Briefly

UNITED STATES

Former ambassador charged with spying

A former US ambassador to Bolivia has been arrested and charged with spying for Cuba over a 40-year span, the Justice Department announced on Monday. US Attorney General Merrick Garland laid out the allegations against Victor Manuel Rocha, 73, a former member of the White House's National Security Council now accused of using his positions within government to support Cuba's clandestine intelligence gathering against the US. But the complaint is short on specifics of how Rocha may have assisted Cuba. There was no immediate comment from Havana.

INDONESIA

Search on for missing after Marapi eruption

Rescuers searching the hazardous slopes of Indonesia's Mount Marapi volcano found more bodies among the climbers caught by a surprise eruption two days ago, raising the number of confirmed and presumed dead to 23. More than 50 climbers were rescued after the initial eruption on Sunday, and 11 others were initially confirmed dead. Another eruption Monday spewed a new burst of hot ash as high as 800 meters into the air and temporarily halted search operations. The rescuers are contending with bad weather and terrain constraints, as the scouring wind brings heat from the eruptions.

THE PHILIPPINES

Buildings evacuated as quake hits Manila

Workers, residents and students evacuated buildings in the Philippine capital Manila on Tuesday after an earthquake of magnitude 5.9 struck off the main Luzon island, according to the state seismology agency and images carried by media. There were no immediate reports of casualties. The seismology agency said on X, formerly Twitter, that it did not expect damage, but warned of aftershocks. Three people died from a magnitude-7.4 earthquake that struck the southern Philippines on Saturday night. It was followed by more than 2,000 aftershocks.

JAPAN

Five bodies found after Osprey crash

US and Japanese dive teams found the remains of five more crew members from a V-22 Osprey aircraft that crashed off Western Japan last week, the Pentagon said on Monday. Eight crew members were aboard the tilt-rotor aircraft when it crashed during a training mission on Nov 29 off the shores of Yakushima Island. Prior to this week's discovery, one body had been recovered. Two crew members remain unaccounted for. Following the crash, the US military unit that the V-22 Osprey aircraft belonged to suspended flight operations.

Agencies Via Xinhua