Briefly

DPRK

Pyongyang fires strategic cruise missile

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea conducted a strategic cruise missile launch drill on Thursday, a move aimed at examining the rapid response posture of its strategic cruise missile units, the official Korean Central News Agency reported on Friday. At dawn, a strategic cruise missile unit of the Korean People's Army in the eastern region fired four Hwasal-2 strategic cruise missiles, which traveled on a flight trajectory toward eastern waters before hitting their targets as designed, the report said. The launching drill "successfully achieved its objective," it said. The Republic of Korea and the United States on Wednesday held a joint military exercise at the Pentagon, involving simulations including the use of a nuclear weapon.

UNITED STATES

Ex-Mastercard CEO set to lead World Bank

US President Joe Biden on Thursday announced the nomination of former Mastercard chief executive Ajay Banga as a candidate to lead the World Bank, after the development lender's current head announced plans to step down early. The World Bank has just started accepting candidate nominations in a process set to run until March 29, with the bank saying that female contenders would be "strongly" encouraged. The 63-year-old Sikh was born and raised in India, traveling regularly as a child due to his father's military career, and started his career there before emigrating to the United States. The president of the Washington-based bank is typically from the US, while the leader of the International Monetary Fund is customarily European.

Weinstein sentenced to 16 years for rape

Harvey Weinstein, the onetime Hollywood titan who came to epitomize a culture of pervasive sexual misconduct by powerful men that ignited the #MeToo movement, was sentenced on Thursday to 16 years in prison for the 2013 rape of an actress in Los Angeles. The sentence, to run consecutively to the 23-year prison term that Weinstein, 70, already is serving for a sexual misconduct conviction in New York, made it all the more likely the Oscar-winning ex-producer will spend the rest of his life incarcerated. The 16-year prison term handed down by Superior Court Judge Lisa Lench was more lenient than the maximum 24 years recommended by prosecutors but far more stiff than the sentence sought by Weinstein's lawyers.

Xinhua - Agencies