a 36-year-old bar owner on suspicion of abandoning the body of his 25-year-old girlfriend in mountains in Kurihara, Miyagi Prefecture, on 28 September. Investigators believe he used her smartphone to send messa…
Japan defense minister to meet Okinawa governor over arrested U.S. Marine
Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said on Oct. 6 that he will meet Okinawa Governor Genta Kojya on Oct. 7 to discuss measures to prevent a repeat of incidents involving U.S. military personnel, after a Marine based at Futenma was arrested o…
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 …
Former 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…
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…
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, …
Fukuoka police re-arrest mother, 29, over deaths of two newborn boys
Fukuoka prefectural police said they arrested Umezaki Miaki, 29, of Okawa City, in August over the death of a newborn boy, and that prosecutors indicted her on 16 September. On 5 October police said they had re-arrested her over the death o…
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 …
Two arrested, others sought after fight among about 10 foreigners in Pyeongtaek
Police in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, arrested two men in their 20s — a Russian national and a Kyrgyz national — after a fight involving about 10 foreigners late on Oct 3, and are tracing others who fled. Reports differ on whether the fi…
Serving Seoul police officer arrested over AI-generated sexual exploitation videos
A senior constable in the traffic division of Seoul’s Dongdaemun Police Station was arrested last month on charges of possessing, producing and distributing sexual exploitation material and false videos, including AI-generated images of acq…
Couple in their 60s found dead in Naju house; police seek suspect
A couple in their 60s were found dead at a house in Naju, in the Jeonnam-Gwangju region, according to police reports carried by several South Korean outlets on Oct 6. Local reports described the bodies as bound and said police believe the c…
South Korea forecasts a cold, windy Oct. 6 with a 15C day-night temperature gap
South Korea's weather agency forecast a chilly, clear Oct. 6 with morning lows of about 3-14°C and a day-night temperature gap of roughly 15°C in most regions. Gangwon's inland and mountain areas were expected near or below 5°C, with winds …
US charges Washington state resident in Canada school shooting case
US authorities arrested and charged James Cody Bryant, 30, of Bellingham, Washington, with conspiring to murder people in a foreign country over the Feb. 10 school shooting in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia. Officials say Bryant communicat…
Lawyers for ex-Olympian David Hearn seek watchdog inquiry into Reflecting Pool case
Lawyers for former Olympic canoeist David Hearn asked the inspectors general of the Justice and Interior departments on Tuesday to investigate what they call a flawed investigation and prosecution over damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflect…
Trump approves firing squad for Fort Hood shooter, first since WWII
US President Donald Trump has approved a firing-squad execution for Nidal Malik Hasan, convicted in the 2009 Fort Hood shooting that killed 13 people and wounded 32. The Pentagon said Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth recommended the method an…
US Marine in Okinawa arrested on suspicion of robbery-murder at Naha hotel
Okinawa prefectural police arrested US Marine Pfc. Devin Jacob Ballard, 20, of the Futenma base, on suspicion of robbing and killing a woman at a hotel in Naha, where she was found dead around 04:30 on Oct 3. Police said the suspect denies …
California couple charged with child abuse in surrogacy case involving 21 children
Guojun Xuan, 66, and Silvia Zhang, 39, were arrested Tuesday at their Arcadia, California, home and charged with child abuse, conspiracy to commit child abuse, accessory after the fact and dissuading a witness, Los Angeles County District A…
Joo Ho-min urges Supreme Court to allow third-party recordings in abuse cases
Webtoon artist Joo Ho-min and 10 disability groups called on the Supreme Court on Oct. 6 to recognise an exception to the ban on third-party recording when abuse of people who cannot speak for themselves is suspected. Joo said a recording h…
Ex-CIA official David Rush pleads guilty to $194 million fraud
David J. Rush, a former senior CIA official, pleaded guilty on 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 fa…