Briefly

JAPAN

Govt seeks support for nuclear water release

The Japanese government adopted an interim plan on Tuesday that it hopes will win support from fishermen and other concerned groups for a planned release of treated but still radioactive water from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant into the sea. In April, the government decided to start discharging the water into the Pacific Ocean in the spring of 2023 after building a facility and compiling release plans under safety requirements set by regulators. The idea has been fiercely opposed by fishermen, residents and Japan's neighbors China and South Korea. Under the plan, the government will set up a fund to buy fishery products and freeze them for temporary storage to cushion the impact from negative rumors about the discharge.

MIDDLE EAST

Palestinian teen killed in Israeli military clash

Israeli warplanes struck targets in Gaza overnight, drawing machine-gun fire from Hamas in the heaviest cross-border fighting since an 11-day war in May. In the occupied West Bank, officials said a Palestinian teenager was killed in a clash with the Israeli military. Palestinian authorities said the 15-year-old boy died after being shot in the head during clashes with soldiers in the city of Nablus. The violence threatened to overshadow Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett's visit to the United States this week, his first diplomatic trip abroad since taking office in May.

UNITED STATES

New York has its first female governor

Kathy Hochul became the first female governor of New York at the stroke of midnight on Tuesday, taking control of a state government desperate to get back to business after months of distractions over sexual harassment allegations against Andrew Cuomo. The Democrat from western New York was sworn in as governor in a brief, private ceremony in the New York State Capitol. Cuomo left office at 12 am, two weeks after he announced he would resign rather than face a likely impeachment battle. He submitted his resignation letter late on Monday to the leaders of the state Assembly and Senate.

INDIA

Penalty imposed over dealer discount policy

India's competition regulator imposed a penalty of $26.9 million on Maruti Suzuki India Limited, the country's biggest carmaker for anticompetitive practices related to how it forced dealers to discount cars, said officials on Tuesday. The regulator found the company had an agreement with its dealers whereby dealers were restrained from offering discounts to customers beyond those prescribed by MSIL. "In other words, MSIL had a discount control policy in place for its dealers whereby the dealers were discouraged from giving extra discounts, freebies, etc to the consumers beyond what was permitted by MSIL," said the regulator in a statement.

Agencies - Xinhua