NEWS OF THE DAY
From Around the World
1 U.S. military crash: The pilot of a U.S. Air Force fighter jet that crashed into the North Sea off the coast of northern England on Monday was found dead. The Air Force issued a statement, calling the death a “tragic loss” for the 48th Fighter wing community and sent condolences to the pilot’s family. The pilot was not immediately identified. Rescuers found the wreckage of the jet that was on a training mission from Royal Air Force Lakenheath, a military base in Suffolk, when it went down off Flamborough Head on the Yorkshire coast. The cause of the crash is under investigation. Britain’s coast guard located the wreckage.
2 Troop withdrawal: President Trump said Monday he is ordering a major reduction in U.S. troop strength in Germany, a move widely criticized by members of his own party as a gift to Russia and a threat to U.S. national security. “We’re putting the number down to 25,000 soldiers,” Trump said. The U.S. currently has about 34,500 troops in Germany — far fewer than during the Cold War, when Germany was the central focus of American and NATO efforts to deter invasion by the former Soviet Union. Trump faulted Germany for failing to pay enough for its own defense, calling the longtime NATO ally “delinquent.” Congress was not officially informed — prompting a letter from 22 Republican members of the House Armed Services Committee urging reconsideration.
3 Asia tensions: South Korea’s president on Monday called on North Korea to return to talks, saying the rivals must not reverse the peace deals that he and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un reached during 2018 summits. President Moon Jaein’s efforts to defuse rising animosities came after North Korea threatened Friday to destroy an interKorean liaison office located in North Korea and take unspecified military steps against South Korea. Moon was a driving force behind nowdormant diplomatic efforts between Pyongyang and Washington, including the summit between Kim and President Trump in Singapore in 2018.
4 Nuclear inspections: The head of the United Nations’ atomic watchdog agency said Monday that Iran must provide inspectors access to sites where the country is thought to have stored or used undeclared nuclear material. International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Mariano Grossi said after a meeting of the agency’s board that he had made his case with Iranian authorities. “Iran has denied us access to two locations and that, for almost a year, it has not engaged in substantive discussions to clarify our questions related to possible undeclared nuclear material and nuclearrelated activities,” Grossi said. Activities at the sites are thought to have been from the early 2000s, before Iran signed the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, and Iran maintains the IAEA has no legal basis to inspect them.
5 Suspect extradited: A man accused of being a top lieutenant in the Sinaloa drug cartel has been extradited to the United States, Mexican prosecutors announced. U.S. officials had been trying for years to extradite Felipe Cabrera Sarabia, who allegedly had overseen marijuana operations in the northern state of Durango and part of Chihuahua before his arrest in 2011. The official announcement of the extradition did not list his full name, but a federal official confirmed it to the Associated Press. Officials said Cabrera was considered one of the chief aides to convicted drug boss Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, who is in prison in the U.S. He faces charges of drug trafficking in Illinois. The Mexican Army has said Cabrera rose through the Sinaloa ranks by using violence against his rivals.