Month: May 2025

Chicago (TIP): The man accused of fatally shooting two staff members of the Israeli Embassy in Washington outside a Jewish museum told police after his arrest, “I did it for Palestine; I did it for Gaza,” federal authorities said on Thursday in announcing charges in the killings they called a targeted act of terrorism.
Elias Rodriguez, 31, shouted “Free Palestine” as he was led away after his arrest, according to charging documents that provided chilling new details of the Wednesday night shootings in the nation’s capital that killed an American woman and an Israeli man who had just left an event at the museum. They were set to become engaged.
The attack prompted Israeli missions to beef up their security and lower their flags to half-staff. It came as Israel continues to target civilians in the Gaza Strip amid heightened tensions across the Middle East and internationally, and that law enforcement officials have repeatedly warned could inspire violence in the US. Rodriguez faces charges of murder of foreign officials and other crimes and did not enter a plea during a perfunctory court appearance.
Additional charges are likely, prosecutors said, as authorities continue to investigate the killings as both a hate crime against the Jewish community and terrorism. “Violence against anyone based on their religion is an act of cowardice. It is not an act of a hero,” said Jeanine Pirro, the interim US attorney for the District of Columbia.
“Antisemitism will not be tolerated, especially in the nation’s capital.”
After the shooting, the suspect went inside the museum and stated that he “did it.” He was no longer armed by the time he was taken into custody, according to the affidavit. “I did it for Palestine, I did it for Gaza, I am unarmed,” he spontaneously said.

He also told detectives that he admired an active-duty Air Force member who set himself on fire outside the Israeli Embassy in February 2024, describing the man as “courageous” and a “martyr,” court documents said.
Investigators said they were still working to corroborate the authenticity of writings purported to be authored by Rodriguez, an apparent reference to a document circulating online that expressed outrage over Israel’s conduct in the war. The FBI is also contacting associates, family members and co-workers.
Rodriguez appeared in federal court in Washington in a white jail suit and listened impassively as the charges and possible punishments, which include the death penalty, were read. At a home listed in public records for Rodriguez’s mother in suburban Chicago, a sign taped on the door Thursday afternoon asked for privacy. The two people killed were identified as Yaron Lischinsky, an Israeli citizen, and Sarah Milgrim, an American. They were a young couple about to be engaged, according to Yechiel Leiter, the Israeli ambassador to the US. (AP)

TOKYO (TIP): Japan’s agriculture minister was forced to resign on Wednesday because of political fallout over recent comments that he “never had to buy rice” because he got it from supporters as gifts.
The resignation comes as the public struggles with record high prices of the country’s traditional staple food.
Taku Eto’s comment, which many Japanese saw as out of touch with economic realities, came at a seminar Sunday for the Liberal Democratic Party, which leads an struggling minority government. The gaffe could be further trouble for the party before a national election in July.
A major loss could mean a new government or could mean Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba would have to step down.
“I made an extremely inappropriate remark at a time when consumers are struggling with soaring rice prices,” Eto told reporters after submitting his resignation at the prime minister’s office. Eto’s resignation was the first under Ishiba’s leadership that began October.
The government has released tons of rice from its emergency stockpile in recent months, but the latest agricultural ministry statistics show little impact from the move. Some supermarkets have started selling cheaper imported rice.
Eto also sought to clarify the comments that got him in trouble. He said he does actually buy white rice himself and was not living on rice given as gifts. He said the gift comment referred to brown rice, which he wants people to become interested in because it can reach market faster.
Ishiba appointed popular former Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, the son of a former prime minister, to lead the ministry, noting his experience in agriculture and fisheries policies and enthusiasm for reforms. Koizumi told reporters Ishiba instructed him to do everything to stabilize the rice supply and prices to address consumer concern. “I was told to put rice before anything,” Koizumi told reporters. “At this difficult time, I will do utmost to speedily tackle high rice price that people feel and worry in everyday life.” He said he shares consumers’ concerns as he feeds his children packaged instant rice sometimes.
Ishiba, also a former farm minister, said he wants to strengthen Japan’s food security and self-sufficiency. He has proposed agricultural reforms, including increased rice production and possible exports, though critics say he should urgently fix the ongoing rice problem first. Noting the rice situation, Ishiba said he suspects the rice price surge is “not a temporary but a structural problem.” “It may not be easy to find an answer,” he said, but repeated his pledge to do the utmost to ease consumers’ difficulties and to reform rice policies.
Koizumi said the measures so far have proved ineffective and that he will speed the effort as soon as he formally takes office later Wednesday. (AP)

SEOUL (TIP): North Korea is seeking to arrest those responsible for the failed launch of its second naval destroyer, as it denied the warship suffered major damage — a claim quickly met with outside skepticism.
A statement from North Korea on its handling of the botched launch came after leader Kim Jong Un expressed fury over an incident that he said was caused by criminal negligence.
The the main military committee said on Friday that those responsible would be held responsible for an “unpardonable criminal act.”
Satellite imagery on the site showed vessel lying on its side and draped in blue covers, with parts of it submerged.
North Korea says it’ll take about 10 days to repair its damage, but outside observers question that timeframe because damage to the ship appeared much worse than what North Korea claims.
Here is what you need to know about the failed ship launch:
How much damage was there to the ship?
North Korea’s state news agency, KCNA, said Friday that the severity of the damage to the 5,000-ton-class destroyer was “not serious” as it cancelled an earlier assessment that the bottom of the hull had been left with holes.
It said the hull on the starboard side was scratched and some seawater had flowed into the stern section. But it said it’ll take a total of 10 days to pump up the seawater, set the ship upright and fix the scratches.
It’s almost impossible to verify the assessment because of the extremely secretive nature of North Korea. It has a history of manipulating or covering up military-related setbacks, policy fiascoes and other mishaps, though it has periodically acknowledged some in recent years.
Lee Illwoo, an expert with the Korea Defense Network in South Korea, said the North Korean warship likely suffered much worse damage, including the flooding of its engine room located in the stern section, and holes in the starboard. He said North Korea could simply set the ship upright, paint it and claim the ship has been launched, but that repairs could take more than a year as the replacement of an engine requires cutting the hull.
According to the North Korean account, the destroyer was damaged when a transport cradle on the ship’s stern detached early during a launch ceremony at the northeastern port of Chongjin on Wednesday.
Moon Keun-sik, a navy expert who teaches at Seoul’s Hanyang University, said North Korean workers are probably not familiar with launching a 5,000-ton-class warship, which is nearly three times heavier than its existing main navy ships. (AP)