North Korea internet hit by a major outage, analyst says
SEOUL (Reuters) -- North Korea's internet is experiencing a major outage on Saturday, said a UK-based researcher, adding that the cause may be internal rather than a cyberattack.
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Yomiuri Shimbun
6 hours ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Japanese Cattle Rancher in Hokkaido Commercializes Frozen Milk, Plans to Export to Other Asian Countries
The Yomiuri Shimbun Toshifumi Suzuki of Suzuki Farm shows bottles of frozen milk in Hiroo, Hokkaido, in April. A cattle ranch has commercialized 'frozen milk' in Hokkaido, the kingdom of Japan's dairy products, and is expanding its sales channels. Though freezing milk typically makes for an unpleasant taste once thawed, making use of flash-freezing technology has been a game-changer. Freshness and flavor are not lost even after thawing, and the expiration date can be extended to about half a year compared to the one to two weeks when refrigerated. The cattle ranch plans to export the product to other Asian countries. 'Trustworthiness and branding power of 'made in Hokkaido' products are great. I believe there is demand from high-income consumers,' said Toshifumi Suzuki, 43, who keeps about 90 dairy cows in Hiroo, Hokkaido. The town is in the Tokachi area, where dairy farms are prosperous. Suzuki Farm, where he works, was established by his great-grandfather. When he began working there, the cows were fed enriched feeds made mainly with corn and artificial supplements. However, the cows repeatedly contracted infectious diseases. In 2010, he changed the ranch's feeding, believing the cows would be healthier if they were raised in an environment closer to nature. Once switching exclusively to organic grass, the cows became ill less often and the taste of their milk improved drastically. In summer last year, he was hit with the idea of commercializing frozen milk upon learning about machines that freeze meat and fish extremely quickly to preserve freshness. The machines are developed by Technican Co., a Yokohama-based freezer manufacturer. The process involves immersing food containers in a liquid at minus 30 C, freezing it instantly without causing cell breakdown. Surely, Suzuki thought, the same process serving to preserve the freshness of food could be applied to milk? Usually, thawing milk causes proteins and fats to separate, giving it a rough texture. Therefore, the Tokyo-based Japan Dairy Industry Association does not recommend freezing milk. However, when Suzuki experimented using the quick-freezing method, it was confirmed that freshness and flavor were not lost even after thawing. After an evaluation by a third-party inspection body, Suzuki began selling frozen milk with a six-month expiration period in summer last year. A 180-milliliter bottle of the frozen milk is priced at ¥700, including tax. As it can be enjoyed without worrying about best-by dates, the milk is popular as a thank-you gift under the furusato nozei hometown tax donation system, in which people donate money to local governments of their choice in return for income tax deductions. Also, since it is unlikely that leftover milk will need to be disposed, some customers buy the frozen milk for dairy product events. Suzuki Farm plans to begin exporting to Singapore and Thailand in autumn. 'I want people all over the world to know the true taste of milk beyond the barrier of best-by dates,' Suzuki said. Another cattle ranch in the area sells flash-frozen milk from cows raised exclusively on pasture grass, of which a 180-milliliter bottle is priced at ¥540, including tax. Miyaji Bokujo ranch in Shimizu, Hokkaido, has shipped its frozen milk to a milk shop in New Chitose Airport and a Fukuoka supermarket.
Yomiuri Shimbun
a day ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Green Sea Turtle Rescued in Ireland Set Free in Canary Islands
Reuters A green sea turtle named Solstice is released after six months of recovery, on Melenara Beach on the island of Gran Canaria, Spain, on May 23. TALIARTE, Spain (Reuters) — Solstice, a rare green sea turtle found paralyzed by cold on Christmas Eve on an Irish beach, was set free in Spain's Canary Islands on May 23, six months after she was rescued and underwent a program of care by vets. The young turtle, which would normally swim in tropical or subtropical waters, was probably taken by northbound currents and washed up almost dead on a beach in County Clare in Ireland's southwest, Pascual Calabuig, a vet and biologist from the fauna conservation center in Gran Canaria, told Reuters. 'She came in with pneumonia, meningitis and she was cold-stun, so she was in pretty bad shape and she had shark or seal bites on the top and bottom of her shell,' Maria Foley, Animal Manager at the Dingle Ocean World in Ireland, said. Like most reptiles, turtles are unable to regulate their body temperature and become paralyzed when water around them gets too cold. Foley flew with Solstice to Taliarte on Gran Canaria, which is located off West Africa in the Atlantic Ocean, to set her free. For six months, the 0.3-meter-wide, 3.1-kilogram turtle was fed with prawns and squids and treated with antibiotics. She is now fully recovered. Solstice is the second turtle Foley's team have brought from Ireland to Taliarte. Recent studies have shown areas suitable for sea turtles have extended, probably due to warmer sea waters, though since their lifespan is so long, behavioral change must be observed over long periods. Green sea turtles, though classified as endangered, are fairly common around the Canary archipelago. They take their name from the color of their fat, not the color of their shell. They can live up to 90 years in the wild and grow up to 1.5 meters and weigh up to 188 kilograms.
