Japan is battling its largest wildfire in 30 years, a 4,500-acre blaze in the eastern coastal city of Ofunato. One person has reportedly died, and 4,600 residents have been evacuated. The fire follows Japan’s driest February in over two decades.
A US District Judge ruled on Saturday that US President Donald Trump’s dismissal of Hampton Dellinger, head of the Office of Special Counsel, was illegal because permitting the termination would grant “a constitutional license to bully officials in the executive branch into doing his will.” Dellinger’s duties include safeguarding federal employees from retaliation for whistleblowing. His five-year term expires in February 2029, but the Justice Department is appealing the decision.
Iran’s Economy and Finance Minister Abdolnaser Hemmati was impeached on Sunday over rising inflation and a severely depreciated currency. The rial has slid by 60% in five months under the administration of new President Masoud Pezeshkian, who counted Hemmati as an ally – making his ouster an unwelcome development.
Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost lander on Sunday became the second private spacecraft to land on the Moon, after a similar landing by Intuitive Machines in February 2024. The project is one of several partnerships between NASA and private companies designed to reduce costs and use the moon as a “launch pad” to explore further into space.
