International
Mongolia’s ruling party won only a slim majority in parliamentary election, early results show
ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia (AP) — The ruling Mongolian People’s Party is retaining a slim majority in the country’s parliament with the opposition Democratic Party making major gains. The preliminary results reported early Saturday would be a setback for Mongolia’s ruling party. It had won 62 of the-then 76 seats in the parliament in 2020. This time, in a parliament expanded to 162 seats, they are much less dominant. Prime Minister Oyun-Erdene Luvsannamsrai told the media at about 1:10 a.m. Saturday that his Mongolian People’s Party had won 68 to 70 seats in the 126-seat parliament.
Putin calls for resuming production of intermediate missiles
MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin has called for resuming production of intermediate-range missiles that were banned under a now-scrapped treaty with the United States. The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces treaty, which banned ground-based missiles with a range of 500-5,500 kilometers — about 310-3,410 miles — was regarded as an arms control landmark when Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and President Ronald Reagan signed it in 1988. The U.S. withdrew from the treaty in 2019, citing Russian violations. Putin said Russia has not produced such missiles since the 2019 treaty scrapping, but he said that the U.S. has not only produced such missile systems but also deployed them.
South African researchers test use of nuclear technology to curb rhino poaching
MOKOPANE, South Africa (AP) — Researchers in South Africa have injected radioactive material into to the horns of 20 rhinos as part of a research project aimed at reducing poaching. The idea is that radiation detectors already in place at national borders would detect the horns and help authorities arrest poachers and traffickers. The research, which has included the participation of both veterinarians and nuclear experts, begins with the animal being tranquilized before a hole is drilled into its horn and the nuclear material carefully inserted. This week, researchers at the University of the Witwatersrand injected 20 live rhinos with these isotopes.
Bolivian government says it detained 4 more linked to a failed coup attempt
LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — Bolivian government officials say they have arrested four more people in connection with a failed coup attempt. That brings the total detained to 21. Senior Cabinet member Eduardo del Castillo says among those arrested are military officers. Previous arrests included a man who officials say was conducting intelligence in the plaza outside the palace with a bullet proof vest, and a sergeant who was communicating using FaceTime and other social media. The government claims Wednesday’s failed coup attempt was headed by Juan José Zúñiga, a top general, who alleged without providing evidence that the president had ordered him to carry out the mutiny in a ruse to boost his flagging popularity.