Yomiuri Shimbun
a day ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Supreme Court Allows DOGE Team to Access Social Security Systems with Data on Millions of Americans
Reuters Illustration shows United States Social Security Administration logo and U.S. flag WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court handed the Trump administration two victories Friday in cases involving the Department of Government Efficiency, including giving it access to Social Security systems containing personal data on millions of Americans. The justices also separately reined in orders seeking transparency at DOGE, the team once led by billionaire Elon Musk. The court's conservative majority sided with the Trump administration in the first Supreme Court appeals involving DOGE. The three liberal justices dissented in both cases. The DOGE victories come amid a messy breakup between the president and the world's richest man that started shortly after Musk's departure from the White House and has included threats to cut government contracts and a call for the president to be impeached. The future of DOGE's work isn't clear without Musk at the helm, but both men have previously said that it will continue its efforts. In one case, the high court halted an order from a judge in Maryland that has restricted the team's access to the Social Security Administration under federal privacy laws. 'We conclude that, under the present circumstances, SSA may proceed to afford members of the SSA DOGE Team access to the agency records in question in order for those members to do their work,' the court said in an unsigned order. Conservative lower-court judges have said there's no evidence at this point of DOGE mishandling personal information. The agency holds sensitive data on nearly everyone in the country, including school records, salary details and medical information. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson said the court's action creates 'grave privacy risks' for millions of Americans by giving 'unfettered data access to DOGE regardless — despite its failure to show any need or any interest in complying with existing privacy safeguards, and all before we know for sure whether federal law countenances such access.' Justice Sonia Sotomayor joined Jackson's opinion and Justice Elena Kagan said she also would have ruled against the administration. The Trump administration says DOGE needs the access to carry out its mission of targeting waste in the federal government. Musk had been focused on Social Security as an alleged hotbed of fraud. The entrepreneur has described it as a ' Ponzi scheme ' and insisted that reducing waste in the program is an important way to cut government spending. But U.S. District Judge Ellen Hollander in Maryland found that DOGE's efforts at Social Security amounted to a 'fishing expedition' based on 'little more than suspicion' of fraud, and allowing unfettered access puts Americans' private information at risk. Her ruling did allow access to anonymous data for staffers who have undergone training and background checks, or wider access for those who have detailed a specific need. The Trump administration has said DOGE can't work effectively with those restrictions. Solicitor General D. John Sauer also argued that the ruling is an example of federal judges overstepping their authority and trying to micromanage executive branch agencies. The plaintiffs say it's a narrow order that's urgently needed to protect personal information. An appeals court previously refused to immediately to lift the block on DOGE access, though it split along ideological lines. Conservative judges in the minority said there's no evidence that the team has done any 'targeted snooping' or exposed personal information. The lawsuit was originally filed by a group of labor unions and retirees represented by the group Democracy Forward. It's one of more than two dozen lawsuits filed over DOGE's work, which has included deep cuts at federal agencies and large-scale layoffs. The plaintiffs called the high court's order 'a sad day for our democracy and a scary day for millions of people. Elon Musk may have left Washington, D.C., but his impact continues to harm millions of people.' Liz Huston, a spokesperson for the White House, applauded the order. 'The Supreme Court allowing the Trump Administration to carry out commonsense efforts to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse and modernize government information systems is a huge victory for the rule of law.' The nation's court system has been ground zero for pushback to President Donald Trump's sweeping conservative agenda, with hundreds of lawsuits filed challenging policies on everything from immigration to education to mass layoffs of federal workers. In the other DOGE order handed down Friday, the justices extended a pause on orders that would require the team to publicly disclose information about its operations, as part of a lawsuit filed by a government watchdog group. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington argues that DOGE, which has been central to Trump's push to remake the government, is a federal agency and must be subject to the Freedom of Information Act. But the Trump administration says DOGE is just a presidential advisory body aimed at government cost-cutting, which would make it exempt from requests for documents under FOIA. The justices did not decide that issue Friday, but the conservative majority held that U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper ruled too broadly in ordering documents be turned over to CREW.
