Briefly

KOREAN PENINSULA

DPRK fires 'projectile' into eastern waters

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea fired an unidentified projectile into eastern waters, the Republic of Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said on Tuesday. It said in a statement that the ROK military detected the projectile, presumed to be a ballistic missile which the DPRK launched into the East Sea at 7:27 am local time. If proved, it would mark the DPRK's second missile test in 2022. The DPRK said last week that it successfully test-fired a hypersonic missile on Jan 5. Hypersonic missiles travel at speeds of Mach 5 and higher and can maneuver midflight, making them harder to track and intercept. Dialogue between the United States and the DPRK remains stalled and Pyongyang is under sanctions over its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

ITALY

EU Parliament chief David Sassoli dies

David Sassoli, the Italian journalist who worked his way up in politics to become president of the European Union's parliament, died at a hospital in Italy early on Tuesday. No details were provided in a tweet by his spokesman Roberto Cuillo. Sassoli, a 65-year-old socialist, had been hospitalized since Dec 26 due to abnormal functioning of his immune system, Cuillo said in a statement. Sassoli's health steadily declined afterward and he was forced to miss several important legislative meetings. He became president of the European Parliament in 2019 and his term of office would have expired in days. The European Parliament represents the EU's 450 million citizens and refers to itself as "the heart of European democracy". It has more than 700 members directly elected by its member nations.

UNITED STATES

Police ditched theft call for Pokemon hunt

Two Los Angeles police officers who went off to hunt for Pokemon instead of responding to a robbery have been fired. Louis Lozano and Eric Mitchell cruised the streets searching for fantastical creatures in the augmented reality smartphone game, documents show, bagging a relatively rare Snorlax, as well as a difficult-to-trap Togetic－but no criminals. In-car recording of their conversation revealed that they had heard the call for help at the Los Angeles department store, but decided instead to drive off. Both men were charged with multiple counts of misconduct, and admitted failing to respond to the robbery call during the incident in April 2017, but denied they had been playing Pokemon Go.

Xinhua - Agencies